theroot--2020-06-19--An Exclusive Interview With an Organizer of the Original Juneteenth Cookout

On June 18 , 1865 , Union Army General Gordon Granger and 2,000 troops , many of whom were black , arrived at Galveston Island to occupy the state of Texas after the last army of white supremacist army of the Confederacy surrendered .
The black soldiers started spreading the word to nearby enslaved Africans that something big was going to happen and they should meet the next morning at the balcony of the Ashton Villa .
The next day , on June 19 , Granger read the “ General Order No .
3 , ” announcing the total emancipation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s how Juneteenth was born .
Although the holiday wasn ’ t known to many white people , The Root managed to contact 175-year-old Lee Malone , who was instrumental in organizing the very first Juneteenth celebration .
Malone agreed to sit down with us and explain the origin and traditions of Juneteenth .
The Root : Hello Mr. Malone .
First of all , I would like to say that it ’ s a pleasure to meet you .
Lee Malone : The pleasure is all mine , Mr .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Do You Want More .
Where is Questlove ?
Hey , you wan na hear me freestyle ?
TR : I ’ m sorry .
I think you have us confused with The Roots .
They ’ re a hip-hop band .
We ’ re a news outlet .
We wanted to talk to you about Juneteenth .
LM : First of all , you ’ re saying it wrong .
It ’ s pronounced Jū-nuh-teenth .
We used to call it “ June 19th ” but we started saying it really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak in secret codes around white people or they ’ ll steal your idea and rebrand it as “ Emancipation Granting Day ” or some shit like that .
You know how they do .
TR : So you remember that day ?
LM : Nigga what ?
Do you remember when you won a Grammy ?
Well , this was just like that .
But instead of going down the red carpet , imagine the afterparty was freedom .
Hell yeah .
I remember it was it like yesterday .
TR : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of The Roots .
I ’ m with a media company called The Root .
LM : Ohhh , you ’ re from the movie Roots .
That movie was some bullshit .
It wasn ’ t even realistic .
Except for the guy who played Kunta Kinte .
Was that you ?
TR : No , sir .
Let ’ s move on .
Tell me how you felt when you heard the news .
LM : Well the first thing I thought was : “ Where are my reparations ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for two years and no one told us ?
I ’ m finna go whip Massa ’ s ass.
” But then some of my homeboys calmed me down and told me my daughter was crying .
LM : No , she was crying because she was upset .
She didn ’ t know what “ emancipation ” meant .
All she knew was that was when white folks use big words , bad shit is usually about to happen .
But then she smelled the barbecue and she knew it wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my job .
How else were we going to eat ?
LM : Yep .
that was me .
We used the smoldering embers from the plantation we set on fire and a few women from the Smith plantation made some potato salad .
Best potato salad I ever had , too .
All that jumping up and down and hugging makes a man hungry , so I had to organize a cookout .
TR : Is that where the tradition came from ?
It ’ s nice to know that the cultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day of our freedom .
LM : Nigga what ?
Nah bruh .
We .
Were .
Enslaved !
Where the hell do you think we cooked our food ?
In a convection oven near the dining room of the slave quarters ?
But the first Juneteenth celebration was the first time we ever had really good food .
We were used to eating gizzards and chicken livers but we decided to take our back pay in chicken so I grilled up some chicken and thought : I wonder how these wings would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house and couldn ’ t find any seasonings , which was weird .
Anyway , I decided to use a couple of lemons and some peppers , which is the only thing I could find .
Turned out pretty good !
TR : So what made you think that Juneteenth should be celebrated ?
LM : Well , I thought it should be celebrated like the Fourth of July .
Or as we called it : Freedom Day .
That ’ s the day we modeled our celebration after .
TR : I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a good idea .
After all , it was the first time that everyone in America was truly free .
LM : Independence Day ?
Nah , we called it Freedom Day because it was the one day white people would leave us alone .
Back in my day , we would gather around the gizzard grill and listen to the and sing songs of freedom .
That ’ s how we came up with the Negro National Anthem .
TR : “ Lift Every Voice and Sing ” is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s new .
The original Negro National Anthem came from the first Juneteenth .
I listen to it on that YouTube thing sometimes .
Here it is .
TR : Wow .
So how do you celebrate Juneteenth now ?
LM : There is no correct way to celebrate .
Some people barbecue .
Some people shoot fireworks .
Some people grab a machete and go looking for their reparations paycheck ( OK , that one is just a personal tradition ) .
That ’ s the point of freedom .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best way to get in the Juneteenth spirit is to repeat my name to anyone who isn ’ t black TR : Why is that ?
LM : Because my slave name was actually “ Cleotis Jebediah McLintock.
” But as soon as I threw off the shackles of slavery , I changed it to something I ’ ve always wanted to tell white people .
LM : Exactly .
OK , my man .
Tell QuestLove and Chicken George I said “ Hey.
” And tell Kizzy to call a nigga sometimes @

On June 18, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger and 2,000 troops, many of whom were black, arrived at Galveston Island to occupy the state of Texas after the last army of white supremacist army of the Confederacy surrendered.
The black soldiers started spreading the word to nearby enslaved Africans that something big was going to happen and they should meet the next morning at the balcony of the Ashton Villa.
Advertisement
The next day, on June 19, Granger read the “General Order No. 3,” announcing the total emancipation of those held as slaves:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.
Advertisement Advertisement
And that’s how Juneteenth was born.
Although the holiday wasn’t known to many white people, The Root managed to contact 175-year-old Lee Malone, who was instrumental in organizing the very first Juneteenth celebration. Malone agreed to sit down with us and explain the origin and traditions of Juneteenth.
Advertisement
The Root: Hello Mr. Malone. First of all, I would like to say that it’s a pleasure to meet you.
Lee Malone: The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Thought. I loved your first album, Do You Want More. Where is Questlove? Hey, you wanna hear me freestyle?
Advertisement
TR: I’m sorry. I think you have us confused with The Roots. They’re a hip-hop band. We’re a news outlet. We wanted to talk to you about Juneteenth.
LM: First of all, you’re saying it wrong. It’s pronounced Jū-nuh-teenth. We used to call it “June 19th” but we started saying it really fast. You know you have to speak in secret codes around white people or they’ll steal your idea and rebrand it as “Emancipation Granting Day” or some shit like that. You know how they do.
Advertisement
TR: So you remember that day?
LM: Nigga what? Do you remember when you won a Grammy? Well, this was just like that. But instead of going down the red carpet, imagine the afterparty was freedom. Hell yeah. I remember it was it like yesterday.
Advertisement
TR: Again, I am not a member of The Roots. I’m with a media company called The Root.
LM: Ohhh, you’re from the movie Roots. That movie was some bullshit. It wasn’t even realistic. Except for the guy who played Kunta Kinte. Was that you?
Advertisement
TR: No, sir. Let’s move on. Tell me how you felt when you heard the news.
LM: Well the first thing I thought was: “Where are my reparations?” You mean we’ve been free for two years and no one told us? I’m finna go whip Massa’s ass.” But then some of my homeboys calmed me down and told me my daughter was crying.
Advertisement
TR: Tears of joy?
LM: No, she was crying because she was upset. She didn’t know what “emancipation” meant. All she knew was that was when white folks use big words, bad shit is usually about to happen. But then she smelled the barbecue and she knew it wasn’t bad.
Advertisement
TR: You had a cookout?
LM: That was my job. How else were we going to eat?
TR: Wait...Did you organize it?
LM: Yep. that was me. We used the smoldering embers from the plantation we set on fire and a few women from the Smith plantation made some potato salad. Best potato salad I ever had, too. All that jumping up and down and hugging makes a man hungry, so I had to organize a cookout.
Advertisement
TR: Is that where the tradition came from? It’s nice to know that the cultural heritage of cookouts extends back to the day of our freedom.
LM: Nigga what? Nah bruh. We. Were. Enslaved! Where the hell do you think we cooked our food? In a convection oven near the dining room of the slave quarters? But the first Juneteenth celebration was the first time we ever had really good food.
Advertisement
We were used to eating gizzards and chicken livers but we decided to take our back pay in chicken so I grilled up some chicken and thought: I wonder how these wings would taste? We raided Massa’s house and couldn’t find any seasonings, which was weird. Anyway, I decided to use a couple of lemons and some peppers, which is the only thing I could find. Turned out pretty good!
TR: So what made you think that Juneteenth should be celebrated?
LM: Well, I thought it should be celebrated like the Fourth of July. Or as we called it: Freedom Day. That’s the day we modeled our celebration after.
Advertisement
TR: I think you mean Independence Day? That’s a good idea. After all, it was the first time that everyone in America was truly free.
LM: Independence Day? Nah, we called it Freedom Day because it was the one day white people would leave us alone. Back in my day, we would gather around the gizzard grill and listen to the and sing songs of freedom. That’s how we came up with the Negro National Anthem.
Advertisement
TR: “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is that old?
LM: No, that’s new. The original Negro National Anthem came from the first Juneteenth. I listen to it on that YouTube thing sometimes. Here it is.
TR: Wow. So how do you celebrate Juneteenth now?
LM: There is no correct way to celebrate. Some people barbecue. Some people shoot fireworks. Some people grab a machete and go looking for their reparations paycheck (OK, that one is just a personal tradition).
Advertisement
That’s the point of freedom. You get to be free.
But the best way to get in the Juneteenth spirit is to repeat my name to anyone who isn’t black
Advertisement
TR: Why is that?
LM: Because my slave name was actually “Cleotis Jebediah McLintock.” But as soon as I threw off the shackles of slavery, I changed it to something I’ve always wanted to tell white people.
Advertisement
TR: Lee Malone.
LM: Exactly. OK, my man. Tell QuestLove and Chicken George I said “Hey.” And tell Kizzy to call a nigga sometimes.
Advertisement
Where’s my machete?
It’s payday.


