theroot--2020-09-05--Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Stop Funding Anti-Racism Trainings, Calling Them 'Un-American'

In another tacit admission that he believes American equates to whiteness , President Trump has ordered the cease and desist of any government funding for anti-racism federal training programs because they are “ anti-American propaganda.
” The edict was delivered by Russel Vought , director of the White House ’ s Office of Management and Budget in a chilling—and telling—memo on Friday , in which he expressed Trump ’ s outrage that sessions about critical race theory and white privilege were taking place in federal agencies .
“ These types of “ trainings ” not only run counter to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stood since its inception , but they also engender division and resentment within the Federal workforce , ” Vought wrote .
“ We can not accept our employees receiving training that seeks to undercut our core values as Americans and drive division within our workforce.
” It ’ s another clear statement of what the Trump a dministration ’ s values are at a time when racial injustice in the United States continues to fuel the summary execution of Black people by police with impunity , as well as national protests and conversations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of anti-Blackness still shows up in all kinds of institutions .
Describing attempts to change this unjust state of affairs as “ divisive , ” Trump has ordered all federal agencies in the executive branch to take immediate measures ensuring their white employees don ’ t have to consider the idea that they have privilege in America .
All agencies are directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on “ critical race theory , ” “ white privilege , ” or any other training @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either ( 1 ) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or ( 2 ) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil .
In addition , all agencies should begin to identify all available avenues within the law to cancel any such contracts and/or to divert Federal dollars away from these un-American propaganda training sessions .
The memo started off by making reference to press reports that said the trainings push the apparently absurd idea that “ white people benefit from racism , ” but Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by one report from Fox News ’ head white supremacist , Tucker Carlson .
On Wednesday , Carlson dedicated a segment on his show to talking about the tyranny of critical race theory training in federal institutions , which his guest called on Trump to “ immediately abolish.
” November can ’ t come soon enough .

In another tacit admission that he believes American equates to whiteness, President Trump has ordered the cease and desist of any government funding for anti-racism federal training programs because they are “anti-American propaganda.”
The edict was delivered by Russel Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget in a chilling—and telling—memo on Friday, in which he expressed Trump’s outrage that sessions about critical race theory and white privilege were taking place in federal agencies.
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“These types of “trainings” not only run counter to the fundamental beliefs for which our Nation has stood since its inception, but they also engender division and resentment within the Federal workforce,” Vought wrote. “We cannot accept our employees receiving training that seeks to undercut our core values as Americans and drive division within our workforce.”
It’s another clear statement of what the Trump administration’s values are at a time when racial injustice in the United States continues to fuel the summary execution of Black people by police with impunity, as well as national protests and conversations about how this country’s deep history of anti-Blackness still shows up in all kinds of institutions.
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Describing attempts to change this unjust state of affairs as “divisive,” Trump has ordered all federal agencies in the executive branch to take immediate measures ensuring their white employees don’t have to consider the idea that they have privilege in America.
From the memo:
All agencies are directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on “critical race theory,” “white privilege,” or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil. In addition, all agencies should begin to identify all available avenues within the law to cancel any such contracts and/or to divert Federal dollars away from these un-American propaganda training sessions.
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The memo started off by making reference to press reports that said the trainings push the (apparently absurd) idea that “white people benefit from racism,” but Trump was likely inspired to make this move by one report from Fox News’ head white supr emacist, Tucker Carlson.
On Wednesday, Carlson dedicated a segment on his show to talking about the tyranny of critical race theory training in federal institutions, which his guest called on Trump to “immediately abolish.”
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November can’t come soon enough.


theroot--2020-09-05--All Charges Against Curtis Flowers Dismissed After 24 Years of Trials in Mississippi

Curtis Flowers , a 50 year old Black man in Mississippi , is finally free of the murder charges he was tried for six times over the past 24 years—and in front of mostly-white juries .
On Friday , Mississippi prosecutors announced that they will not seek “ an unprecedented seventh trial of Mr.
Flowers , ” reports the New York Times .
In its court filing seeking dismissal of the charges , the attorney general ’ s office suggested that a conviction would be difficult to attain .
“ There is no key prosecution witness that incriminates Mr .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not had multiple , conflicting statements in the record , ” the prosecutors wrote , adding that there were other possible suspects .
One of the witnesses who testified against Mr .
Flowers was later convicted of tax fraud and had since died , the prosecutors wrote .
Another witness , who once claimed that Mr .
Flowers had confessed to the crime while in jail , later admitted that he had been lying , the prosecutors said .
As The Root has previously reported , Flowers was imprisoned for 23 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death for a 1996 quadruple homicide at a furniture store where he worked in Winona , Mississippi .
Despite a lack of physical evidence connecting him to the crime , Flowers ’ maintenance of his own innocence , and the fact that he did not fit the description of the assailant given by eyewitnesses , Mississippi District Attorney Doug Evans doggedly sought his conviction and imprisonment in six different trials—many of which ended in mistrials or were overturned for prosecutorial misconduct due to his deliberate exclusion of Black jurors .
In January of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case which had started getting national attention in large part due to an investigation by the podcast In The Dark .
Flowers was also granted $ 250,000 bond in late 2019 , allowing him to finally leave prison after more than two decades of imprisonment—though with the threat of yet another trial still pending .
With the complete dismissal of the charges , Flowers said on Friday , “ Today , I am finally free from the injustice that left me locked in a box for 23 years .
”