theroot--2020-06-19--The Root Jams Weekly (6/19/2020): 'Juneteenth'

June 19 , known as Juneteenth in the black community represents the day that the word about the end of @ @ @ @ @ Texas , which at the time was the furthest part of the United States .
@ @ @ @ @ holiday by sharing our favorite jams in the spirit of Juneteenth , freedom and blackness @ @ @ @ @ Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free ” Curtis Mayfield “ We @ @ @ @ @ Blue ”

Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Panama Jackson to The Root

June 19, known as Juneteenth in the black community represents the day that the word about the end of slavery finally reached Galveston, Texas, which at the time was the furthest part of the United States. Today, we celebrate the holiday by sharing our favorite jams in the spirit of Juneteenth, freedom and blackness.
J’Na Jefferson
Angie Stone “Brotha”
Stevie Wonder “Higher Ground”
Pharrell Williams “Able”
A Tribe Called Quest “We The People”
Jay Connor
Pharrell Williams “Freedom”
Solange “Fubu”
Mos Def “Umi Says”
Parliament “Chocolate City”
Tonja Stidhum
Deniece Williams “Free”
Monique Judge
Jay Rock “Win”
Panama Jackson
Public Enemy “Fight The Power”
Jungle Brothers “Black Is Black”
Digable Planets “9th Wonder (Blackitolism)“
Bilal “Soul Sista”
Beyoncé “BROWN SKIN GIRL”
Goodie Mob “Free”
Joi “Freedom”
Bill Withers “Lean On Me”
Nina Simone “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”
The Impressions “People Get Ready”
India.Arie “Brown Skin”
Donny Hathaway “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”
The Five Stairsteps “O-o-h Child”
Sly & The Family Stone “Family Affair”
Curtis Mayfield “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue”
Amel Larrieux “For Real”
Donny Hathaway “Someday We’ll All Be Free”
Common “Black America Again”


theroot--2020-06-19--Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza on How to Organize and Stay Inspired During a Crisis

Doing “ the work ” is an oft-used phrase in social justice circles , arguably overused to the point that it can include everything from reading a poem to starting a movement .
Alicia Garza knows what “ the work ” is .
A co-founder of Black Lives Matter , the writer and activist now works as the Special Projects Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and leads the Black Futures Lab , which strives to build independent political power for black communities .
Earlier this year , the Lab drafted the Black Agenda , a comprehensive document containing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ empower the health , safety , and prosperity of black Americans .
Garza spoke to The Root in April , at the height of the coronavirus pandemic but before the viral video of Ahmaud Arbery ’ s killing at the hands of two white vigilantes ; before Breonna Taylor ’ s name was on the lips of tens of thousands of protesters ; when Tony McDade and George Floyd were still alive , breaking bread with family and sharing laughter with their friends .
Wide swaths of the nation have now coalesced behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter , ” even as a recession keeps millions of Americans out of work and the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and ebb in communities across the country .
With black liberation now at the forefront of the national discourse , and with radical , abolitionist demands like defund the police and shutting down prisons receiving more mainstream attention than ever before , much of Garza ’ s advice for organizing—and for remaining resilient and steadfast in the face of crisis—still applies .
[ Editor ’ s note : Garza ’ s responses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ]
You know , before [ the pandemic ] happened , I was talking with my team and orienting people around what we were doing this year in relationship to the elections .
I was telling people to be prepared for the fact that you ’ re going to be mad .
You ’ re going to be upset about how this plays out , because our democracy was already in crisis before in our political system , which already doesn ’ t serve or reflect the people who need it the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people for that .
And I was saying and our job , 100 percent of the time is to find the people who are looking for us , find the people who want to see politics transformed for the better .
Find the people who are willing to fight for that and find the people who are looking around them and saying , who else thinks that this whole thing is bonkers and who has a plan , who has a plan to change it and make it better ?
The challenge for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that people are also being told not to congregate and not to gather .
And so this actually makes our work even more important and it makes it more tricky .
It also puts the onus on us to get even more creative than we had been before .
The Black Futures Lab is an innovation and experimentation lab .
We do a lot of experiments that revolve around how to make black communities powerful in politics so that we can be powerful in all the aspects of our lives .
We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program called Black to the Ballot , for example , where we ’ re registering black voters in nine states across the country and doing the work to keep engaging those voters and turning them out in June and November .
Now , we have to figure out how do we now do that under conditions that have changed and will keep changing rapidly over time .
We can ’ t give up .
We have to actually really dig our heels in and say , OK , let ’ s not only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changing—let ’ s listen to the needs that our communities are telling us .
And let ’ s make sure that we have tools in place to help people stay engaged , while also making sure that people ’ s immediate needs get met .
I ’ m like everyone else where , you know , there ’ s a little voice in my head that says , you ’ re not doing enough .
You could be doing more .
Who are you to rest ?
People can ’ t rest .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the years that those voices have to be quieted because I won ’ t be around for the long haul if I don ’ t .
So , yes , there are tons of times when I get to places that encourage me not to take care of myself , but I think I ’ ve gotten better at not giving in .
So when I need to sleep , I sleep .
When I need to eat , I eat .
When the brain is not working , it ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honor those things .
I will say that part of what makes that possible for me is the community that we built .
In order for that to be possible , I have to create and be a part of the kinds of communities that also support that .
And so my self-care is very much guided by the possibility of community care and making sure that the culture around us encourages us to care for ourselves , in order for us to be more impactful and more effective .
One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear is how deeply we depend on each other to survive .
And it ’ s all of our responsibilities to make sure that we are caring for each other in such a way that the people that we depend on to live , can also depend on us .
I really want other organizers and activists to remember that we have fucking work to do .
I ’ m sorry to say it like that but there ’ s a lot of things that I see on social media that I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m scared and I would imagine that you ’ re scared .
We ’ re all scared .
Right now , this moment is going to determine what happens for the next decade in this country or more .
And so the things that we do now really do matter .
Voting matters , sense of being and community matters .
Caring for yourself matters .
Fighting for communities that care for you matter .
And there ’ s a lot of stuff that doesn ’ t matter right now .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take some time , if you can , every single day and just really take stock .
I wake up in the middle of the night every night and I think to myself , I don ’ t know if there ’ s going to be an election this year .
That matters .
And it actually puts a lot of things in perspective for me .
And so my hope would be that we really take this time , not to be your most productive self— fuck that—it ’ s actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get centered on what ’ s important to you .
Who do you want to say you were ?
What role do you want to say that you played ?
When your kids or your grandkids who didn ’ t live through this moment ask you , ‘ who were you ?
What did you do ?
How did you get by ?
’ What are you going to say ?
That ’ s the thing that I would offer to people .
For us to move through this with no regrets , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear what is important—to me , to this country .
What is going to ensure that I and the people that I care for have a shot at having the life that we want and that we deserve .

Doing “the work” is an oft-used phrase in social justice circles, arguably overused to the point that it can include everything from reading a poem to starting a movement.
Alicia Garza knows what “the work” is. A co-founder of Black Lives Matter, the writer and activist now works as the Special Projects Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and leads the Black Futures Lab, which strives to build independent political power for black communities. Earlier this year, the Lab drafted the Black Agenda, a comprehensive document containing a variety of policy proposals that would empower the health, safety, and prosperity of black Americans.
Advertisement
Garza spoke to The Root in April, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic but before the viral video of Ahmaud Arbery’s killing at the hands of two white vigilantes ; before Breonna Taylor’s name was on the lips of tens of thousands of protesters; when Tony McDade and George Floyd were still alive, breaking bread with family and sharing laughter with their friends.
Wide swaths of the nation have now coalesced behind the unifying call, “Black Lives Matter,” even as a recession keeps millions of Americans out of work and the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and ebb in communities across the country. With black liberation now at the forefront of the national discourse, and with radical, abolitionist demands like defund the police and shutting down prisons receiving more mainstream attention than ever before, much of Garza’s advice for organizing—and for remaining resilient and steadfast in the face of crisis—still applies.
Advertisement Advertisement
[Editor’s note: Garza’s responses have been condensed and edited for clarity.]
You know, before [the pandemic] happened, I was talking with my team and orienting people around what we were doing this year in relationship to the elections. I was telling people to be prepared for the fact that you’re going to be mad. You’re going to be upset about how this plays out, because our democracy was already in crisis before in our political system, which already doesn’t serve or reflect the people who need it the most. And so I was preparing people for that. And I was saying and our job, 100 percent of the time is to find the people who are looking for us, find the people who want to see politics transformed for the better. Find the people who are willing to fight for that and find the people who are looking around them and saying, who else thinks that this whole thing is bonkers and who has a plan, who has a plan to change it and make it better?
Advertisement
The challenge for us, though, right now is that people are also being told not to congregate and not to gather. And so this actually makes our work even more important and it makes it more tricky. It also puts the onus on us to get even more creative than we had been before.
The Black Futures Lab is an innovation and experimentation lab. We do a lot of experiments that revolve around how to make black communities powerful in politics so that we can be powerful in all the aspects of our lives. We have programs moving on the ground, a program called Black to the Ballot, for example, where we’re registering black voters in nine states across the country and doing the work to keep engaging those voters and turning them out in June and November. Now, we have to figure out how do we now do that under conditions that have changed and will keep changing rapidly over time.
Advertisement
We can’t give up. We have to actually really dig our heels in and say, OK, let’s not only pay attention to how the landscape is changing—let’s listen to the needs that our communities are telling us. And let’s make sure that we have tools in place to help people stay engaged, while also making sure that people’s immediate needs get met.
I’m like everyone else where, you know, there’s a little voice in my head that says, you’re not doing enough. You could be doing more. Who are you to rest? People can’t rest. But I’ve also learned over the years that those voices have to be quieted because I won’t be around for the long haul if I don’t. So, yes, there are tons of times when I get to places that encourage me not to take care of myself, but I think I’ve gotten better at not giving in.
Advertisement
So when I need to sleep, I sleep. When I need to eat, I eat. When the brain is not working, it’s not working. And I really try to honor those things. I will say that part of what makes that possible for me is the community that we built. In order for that to be possible, I have to create and be a part of the kinds of communities that also support that. And so my self-care is very much guided by the possibility of community care and making sure that the culture around us encourages us to care for ourselves, in order for us to be more impactful and more effective.
One of the things that this virus has made really clear is how deeply we depend on each other to survive. And it’s all of our responsibilities to make sure that we are caring for each other in such a way that the people that we depend on to live, can also depend on us.
Advertisement
I really want other organizers and activists to remember that we have fucking work to do. I’m sorry to say it like that but there’s a lot of things that I see on social media that I think really reflect how scared people are. I’m scared and I would imagine that you’re scared. We’re all scared. Right now, this moment is going to determine what happens for the next decade in this country or more. And so the things that we do now really do matter. Voting matters, sense of being and community matters. Caring for yourself matters. Fighting for communities that care for you matter. And there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t matter right now.
It’s really important for folks to take some time, if you can, every single day and just really take stock. I wake up in the middle of the night every night and I think to myself, I don’t know if there’s going to be an election this year. That matters. And it actually puts a lot of things in perspective for me. And so my hope would be that we really take this time, not to be your most productive self— fuck that—it’s actually you can take this time to really get centered on what’s important to you. Who do you want to say you were? What role do you want to say that you played? When your kids or your grandkids who didn’t live through this moment ask you, ‘who were you? What did you do? How did you get by?’ What are you going to say? That’s the thing that I would offer to people.
Advertisement
For us to move through this with no regrets, we’ve got to be really clear what is important—to me, to this country. What is going to ensure that I and the people that I care for have a shot at having the life that we want and that we deserve.


theroot--2020-06-19--On Juneteenth Eve Trump Took a Shot at Race-Based 'Fake News' by...Posting Race-Based Fake News. Twi

On Juneteenth Eve Trump Took a Shot at Race-Based 'Fake News' by...Posting Race-Based Fake News. Twitter Wasn't Having it Though

Here are a couple questions : Why is y ’ all ’ s president so raggedy ?
Why can ’ t literally anybody in t his ghetto ass administration keep him off social media ?
On Thursday , Donald “ I Put Juneteenth on the Map ” Trump took to Twitter and other platforms to take another shot at “ fake news ” by ... posting fake news .
Thankfully , Twitter is having none of the apricot-in-chief ’ s nonsense and has , once again , placed a warning label on Trump ’ s tweet .
First , let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stupid ass post Trump let his orange-flavored Vienna sausage fingers hit “ send ” on .
From the Washington Post : The president tweeted a doctored version of a popular video that went viral in 2019 , which showed two toddlers , one black and one white , hugging .
In the version Trump shared , the video has been edited with ominous music and a fake CNN headline that says , “ Terrified toddler runs from racist baby.
” “ Racist baby probably a Trump voter , ” the headline then says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then cuts to the original clip of the children hugging , and then cuts to the message “ America is not the problem .
Fake news is.
” So just as they ’ ve done before , Twitter opted to leave Trump ’ s latest shit-post up despite it violating its policies but put a “ manipulated media ” warning label on it because ... well ... it is manipulative as fuck .
A few more questions ( this time I ’ ll address them to Trumple-weird -skin directly ) : You know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Juneteenth , right ?
I mean , you should know , Mister Millie , because you ’ ve been so good to us people that you made our little holiday “ very famous ” after all .
So why the fuck is you playing with us like this ?
Why , if you ’ re so in touch with the black community , would you be choosing this time to push the bullshit conservative narrative that the “ fake news ” media is what ’ s driving racial tension in America and not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s what this post is ultimately about , right ?
And what ’ s wrong , you couldn ’ t find a real example of CNN pushing race-based propaganda so you chose actual race-based propaganda to share ?
Y ou understand that nobody but you and your 82 million Twitter followers would actually believe that CNN ran a story about a racist , Trump supporter toddler , right ?
( Although , now that I think about it “ racist Trump supporter toddler ” pretty much describes Trump and his entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Post , Trump also shared his bullshit on Snapchat and Facebook and , well ...
Meanwhile , video social media platform Snapchat has taken a different approach in seeking to limit the reach of Trump ’ s account .
The company said it would no longer feature Trump in its “ Discover ” tab , though people can still search for the president ’ s account .
Snapchat did not have immediate comment on the video , which was also posted to its platform .
The manipulated video Trump tweeted Thursday remains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 100,000 likes and more than 26,000 shares .
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it planned to take similar action against the video .
So Twitter appears to be the only platform willing to slap an “ Issa lie ” label on Trump ’ s tweets .
In May , Twitter flagged two of Trump ’ s posts .
The first was a loud and wrong tweet regarding mail-in ballots , which Twitter accompanied with a fact-check label that redirects readers to news articles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s lie .
The second time , Trump ’ s tweet about protests over the death of George Floyd which ended , “ when the looting starts , the shooting starts ” was flagged for violating Twitter ’ s terms on violence .
This prompted Trump to sign some little executive order thingy aimed at punishing social media platforms for bias against conservatives which ... well ... clearly didn ’ t do anything .