Curtis Flowers, a 50 year old Black man in Mississippi, is finally free of the murder charges he was tried for six times over the past 24 years—and in front of mostly-white juries.
On Friday, Mississippi prosecutors announced that they will not seek “an unprecedented seventh trial of Mr. Flowers,” reports the New York Times.
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From the Times:
In its court filing seeking dismissal of the charges, the attorney general’s office suggested that a conviction would be difficult to attain. “There is no key prosecution witness that incriminates Mr. Flowers who is alive and available and has not had multiple, conflicting statements in the record,” the prosecutors wrote, adding that there were other possible suspects. One of the witnesses who testified against Mr. Flowers was later convicted of tax fraud and had since died, the prosecutors wrote. Another witness, who once claimed that Mr. Flowers had confessed to the crime while in jail, later admitted that he had been lying, the prosecutors said.
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As The Root has previously reported, Flowers was imprisoned for 23 years after first being convicted and sentenced to death for a 1996 quadruple homicide at a furniture store where he worked in Winona, Mississippi.
Despite a lack of physical evidence connecting him to the crime, Flowers’ maintenance of his own innocence, and the fact that he did not fit the description of the assailant given by eyewitnesses, Mississippi District Attorney Doug Evans doggedly sought his conviction and imprisonment in six different trials—many of which ended in mistrials or were overturned for prosecutorial misconduct due to his deliberate exclusion of Black jurors.
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In January of this year, Evans recused himself from the case which had started getting national attention in large part due to an investigation by the podcast In The Dark.
Flowers was also granted $250,000 bond in late 2019, allowing him to finally leave prison after more than two decades of imprisonment—though with the threat of yet another trial still pending.
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With the complete dismissal of the charges, Flowers said on Friday, “Today, I am finally free from the injustice that left me locked in a box for 23 years.”


theroot--2020-09-06--Anita Hill Will Be Voting for Joe Biden in 2020, Opens the Door to Working With Him on Gender Issues

Exhibiting the kind of grace and foresight characteristic to Black women , Anita Hill says she will be casting her vote for Joe Biden in November and would like to work with his administration on issues of gender-based violence and discrimination .
As you ’ ll remember , Hill was relentlessly and often-derisively questioned during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991 , a hearing which Biden presided over as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee .
Biden ’ s role in the hearing , where Hill spoke of being sexually harassed by Thomas , has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apologized to Hill by phone last year in a conversation she described as “ unsatisfying , ” after which Biden publicly acknowledged his responsibility as chairman for her not being treated well during the hearings .
Biden ’ s follow-up statement of accountability seems to have turned the corner for Hill , as well as the disastrous reality of President Trump—who has been no friend to survivors of sexual violence .
“ Notwithstanding all of his limitations in the past , and the mistakes that he made in the past , notwithstanding those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump and Joe Biden , I think Joe Biden is the person who should be elected in November , ” Hill told CNN ’ s Gloria Borger .
But it ’ s not just because he ’ s running against Donald Trump , she adds .
“ Its more about the survivors of gender violence .
That ’ s really what it ’ s about.
” And if that means voting for and working with Joe Biden , then “ so be it.
” “ My commitment is to finding solutions , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with him , ” Hill said .
This moment appears to have inspired Hill to return to government , though the lawyer and academic disavowed it after her experience at the hearing in 1993—one that was echoed during the confirmation for Trump ’ s Supreme Court pick , Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 .
It ’ s beautiful that Hill , whose story forced the nation to recognize the issue of sexual harassment in all kinds of workplaces , now feels driven and willing to push for change by being more involved in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I think I can be more effective as an outsider , as opposed to an insider .
And now , I ’ m willing to evolve myself , to work for change inside , ” she said in the interview with CNN , which is part of an upcoming documentary about Biden ’ s bid for the presidency .
“ I want the next president to be somebody that I can go to and talk about the real issues that women , men , and non-binary people are experiencing with violence in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to them because of their gender.
” Kudos to Biden for earning her endorsement .

Exhibiting the kind of grace and foresight characteristic to Black women, Anita Hill says she will be casting her vote for Joe Biden in November and would like to work with his administration on issues of gender-based violence and discrimination.
As you’ll remember, Hill was relentlessly and often-derisively questioned during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991, a hearing which Biden presided over as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Biden’s role in the hearing, where Hill spoke of being sexually harassed by Thomas, has come up during his campaign. He apologized to Hill by phone last year in a conversation she described as “unsatisfying,” after which Biden publicly acknowledged his responsibility as chairman for her not being treated well during the hearings.
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Biden’s follow-up statement of accountability seems to have turned the corner for Hill, as well as the disastrous reality of President Trump—who has been no friend to survivors of sexual violence.
From CNN:
“Notwithstanding all of his limitations in the past, and the mistakes that he made in the past, notwithstanding those — at this point, between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I think Joe Biden is the person who should be elected in November,” Hill told CNN’s Gloria Borger. But it’s not just because he’s running against Donald Trump, she adds. “Its more about the survivors of gender violence. That’s really what it’s about.” And if that means voting for and working with Joe Biden, then “so be it.” “My commitment is to finding solutions, and I am more than willing to work with him,” Hill said.
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This moment appears to have inspired Hill to return to government, though the lawyer and academic disavowed it after her experience at the hearing in 1993—one that was echoed during the confirmation for Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
It’s beautiful that Hill, whose story forced the nation to recognize the issue of sexual harassment in all kinds of workplaces, now feels driven and willing to push for change by being more involved in the policy-making process.
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“I always said, I think I can be more effective as an outsider, as opposed to an insider. And now, I’m willing to evolve myself, to work for change inside,” she said in the interview with CNN, which is part of an upcoming documentary about Biden’s bid for the presidency.
“I want the next president to be somebody that I can go to and talk about the real issues that women, men, and non-binary people are experiencing with violence in this country, that’s directed to them because of their gender.”
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Kudos to Biden for earning her endorsement.