Here are a couple questions : Why is y’all’s president so raggedy? Why can’t literally anybody in t his ghetto ass administration keep him off social media?
On Thursday, Donald “I Put Juneteenth on the Map” Trump took to Twitter and other platforms to take another shot at “fake news” by...posting fake news. Thankfully, Twitter is having none of the apricot-in-chief’s nonsense and has, once again, placed a warning label on Trump’s tweet.
Advertisement
First, let’s take a look at this stupid ass post Trump let his orange-flavored Vienna sausage fingers hit “send” on. From the Washington Post:
The president tweeted a doctored version of a popular video that went viral in 2019, which showed two toddlers, one black and one white, hugging. In the version Trump shared, the video has been edited with ominous music and a fake CNN headline that says, “Terrified toddler runs from racist baby.” “Racist baby probably a Trump voter,” the headline then says in a subsequent screen. The video then cuts to the original clip of the children hugging, and then cuts to the message “America is not the problem. Fake news is.”
Advertisement Advertisement
So just as they’ve done before, Twitter opted to leave Trump’s latest shit-post up despite it violating its policies but put a “manipulated media” warning label on it because...well...it is manipulative as fuck.
Advertisement
A few more questions (this time I’ll address them to Trumple-weird -skin directly):
You know you did this on the eve of Juneteenth, right? I mean, you should know, Mister Millie, because you’ve been so good to us people that you made our little holiday “very famous” after all. So why the fuck is you playing with us like this? Why, if you’re so in touch with the black community, would you be choosing this time to push the bullshit conservative narrative that the “fake news” media is what’s driving racial tension in America and not the reality of systemic racism? Because that’s what this post is ultimately about, right?
Advertisement
And what’s wrong, you couldn’t find a real example of CNN pushing race-based propaganda so you chose actual race-based propaganda to share? Y ou understand that nobody but you and your 82 million Twitter followers would actually believe that CNN ran a story about a racist, Trump supporter toddler, right? (Although, now that I think about it “racist Trump supporter toddler” pretty much describes Trump and his entire constituency.)
Anyway, according to the Post, Trump also shared his bullshit on Snapchat and Facebook and, well...
Meanwhile, video social media platform Snapchat has taken a different approach in seeking to limit the reach of Trump’s account. The company said it would no longer feature Trump in its “Discover” tab, though people can still search for the president’s account. Snapchat did not have immediate comment on the video, which was also posted to its platform. The manipulated video Trump tweeted Thursday remains unlabeled on Facebook, where it received more than 100,000 likes and more than 26,000 shares. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it planned to take similar action against the video.
Advertisement
So Twitter appears to be the only platform willing to slap an “Issa lie” label on Trump’s tweets. In May, Twitter flagged two of Trump’s posts. The first was a loud and wrong tweet regarding mail-in ballots, which Twitter accompanied with a fact-check label that redirects readers to news articles that tell the truth about Trump’s lie . The second time, Trump’s tweet about protests over the death of George Floyd which ended, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was flagged for violating Twitter’s terms on violence. This prompted Trump to sign some little executive order thingy aimed at punishing social media platforms for bias against conservatives which ...well ...clearly didn’t do anything.


theroot--2020-06-19--My Ancestors Want Me to Make a Banana Pudding for Juneteenth

She was a good cook when it came to things she liked—rice , chicken , all kinds of soul food and sweet desserts—and a bad cook for things she didn ’ t understand or eat .
For years , I thought steak was supposed to be tough like shoe leather and chewier than gum .
I thought spaghetti and taco meat were supposed to be soupy .
Basically , she was kind of annoyed that this was her job .
“ What do you want for dinner ” often meant “ what ’ s the fastest and easiest thing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have very similar personalities , and , I too , would have bristled at this being my “ job ” when you ’ re intellectually curious , college-educated and mentally quite rigorous .
One of my mother ’ s and my favorite past-times was reading the newspaper aloud to each other while looking up words we might not have recognized in the dictionary , dissecting definitions .
Our other favorite activity ?
Going to the library to get books .
I know , I know .
We were nerds .
But we were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who could talk from sun up to sun down about any and everything , just as she ’ d done with her own mother before me .
We were a team .
While the cooking was hit-or-miss , my mother , who was a stay-at-home mom and former school teacher , was an expert at the other domestic arts that didn ’ t involve pots or pans .
She could sew and she could crochet and she could clean to the point where you could safely eat off the floor , any floor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great at doing hair and an excellent braider , a skill neither myself nor my sisters really cultivated .
But other than some weak allusions to needing a maid ( ha , like she ’ d ever trust a stranger to clean her home ) , cooking was the only thing she seemed to really not give two shits about .
Still , every now and then , Mama would really shine at something in the kitchen , and holidays were where she would show out .
Thanksgiving , Easter and Christmas were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Juneteenth was no different .
She had a tangy potato salad I ’ ve yet to see replicated well by anyone other than my father , and the dessert of choice ?
Banana Pudding .
Anyone who knows me well , like my family or close friends , knows I love food .
I probably love it too much , considering my waistline .
I also enjoy cooking so much I started a food insta , and banana pudding—something I ’ ve only undertaken twice more than a decade ago—is my second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They ’ re both desserts I never tire of and could literally eat after every meal until I die from , hopefully , old age .
For Juneteenth this year , I ’ ve decided I ’ m going to make a banana pudding .
Unfortunately , my lovely mother who was an expert at banana puddings was diagnosed with dementia around 2013 and died December 2018 , so I have no one to really point me in the right direction .
My father , an excellent cook in his own right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked him if he knew where Mama ’ s banana pudding recipe was .
Then , he gave this advice : “ As long as you have some good bananas you ’ ll be all right.
” So since I ’ m still afraid of getting COVID-19 , I ordered some bananas for delivery .
Now for a good banana pudding that lasts , you need bananas that are firm and have just freshly turned yellow because they will start to go bad pretty fast even if they are in the fridge if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if you have a very green banana , it might go bad before it ever turns yellow , making it useless .
Both my grocery delivery services sent me , by far , the greenest bananas I ’ ve ever seen in life .
Like , bananas so green they look like they should still be on the tree .
Meaning , at some point , I ’ m going to have to put on a mask and actually walk around the corner to the grocery store , get in line , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m going to do it because my soul and the ancestors demand that I make banana pudding to honor them ( and my belly ) for Juneteenth .
So if you want to possibly screw up one of the easiest desserts to make by jacking up the homemade vanilla custard with me , here ’ s the recipe I ’ m going to try , as my dad is not interested in digging through the various recipe books and disorganized recipe cards in the home he shared with my mom .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progress , whether I succeed or not .
Because in cooking , the adventure of it is half the fun—unless you ’ re my mom .
Then it ’ s just , like , the shackles of the patriarchy keeping you from fulfilling your dreams of having someone , anyone else cook .

My mother hated to cook.
She was a good cook when it came to things she liked—rice, chicken, all kinds of soul food and sweet desserts—and a bad cook for things she didn’t understand or eat. For years, I thought steak was supposed to be tough like shoe leather and chewier than gum. I thought spaghetti and taco meat were supposed to be soupy. Basically, she was kind of annoyed that this was her job. “What do you want for dinner” often meant “what’s the fastest and easiest thing to cook?”
Honestly, you couldn’t blame her.
My mother and I have very similar personalities, and, I too, would have bristled at this being my “job” when you’re intellectually curious, college-educated and mentally quite rigorous. One of my mother’s and my favorite past-times was reading the newspaper aloud to each other while looking up words we might not have recognized in the dictionary, dissecting definitions. Our other favorite activity? Going to the library to get books.
Advertisement
I know, I know. We were nerds.
But we were glorious, joined at the hip nerds who could talk from sun up to sun down about any and everything, just as she’d done with her own mother before me. We were a team.
Advertisement Advertisement
While the cooking was hit-or-miss, my mother, who was a stay-at-home mom and former school teacher, was an expert at the other domestic arts that didn’t involve pots or pans.
She could sew and she could crochet and she could clean to the point where you could safely eat off the floor, any floor, in our home. She was great at doing hair and an excellent braider, a skill neither myself nor my sisters really cultivated. But other than some weak allusions to needing a maid (ha, like she’d ever trust a stranger to clean her home), cooking was the only thing she seemed to really not give two shits about. Still, every now and then, Mama would really shine at something in the kitchen, and holidays were where she would show out. Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas were delicious feasts, and in the summertime, Juneteenth was no different. She had a tangy potato salad I’ve yet to see replicated well by anyone other than my father, and the dessert of choice? Banana Pudding.
Advertisement
Anyone who knows me well, like my family or close friends, knows I love food. I probably love it too much, considering my waistline. I also enjoy cooking so much I started a food insta, and banana pudding—something I’ve only undertaken twice more than a decade ago—is my second favorite dessert, right behind peach cobbler. They’re both desserts I never tire of and could literally eat after every meal until I die from, hopefully, old age.
For Juneteenth this year, I’ve decided I’m going to make a banana pudding. Unfortunately, my lovely mother who was an expert at banana puddings was diagnosed with dementia around 2013 and died December 2018, so I have no one to really point me in the right direction. My father, an excellent cook in his own right, was of little help when I asked him if he knew where Mama’s banana pudding recipe was.
Advertisement
“Just google it,” he said.
Then, he gave this advice: “As long as you have some good bananas you’ll be all right.”
Advertisement
So since I’m still afraid of getting COVID-19, I ordered some bananas for delivery. Now for a good banana pudding that lasts, you need bananas that are firm and have just freshly turned yellow because they will start to go bad pretty fast even if they are in the fridge if they’re too ripe. Buuuuut if you have a very green banana, it might go bad before it ever turns yellow, making it useless. Both my grocery delivery services sent me, by far, the greenest bananas I’ve ever seen in life. Like, bananas so green they look like they should still be on the tree. Meaning, at some point, I’m going to have to put on a mask and actually walk around the corner to the grocery store, get in line, and purchase them in person.
Which I’m dreading!
But I’m going to do it because my soul and the ancestors demand that I make banana pudding to honor them (and my belly) for Juneteenth.
Advertisement
So if you want to possibly screw up one of the easiest desserts to make by jacking up the homemade vanilla custard with me, here’s the recipe I’m going to try, as my dad is not interested in digging through the various recipe books and disorganized recipe cards in the home he shared with my mom. I promise to update this post with my progress, whether I succeed or not.
Because in cooking, the adventure of it is half the fun—unless you’re my mom. Then it’s just, like, the shackles of the patriarchy keeping you from fulfilling your dreams of having someone, anyone else cook.
Advertisement
Update: 10:22 a.m. EDT, June 20, 2020: Success! The banana pudding was made and it was...delicious!


theroot--2020-06-19--Tim Scott Won’t Acknowledge Systemic Racism and Defunding Police Because He Actually Wants to Stop S

Tim Scott Won’t Acknowledge Systemic Racism and Defunding Police Because He Actually Wants to Stop Systemic Racism...By Defunding the Police

But sometimes , words are stupid .
For instance , remember when Republicans were upset because President Barack Obama wouldn ’ t say the words “ radical Islamic terrorism ” because Obama was kinda busy hunting down Osama Bin Laden and killing him ?
Then again , I am a writer and words are the foundation of my profession .
If I were a doctor , I ’ d believe that how people treat their bodies was of the ultimate importance .
If I were a police officer , I ’ d believe that brutality , the disproportionate policing of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all that mattered .
Tim Scott ( R-S.C. ) is a politician , which means he uses words .
He is a black man , so he knows about police brutality and discriminatory police practices .
If he were truly doing his job , he would care less about words or politics and focus on ending the state-sanctioned violence that is disproportionately dispensed upon black bodies .
But , for some reason Scott won ’ t acknowledge that there is systemic racism in the way officers police black people in America .
Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he not believe it exists ?
I can ’ t figure it out .
“ I ’ m not a philosopher so I don ’ t sit back and think through these definitions as much as others do , ” Scott told The Root .
“ There ’ s racism in America and I do not think we are a racist country .
I think there are racial outcomes in policing , even though I don ’ t think police by and large are racist .
I think that we have pockets of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think most people who become cops do so for the right reasons.
” Wait ...
If there are “ pockets of racism within police departments , ” wouldn ’ t that make police racist ?
And while the existence of “ racism in America ” might be the best way to define a racist country , Scott doubled down on his position by insisting that the words “ systemic racism ” aren ’ t as important as eliminating the phenomenon that can best be described as ... Well ... systemic racism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tim Scott , who is a politician not a definition-maker-upper or a philosopher , seemed to be using “ racial outcomes ” as a placeholder for “ systemic racism.
” So I decided to try it .
Using his unique congressional thesaurus , I replaced “ racism ” with his handpicked senatorial synonym and asked him if he sees disproportionate outcomes in policing in law enforcement for people of color , specifically black people .
“ There ’ s no doubt that my answer is yes , ” Scott said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times more likely to be killed by law enforcement if you are black than if you ’ re white .
That to me only reinforces the fact that there is a pattern that exists .
There ’ s a lot of statistics that fly in the face of what I think is obvious to the naked eye .
People tell me I ’ m wrong , but I ’ ve talked to a lot of people around the country .
African-American professionals who have the same experience that I ’ ve described .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be convinced otherwise , even though people will tell me that I ’ m dead wrong on this issue.
” There ’ s almost no way he doesn ’ t know he just gave a precise summary of how systemic racism works .
He almost sounds like he intentionally refuses to acknowledge the words .
But should the words matter if Tim Scott does something about it ?
And can he do anything about it ?
I wish Tim Scott knew how many black people police kill every year .
In 2014 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Obama administration tasked the FBI with counting how many arrest-related deaths happened that year .
When the Bureau of Justice Statistics issued its report , it found that the FBI had been under-reporting the number by an average of 545 deaths per year .
The Washington Post ’ s “ Fatal Force ” database is the most frequently cited source for police killings because they are one of the few media sources with the resources and dedication to continue the ongoing research .
Killed By Police also keeps a database .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Bowling Green ’ s Phillip Stinson had an expansive police crime database that eventually ended .
After comparing all of the publicly available data , we determined ... well ... that no one knows how many people police kill each year .
The reason the number remains a mystery is that law enforcement agencies , politicians , lobbyists and the good ol ’ NRA have gone to extraordinary measures to prevent government agencies from counting how many people die at the hands of law enforcement agencies .
Even when organizations attempt to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in police encounters , the data is sometimes flawed and often incomplete .
For instance , the Washington Post ’ s database only lists people who were shot and killed by officers , so George Floyd isn ’ t counted , because he was choked to death .
The Post only counts people who were killed by on-duty officers , so Botham Jean isn ’ t listed .
Eric Garner isn ’ t listed because he wasn ’ t shot .
For the past three years , The Root has done a complete @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrong , too .
For years , The Root has reported on Scott ’ s efforts to pass an important piece of police reform .
Named after one of his constituents who was famously shot by police officer Michael Slager , the Walter Scott Notification Act required every law enforcement agency in America to report all police shootings and deaths to the federal government .
According to the bill , any state which refused to report would face a percent reduction in federal law enforcement grants and funds .
Information included by each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s name , race , age , and sex • The officer ’ s name , race , age , and sex • Whether the victim was armed or not • A description of the weapon used by law enforcement • The finding from law enforcement as to whether the shooting was justified or not Scott tried to pass the proposal as a standalone bill in 2015 , to no avail .
When he attempted to attach it to funding legislation , it failed .
In 2018 , as the First Step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Scott attempted to slide his much-needed idea in as an amendment to the groundbreaking criminal reform bill .
But police unions whispered in the ears of his fellow legislators and once again , the Walter Scott Notification Act fell by the wayside .
It wasn ’ t just Republicans ’ fault .
There were enough votes for it to pass through the Senate if Democrats had just joined the bill ’ s Republican sponsors .
So , in 2019 , Scott stopped trying .
Then Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seconds .
Following the protests over the death of George Floyd , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) selected Scott to lead their party ’ s police reform efforts .
If there was anyone who understood the issue , they figured Scott would .
On Wednesday , Scott announced the Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 or the ‘ ‘ JUSTICE Act ’ ’ ( Republicans love acronyms ) .
The act has 11 important provisions : • Use of Force reporting : Basically it extends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to include any use of force , as well as incentivizing bans on chokeholds , no-knock warrants and penalizing officers who make false police reports .
• Funds body-worn cameras : So we can see what officers did • Law Enforcement records retention : Incentivizes sharing of disciplinary records between departments when they hire officers • Study black boys and men : Commissions a report on “ conditions affecting black men and boys , including education , health care , financial status , and the criminal justice system as a whole.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Establishes a commission to review the entire criminal justice system and provide best practices recommendations .
• Law Enforcement Agency Hiring and Education : Funds to recruit and train more non-white officers • Best Practices and Studies : Determines a national standard of best practices for policing • No sex : Makes it unlawful for a federal law enforcement officer to engage in a sexual act while arresting or detaining people ( yes , this is a thing ) .
And how does Scott plan to do this ?
Well , he wouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideas like “ defund the police.
” Instead , he wants to use the same mechanism that he introduced in the Walter Scott Notification Act .
The bill would enforce its provisions by reducing federal grant money that is already available to state and local law enforcement agencies .
Scott wants to prevent departments who don ’ t comply with the law from continuing to receive these funds .
If only there was a word to describe what Scott ’ s Republican bill would do to police .
I wonder what would happen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats unveiled their plan first .
On June 8 , Democratic members of Congress , draped in their finest kente cloths , unveiled The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 .
The bill bans chokeholds , sets use of force reporting and…Well , you can just read the above synopsis of the JUSTICE Act because — aside from the ending qualified immunity— the Republican plan is almost a copy and pasted version of the Democratic plan , although the Democrats use-of-force reporting mirrors the Walter Scott Notification Act .
Mystal is a Harvard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time excoriating Democrats for their timidity and Republicans for their collective racism .
“ The Democrats already had a plan , he told The Root .
“ If they had just done what Cory Booker and Julián Castro wanted to do to end qualified immunity and force police officers to stop being racist , we wouldn ’ t be here today.
” But no one did .
The most notable difference between the Democratic plan and the Republican plan is that Scott doesn ’ t outright ban the chokeholds that killed George Floyd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Breonna Taylor ’ s death .
To be fair , Scott has a great reason for not including these reforms : Yes , sometimes words are stupid .
However , the words in the Constitution are important , which is why we created an entire court to parse and dissect every phrase and comma in America ’ s founding document .
For instance , nearly every ideological difference between the two major American parties in the U.S. can be boiled down to the interpretation of the 10th Amendment , which states : Basically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s power is limited to the things spelled out in the Constitution is the basis for almost every inter-party political debate .
The debates over slavery ( Confederate traitors called it “ heritage ” ) , segregation ( Mississippians calls it “ states rights ” ) women ’ s bodies ( religious zealots call it “ pro-life ” ) and even marijuana legalization ( Snoop Dog calls it “ sticky icky ” ) are , essentially , debates over whether the federal government can pass laws that aren ’ t spelled out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has very little input over the laws that govern most of our lives , which is why second-degree murder in one state is manslaughter in other states .
And , as it relates to police brutality , Congress has very little control over the laws that govern local and state police .
At most , they can offer grants and funds for training and deny funding and grants to agencies that don ’ t follow the rules .
So how can the Democrats ban chokeholds and Republican ’ s don ’ t bother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the bills haven ’ t pored over the text of the proposals .
If they had , they ’ d notice that the Democratic bill de-incentivizes the practice for local and state authorities by using the same defunding mechanism as Scott .
And while news outlets have described Scott ’ s plan as “ narrower , ” his proposal ’ s penalties eventually reach 20 percent while the Democrats withhold 10 percent .
The Democrats ’ bill only outlaws chokeholds for federal officers .
But who ’ s worried about Secret Service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal marshals and ICE officials often use no-knock warrants but the vast majority of police brutality come from the state and local levels because the extensive training required of most federal law enforcement agents already includes de-escalation techniques , use-of-force reporting and body cameras .
The JUSTICE Act also provides a better mechanism for holding individual local and state agencies accountable , by micro-targeting localities that don ’ t implement police reform with increasingly harsher penalties , as Scott ’ s Deputy Chief of Staff Allyssa Leigh Richardson explained before warning me that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we had to create to hold every agency accountable.
” Without the punishment of the law , a higher financial penalty for agencies that do not comply with reform regulations is the only tool available to Congress for enforcing reform .
And , because police chiefs and sheriffs are terrified of losing funds , they are more likely to get rid of officers who regularly break the rules if the individual departments are threatened with the loss of funding .
As someone who is not a huge fan of the Republican Party or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hear this as much as it pains me to say it , but the truth is , the GOP bill is more likely to stop cops from killing black people .
But , as Mystal points out , it ’ s hard to pat Tim Scott on the back for confronting an issue that his party has exacerbated .
Nor should the Democratic party be immune for passing the harsh “ law and order ” statutes that resulted in racialized policing .
“ For years , the difference between Democrats and Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Mystal told The Root .
“ It wasn ’ t until Eric Garner that white people said : ‘ Oh , wait ... what ?
’ And none of what either side is offering is enough .
Neither plan goes far enough to end systemic racism in police departments.
” Or as Tim Scott calls it , “ outcomes.
” But here is the secret that Tim Scott knows : There is a way for the federal government to reform the police without defunding it .
The words in the Constitution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police reform and impact systemic racism .
If someone could prove that the practices of an individual police department , or law enforcement agencies collectively , disproportionately violate black people ’ s civil rights , then they could use the provisions of the Civil Rights Act to force police reform .
But they would have to have some kind of irrefutable proof .
For instance , if someone collected the use-of-force data from every law enforcement agency in America and the self-reported statistics showed that black people were two-and-a-half times more likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police brutality , that would almost definitely do it .
And that may be the true reason that a certain senator has been on a seemingly unwinnable personal crusade .
But of course , he ’ d never say those words .
Because , like most black people , Tim Scott knows what matters most : “ I just want to find a way to create a better outcome for my nephew and my cousins , who are 3 and 4 years old , don ’ t have to worry about systemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crap that you and I have to worry about , ” Scott explained , adding “ I ’ m far more interested in improving the outcomes of people that look like me because I was black before I got to the Senate and I ’ m going to be black after I leave the Senate .
”

I believe words matter...sometimes.
But sometimes, words are stupid.
For instance, remember when Republicans were upset because President Barack Obama wouldn’t say the words “radical Islamic terrorism” because Obama was kinda busy hunting down Osama Bin Laden and killing him?
That was stupid.
Then again, I am a writer and words are the foundation of my profession. If I were a doctor, I’d believe that how people treat their bodies was of the ultimate importance. If I were a police officer, I’d believe that brutality, the disproportionate policing of black people and immunity from prosecution were all that mattered.
Advertisement
Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is a politician, which means he uses words. He is a black man, so he knows about police brutality and discriminatory police practices. If he were truly doing his job, he would care less about words or politics and focus on ending the state-sanctioned violence that is disproportionately dispensed upon black bodies.
But, for some reason Scott won’t acknowledge that there is systemic racism in the way officers police black people in America. Is he afraid to say it? Does he not believe it exists? I can’t figure it out.
Advertisement Advertisement
So I asked him.
“I’m not a philosopher so I don’t sit back and think through these definitions as much as others do,” Scott told The Root. “There’s racism in America and I do not think we are a racist country. I think there are racial outcomes in policing, even though I don’t think police by and large are racist. I think that we have pockets of racism within the police departments, but I think most people who become cops do so for the right reasons.”
Advertisement
Wait...If there are “pockets of racism within police departments,” wouldn’t that make police racist? And while the existence of “racism in America” might be the best way to define a racist country, Scott doubled down on his position by insisting that the words “systemic racism” aren’t as important as eliminating the phenomenon that can best be described as...Well...systemic racism, explaining:
I think the definition is important, but more important is that I’m in a position to do something about it. So, because I can see the patterns that are racial outcomes, from my perspective, I’m in a position of bringing those patterns to light and then punishing those departments who seem to have that practice in that pattern. So for me, you know, I’ve, I’ve struggled to come up with a concise definition of what, what systemic racism looks like in any of these sectors. But for me, I don’t struggle with it long because I have the ability to make a difference so that the racial outcomes make it harder to answer that question.
Advertisement
Okay. Now I understand. Tim Scott, who is a politician not a definition-maker-upper or a philosopher, seemed to be using “racial outcomes” as a placeholder for “systemic racism.” So I decided to try it. Using his unique congressional thesaurus, I replaced “racism” with his handpicked senatorial synonym and asked him if he sees disproportionate outcomes in policing in law enforcement for people of color, specifically black people.
“There’s no doubt that my answer is yes,” Scott said. “And you are two and a half times more likely to be killed by law enforcement if you are black than if you’re white. That to me only reinforces the fact that there is a pattern that exists. There’s a lot of statistics that fly in the face of what I think is obvious to the naked eye. People tell me I’m wrong, but I’ve talked to a lot of people around the country. African-American professionals who have the same experience that I’ve described. So it’s hard for us to be convinced otherwise, even though people will tell me that I’m dead wrong on this issue.”
Advertisement
There’s almost no way he doesn’t know he just gave a precise summary of how systemic racism works. He almost sounds like he intentionally refuses to acknowledge the words. But should the words matter if Tim Scott does something about it?
And can he do anything about it?
Tim Scott vs. The World
I wish Tim Scott knew how many black people police kill every year.
I wish anyone knew.
In 2014, for the first time in history, the Obama administration tasked the FBI with counting how many arrest-related deaths happened that year. When the Bureau of Justice Statistics issued its report, it found that the FBI had been under-reporting the number by an average of 545 deaths per year.
Advertisement
That number was wrong.
The Washington Post’s “Fatal Force” database is the most frequently cited source for police killings because they are one of the few media sources with the resources and dedication to continue the ongoing research. Killed By Police also keeps a database. The Guardian tried it for two years. Bowling Green’s Phillip Stinson had an expansive police crime database that eventually ended. After comparing all of the publicly available data, we determined ... well ... that no one knows how many people police kill each year.
Advertisement
The reason the number remains a mystery is that law enforcement agencies, politicians, lobbyists and the good ol’ NRA have gone to extraordinary measures to prevent government agencies from counting how many people die at the hands of law enforcement agencies. Even when organizations attempt to count the number of people who die in police encounters, the data is sometimes flawed and often incomplete.
For instance, the Washington Post’s database only lists people who were shot and killed by officers, so George Floyd isn’t counted, because he was choked to death. The Post only counts people who were killed by on-duty officers, so Botham Jean isn’t listed. Eric Garner isn’t listed because he wasn’t shot. For the past three years, The Root has done a complete accounting too, but we are probably wrong, too.
Advertisement
For years, The Root has reported on Scott’s efforts to pass an important piece of police reform. Named after one of his constituents who was famously shot by police officer Michael Slager, the Walter Scott Notification Act required every law enforcement agency in America to report all police shootings and deaths to the federal government. According to the bill, any state which refused to report would face a percent reduction in federal law enforcement grants and funds. Information included by each state would include:
The victim’s name, race, age, and sex
The officer’s name, race, age, and sex
Whether the victim was armed or not
A description of the weapon used by law enforcement
A detailed description of the event
The finding from law enforcement as to whether the shooting was justified or not
Scott tried to pass the proposal as a standalone bill in 2015, to no avail. When he attempted to attach it to funding legislation, it failed. In 2018, as the First Step Act worked its way through the Senate, Scott attempted to slide his much-needed idea in as an amendment to the groundbreaking criminal reform bill. But police unions whispered in the ears of his fellow legislators and once again, the Walter Scott Notification Act fell by the wayside.
Advertisement
It wasn’t just Republicans’ fault. There were enough votes for it to pass through the Senate if Democrats had just joined the bill’s Republican sponsors.
So, in 2019, Scott stopped trying.
Then Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
Advertisement
Following the protests over the death of George Floyd, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) selected Scott to lead their party’s police reform efforts. If there was anyone who understood the issue, they figured Scott would.
On Wednesday, Scott announced the Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 or the ‘‘JUSTICE Act’’ (Republicans love acronyms). The act has 11 important provisions:
Use of Force reporting: Basically it extends Scott’s Walter Scott Notification Act, to include any use of force, as well as incentivizing bans on chokeholds, no-knock warrants and penalizing officers who make false police reports. Funds body-worn cameras: So we can see what officers did Law Enforcement records retention: Incentivizes sharing of disciplinary records between departments when they hire officers Justice for lynching: Makes lynching a federal crime. Study black boys and men: Commissions a report on “conditions affecting black men and boys, including education, health care, financial status, and the criminal justice system as a whole.” Police training: Funds de-escalation, mental health awareness and duty-to intervene policies. National Criminal Justice Commission Act: Establishes a commission to review the entire criminal justice system and provide best practices recommendations. Law Enforcement Agency Hiring and Education: Funds to recruit and train more non-white officers Best Practices and Studies: Determines a national standard of best practices for policing No sex: Makes it unlawful for a federal law enforcement officer to engage in a sexual act while arresting or detaining people (yes, this is a thing). Emergency Funding: Offers to fund for police agencies.
And how does Scott plan to do this?
Well, he wouldn’t dare use those dirty Democratic ideas like “defund the police.”
Advertisement
Instead, he wants to use the same mechanism that he introduced in the Walter Scott Notification Act. The bill would enforce its provisions by reducing federal grant money that is already available to state and local law enforcement agencies. Scott wants to prevent departments who don’t comply with the law from continuing to receive these funds.
If only there was a word to describe what Scott’s Republican bill would do to police. I wonder what would happen if I Googled it.
Advertisement
But the Democrats unveiled their plan first.
On June 8, Democratic members of Congress, draped in their finest kente cloths, unveiled The Justice in Policing Act of 2020. The bill bans chokeholds, sets use of force reporting and…Well, you can just read the above synopsis of the JUSTICE Act because — aside from the ending qualified immunity— the Republican plan is almost a copy and pasted version of the Democratic plan, although the Democrats use-of-force reporting mirrors the Walter Scott Notification Act.
Advertisement
“Neither plan is great,” explains The Nation’s resident constitutional authority. Elie Mystal.
Mystal is a Harvard law graduate who spends most of his time excoriating Democrats for their timidity and Republicans for their collective racism. “The Democrats already had a plan, he told The Root. “If they had just done what Cory Booker and Julián Castro wanted to do to end qualified immunity and force police officers to stop being racist, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Advertisement
But no one did.
The most notable difference between the Democratic plan and the Republican plan is that Scott doesn’t outright ban the chokeholds that killed George Floyd and the no-knock warrants that resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death. To be fair, Scott has a great reason for not including these reforms:
Words.
Why We Can’t Ban Police Brutality
Yes, sometimes words are stupid.
However, the words in the Constitution are important, which is why we created an entire court to parse and dissect every phrase and comma in America’s founding document. For instance, nearly every ideological difference between the two major American parties in the U.S. can be boiled down to the interpretation of the 10th Amendment, which states:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Advertisement
Basically, the idea that the federal government’s power is limited to the things spelled out in the Constitution is the basis for almost every inter-party political debate. The debates over slavery (Confederate traitors called it “heritage”), segregation (Mississippians calls it “states rights”) women’s bodies (religious zealots call it “pro-life”) and even marijuana legalization (Snoop Dog calls it “sticky icky”) are, essentially, debates over whether the federal government can pass laws that aren’t spelled out in the Constitution.
The federal government has very little input over the laws that govern most of our lives, which is why second-degree murder in one state is manslaughter in other states. And, as it relates to police brutality, Congress has very little control over the laws that govern local and state police. At most, they can offer grants and funds for training and deny funding and grants to agencies that don’t follow the rules.
Advertisement
So how can the Democrats ban chokeholds and Republican’s don’t bother?
Because they can’t.
Most media personalities who are reporting on the bills haven’t pored over the text of the proposals. If they had, they’d notice that the Democratic bill de-incentivizes the practice for local and state authorities by using the same defunding mechanism as Scott. And while news outlets have described Scott’s plan as “narrower,” his proposal’s penalties eventually reach 20 percent while the Democrats withhold 10 percent. The Democrats’ bill only outlaws chokeholds for federal officers.
Advertisement
But who’s worried about Secret Service agents and Treasury officers choking motherfuckers? Federal marshals and ICE officials often use no-knock warrants but the vast majority of police brutality come from the state and local levels because the extensive training required of most federal law enforcement agents already includes de-escalation techniques, use-of-force reporting and body cameras.
The JUSTICE Act also provides a better mechanism for holding individual local and state agencies accountable, by micro-targeting localities that don’t implement police reform with increasingly harsher penalties, as Scott’s Deputy Chief of Staff Allyssa Leigh Richardson explained before warning me that it was a “complicated mechanism that we had to create to hold every agency accountable.”
Advertisement
Without the punishment of the law, a higher financial penalty for agencies that do not comply with reform regulations is the only tool available to Congress for enforcing reform. And, because police chiefs and sheriffs are terrified of losing funds, they are more likely to get rid of officers who regularly break the rules if the individual departments are threatened with the loss of funding.
As someone who is not a huge fan of the Republican Party or its tactics, it might pain some to hear this as much as it pains me to say it, but the truth is, the GOP bill is more likely to stop cops from killing black people.
Advertisement
But, as Mystal points out, it’s hard to pat Tim Scott on the back for confronting an issue that his party has exacerbated. Nor should the Democratic party be immune for passing the harsh “law and order” statutes that resulted in racialized policing.
“For years, the difference between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of policing was negligible,” Mystal told The Root. “ It wasn’t until Eric Garner that white people said: ‘Oh, wait...what?’ And none of what either side is offering is enough. Neither plan goes far enough to end systemic racism in police departments.”
Advertisement
Or as Tim Scott calls it, “outcomes.”
But here is the secret that Tim Scott knows:
There is a way for the federal government to reform the police without defunding it. The words in the Constitution actually provides a mechanism that could force police reform and impact systemic racism.
Advertisement
If someone could prove that the practices of an individual police department, or law enforcement agencies collectively, disproportionately violate black people’s civil rights, then they could use the provisions of the Civil Rights Act to force police reform. But they would have to have some kind of irrefutable proof.
For instance, if someone collected the use-of-force data from every law enforcement agency in America and the self-reported statistics showed that black people were two-and-a-half times more likely to be shot, killed or suffer from police brutality, that would almost definitely do it.
Advertisement
And that may be the true reason that a certain senator has been on a seemingly unwinnable personal crusade. But of course, he’d never say those words.
Because, like most black people, Tim Scott knows what matters most:
Cousins.
“I just want to find a way to create a better outcome for my nephew and my cousins, who are 3 and 4 years old, don’t have to worry about systemic, systematic or whatever you guys call the crap that you and I have to worry about,” Scott explained, adding
Advertisement
“I’m far more interested in improving the outcomes of people that look like me because I was black before I got to the Senate and I’m going to be black after I leave the Senate.”
Word.


theroot--2020-06-19--John Legend’s Bigger Love Wraps Black Joy, Nostaglia and More in a Pleasing Bow

John Legend ’ s latest musical offering Bigger Love couldn ’ t have come at a better time .
The EGOT-winner ’ s 16-song album , which officially drops today , invokes the timelessness of his debut , 2004 ’ s Get Lifted , with an updated flair fitting the vein of 2020 ’ s versatile musical landscape .
The 41-year-old says Bigger Love is a “ celebration of love , joy , hope and resilience , ” which is especially necessary today amidst a global health crisis and racial unrest on national soil .
All of the songs on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 pandemic .
“ I want people to feel lifted by this album , ” he told The Root as he unveiled songs from his new album to reporters during an exclusive Zoom chat .
“ I sing about all sorts of things .
I sing about pain , I sing about grief as well , but I feel like this album can be an uplifting album for people , and I hope that ’ s what they take from it.
” In an Instagram post about the project , Legend wrote about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of what it is to be black and human.
” “ I ’ m under no illusion that music can save the world or solve the world ’ s problems , but I ’ ve always turned to music to help me through tough times and I know many of you have done the same , ” he wrote .
The project draws clear inspiration from genres like doo-wop and funk , and it also pays homage to the sounds of the Caribbean on a number of tracks .
He enlists artists like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gary Clark Jr. on the nostalgic “ Remember Us ” and the thrilling “ Wild , ” respectively , while reggae musician Koffee shines on “ Don ’ t Walk Away , ” which comes equipped with an intoxicating island riddim .
“ I don ’ t go into the album thinking I have a thesis on how I ’ m going to make the album different from previous albums , ” Legend explains of his “ discovery process ” of creating new material , which includes thinking about his artistic muses and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s inspired by his creative partners and “ seeing how [ their ] ideas inspire each other and what [ they ] create together.
” For his latest project , Legend worked with songwriters and producers from virtually all over the spectrum , including Raphael Saadiq , hip-hop production team Digi , and pop singer/songwriters Julia Michels and Charlie Puth .
Take a look below at some of the standout tracks from Bigger Love , which is available on all streaming services now .
The album ’ s Oak Felder-produced opener showcases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he describes as a “ doo-wop meets trap ” beat , which invokes his barbershop quartet beginnings .
The sexy vibes don ’ t cease from beginning to end , and a chopped and screwed vocal effect near the song ’ s end provides a pleasing hip-hop element to the subtle nostalgic trip we ’ re on .
Already released as a single , “ Actions ” sounds like it could have been on Legend ’ s debut Get Lifted , as it mixes his gifts as a crooner with timeless Oak Felder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCallum ’ s “ The Edge , ” which was used generously by Dr. Dre for the infectious 1999 track “ The Next Episode , ” which Legend also references during the song ’ s chorus .
Co-written by Anderson .Paak ( who Legend says he ’ s a “ huge fan ” of ) and up-and-comer Cautious Clay , this ‘ 70s-tinged track would fit in perfectly with The Root ’ s latest Weekly Jams playlist “ A Roller Skating Jam Named Blackness.
” The feel-good tune invokes the nostalgia emanating throughout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strings to bring it to new heights .
Co-written with L.A. singer/songwriter Trey Campbell , the collaboration between Legend and the Cali-bred singer reads like a breath of fresh air .
The duo recently joined forces on Aiko ’ s project Chilombo on the stand-out “ Lightning & Thunder.
” “ U Move , I Move ” showcases that their vocal union earlier this year was not dumb luck , as they complement each other ’ s gifts beautifully .
The album ’ s island-tinged title track features production from Jamaican producer Da @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clay and songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder .
Legend believes that it ’ s important to place global black artists center stage ( like he did with Da Genius ) , especially since there is so much Afro-Caribbean influence in music today .
“ I think so much of what we ’ re hearing in popular music that ’ s been so successful lately is a lot of the rhythms of Africa , ” Legend tells The Root .
“ Whether it ’ s Caribbean music , Latin music , or mainstream pop music , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the place .
I think it ’ s an important part of our musical foundation .
”

J'na Jefferson on The Grapevine, shared by J'na Jefferson to The Root

John Legend’s latest musical offering Bigger Love couldn’t have come at a better time. The EGOT-winner’s 16-song album, which officially drops today, invokes the timelessness of his debut, 2004’s Get Lifted, with an updated flair fitting the vein of 2020’s versatile musical landscape.
The 41-year-old says Bigger Love is a “celebration of love, joy, hope and resilience,” which is especially necessary today amidst a global health crisis and racial unrest on national soil. All of the songs on the project were recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertisement
“I want people to feel lifted by this album,” he told The Root as he unveiled songs from his new album to reporters during an exclusive Zoom chat. “I sing about all sorts of things. I sing about pain, I sing about grief as well, but I feel like this album can be an uplifting album for people, and I hope that’s what they take from it.” In an Instagram post about the project, Legend wrote about his need to showcase “the fullness of what it is to be black and human.”
“I’m under no illusion that music can save the world or solve the world’s problems, but I’ve always turned to music to help me through tough times and I know many of you have done the same,” he wrote.
Advertisement Advertisement
The project draws clear inspiration from genres like doo-wop and funk, and it also pays homage to the sounds of the Caribbean on a number of tracks. He enlists artists like Rapsody and “modern guitar god” Gary Clark Jr. on the nostalgic “Remember Us” and the thrilling “Wild,” respectively, while reggae musician Koffee shines on “Don’t Walk Away,” which comes equipped with an intoxicating island riddim.
Advertisement
“I don’t go into the album thinking I have a thesis on how I’m going to make the album different from previous albums,” Legend explains of his “discovery process” of creating new material, which includes thinking about his artistic muses and current inspirations. He also says he’s inspired by his creative partners and “seeing how [their] ideas inspire each other and what [they] create together.” For his latest project, Legend worked with songwriters and producers from virtually all over the spectrum, including Raphael Saadiq, hip-hop production team Digi, and pop singer/songwriters Julia Michels and Charlie Puth.
Take a look below at some of the standout tracks from Bigger Love, which is available on all streaming services now.
Advertisement
The album’s Oak Felder-produced opener showcases Legend’s creamy vocals over what he describes as a “doo-wop meets trap” beat, which invokes his barbershop quartet beginnings. The sexy vibes don’t cease from beginning to end, and a chopped and screwed vocal effect near the song’s end provides a pleasing hip-hop element to the subtle nostalgic trip we’re on.
Advertisement
“Actions”
Already released as a single, “Actions” sounds like it could have been on Legend’s debut Get Lifted, as it mixes his gifts as a crooner with timeless Oak Felder production. It borrows elements of David McCallum’s “The Edge,” which was used generously by Dr. Dre for the infectious 1999 track “The Next Episode,” which Legend also references during the song’s chorus.
“One Life”
Co-written by Anderson .Paak (who Legend says he’s a “huge fan” of) and up-and-comer Cautious Clay, this ‘70s-tinged track would fit in perfectly with The Root’s latest Weekly Jams playlist “A Roller Skating Jam Named Blackness.” The feel-good tune invokes the nostalgia emanating throughout the project and utilizes gentle yet audibly-pleasing strings to bring it to new heights.
Advertisement
Co-written with L.A. singer/songwriter Trey Campbell, the collaboration between Legend and the Cali-bred singer reads like a breath of fresh air. The duo recently joined forces on Aiko’s project Chilombo on the stand-out “Lightning & Thunder.” “U Move, I Move” showcases that their vocal union earlier this year was not dumb luck, as they complement each other’s gifts beautifully.
Advertisement
The album’s island-tinged title track features production from Jamaican producer Da Genius, and was written alongside Cautious Clay and songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder. Legend believes that it’s important to place global black artists center stage (like he did with Da Genius), especially since there is so much Afro-Caribbean influence in music today.
Advertisement
“I think so much of what we’re hearing in popular music that’s been so successful lately is a lot of the rhythms of Africa,” Legend tells The Root. “Whether it’s Caribbean music, Latin music, or mainstream pop music, you’re just hearing it all over the place. I think it’s an important part of our musical foundation.”