therealnews--2020-05-27--Sanitation Workers Striking For PPE And Pay Replaced By Prison Labor

Dr. Talitha LeFlouria talks with TRNN about the New Orleans sanitation strike where workers were fired and replaced by prison @ @ @ @ @ , and the historical roots of the exploitation of prison labor .

Dr. Talitha LeFlouria talks with TRNN about the New Orleans sanitation strike where workers were fired and replaced by prison labor from nearby Livingston Parish, and the historical roots of the exploitation of prison labor.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Eddie Conway: Welcome to this episode of Rattling the Bars. I’m Eddie Conway coming to you from Baltimore, Maryland for The Real News Network. We have been following this COVID-19 epidemic, or pandemic that is, for the last several months. And prisoners have been used in many ways to make masks, to dig mass graves in New York, to supply bleach and disinfectant agents for people outside. Most of which they haven’t been allowed to use.
But just recently in Louisiana, something I think that’s kind of disturbing just happened. Garbage workers protesting about the conditions that they have to work in were trying to get protection, masks, gloves, et cetera. And they went on strike and the consequences of it was they got fired and that resulted in them taking prisoners and replacing the garbage workers that are on strike.
So joining me today, Professor Talitha LeFlouria author of Chained in Silence: Black Women and Convict Labor in the New South. Professor, thanks for joining me.
Prof. Talitha L…: Thank you for the opportunity to be here.
Eddie Conway: So Talitha, could you give us an update on what’s happening in New Orleans with the striking garbage workers and the use of prison labor?
Prof. Talitha L…: Okay. So recently New Orleans sanitation workers went on strike and they were fired and they were essentially striking because they wanted PPE, personal protective equipment, and they wanted hazard pay. As we understand, garbage collection or working in the sanitation industry is very dangerous right now. And people are constantly being exposed to infection. So they wanted some compensation and some protection, but they did not receive. And so this practice of firing free laborers and replacing them with prison laborers, this is not anything new. This is not a novel practice. Prisons and jails have long used incarcerated workers to do jobs that were either too dangerous or too undesirable for free laborers to do.
And so rather than improve working conditions for free laborers, oftentimes, starting actually after emancipation with the inception of a system known as convict leasing, which I’ll discuss in a moment, free laborers were fired all the time and replaced with prison workers. And this practice, again, of exploiting prison labor for profit has its origins in a system known as convict leasing, which developed after emancipation in the Southern States.
So essentially this system involved the hiring out of state prisoners to private contractors for a fee. And it’s a system that disproportionately affected African American men and women because over 90% of the jail and prison populations of the post-Civil War South consisted of African American men and women who were disproportionally incarcerated. And essentially the penal system was used as a way to strip Black people of their rights to freedom, rights to citizenship for Black men, rights to participation, primarily affected the poor, but it was definitely a way of taking away Black people’s mobility and newfound freedom.
And so this prison labor practice, it didn’t just affect African American men. As we understand today, majority of the prison population consists of African American men, but Black women have historically and in the present been represented in disproportionate numbers. And so in the convict lease system, for example, of Georgia, which is a state that I study, African American women made up nearly 100% of the female prison population. And they were leased in this system in the same way that men were, they were forced to work in brick yards. They were forced to work in mines. They were forced to work in lumber mills. They were forced to work on plantations. They worked as lumberjacks. They worked as cooks, as washerwomen.
They did every kind of labor that she could add earthly imagine, right? All while at the same time facing sexual exploitation, unwanted pregnancies, death, and essentially the destruction of their lives. And so, if you want, I can speak a little bit more about the effects of this convict leasing system on women and tie the practice of exploiting even incarcerated women’s labor to this larger system of exploitation that we see today? [crosstalk 00:05:41]
Eddie Conway: Okay. And I do want you to talk about that in one minute, but I want to ask you another question. So who’s responsible? Is this Mayor Cantrell, or it’s just the Governor? Who’s responsible in Louisiana for one, firing garbage workers and two, employing these prison labor people? Who’s responsible for that, and how many people are involved in the actual firing? And how many prisoners? You can just give me a round number. And where are these prisoners from?
Prof. Talitha L…: There’s a little bit of confusion around who’s responsible or who’s most culpable for the firing of the sanitation workers. To my understanding, the company has a contract with the City of New Orleans. And so essentially, it seems that the city does have some responsibility. And that all of the responsibility doesn’t necessarily fall on the mayor, but as we know, these are very intricate systems, right? And they’re very layered. And so it’s a little difficult to determine who is to blame. But if you ask me, I would say that it’s the city, I would say that it’s the private company and I would say that the mayor to some extent are all in collusion together.
Eddie Conway: Mm-hmm (affirmative) Where are the prisoners from? Are they from the local jails or the Angola or the state prisons? Do you have an idea of where they’re bringing the prisoners from?
Prof. Talitha L…: So actually I believe that the prisoners are incarcerated in jails and are participating in what is known as work release. And so these are not prisoners from Angola Prison, to my understanding, these are prisoners from local jails who are working under the work release program in the city.
Eddie Conway: Okay. So talk a little bit about the history of this kind of a program and the impact that it has particularly on women prisoners, if you will.
Prof. Talitha L…: Yeah. So as I was saying, this system of exploiting prison labor for profit has its origins in the post-Civil War South. And it has its origins in a system known as convict leasing. So after emancipation every single southern state in the United States adopted this system. And essentially what it involved was the hiring out of entire prison populations by private companies from the state. So the state will lease entire felony prison population to private companies to work in a wide range of industries like the railroad industry and the brick-making industry, in mining, turpentine, the agricultural industry. And it was a practice that disproportionately affected, again, African American men and women who made up the majority of the prison and jail population of the post-Civil War South.
And so, as one would expect, and even as it is today, majority of the prisoners in the system were men, but there were a disproportionate number of African American women who were also incarcerated and exploited and whose labor was exploited under the system. As I mentioned before, nearly 100% of the female prison population of the State of Georgia, which is the state that I study, consisted of African American women who were forced to do the same kind of work as men. So it was not unusual to see a woman working in a brick factory. It wasn’t unusual to see a woman working in a mine or chopping lumber, or in some cases there were even Black women who were forced to work as blacksmiths.
In the case of one woman named Maddie Crawford, Maddie Crawford was convicted of murder. She killed her stepfather, who she claimed abused her. And it’s unclear whether he was physically or sexually abusing her, but she said that she couldn’t take it anymore. So she took his life and the state sent her to a brickyard and she was forced to work in the brick-making industry but to also work as a blacksmith.
There were also women like Ella Gamble, whose story is one of the most tragic stories that I’ve come across in my research. Ella Gamble when she was young was incarcerated for allegedly poisoning her employer and sent to work in not one but three different prison factories and on a plantation. She was incarcerated for 20 years. And during that period of time, she was raped repeatedly. She gave birth to four children in captivity. And when she was finally released from Georgia’s penal system, it was because she had developed cancer of the bladder, womb and rectum, and was of no longer value to state, she could no longer produce labor for the state and so they released her on those terms.
And so there were also thousands of African American prisoners, including women, who were forced to work on chain gangs. These were not people who were convicted of felony crimes, or even major crimes, they were convicted of nonviolent offenses, such as larceny, stealing an orange could result in being forced to work on a chain gang, building a road. And people experienced the most brutal violence that you can ever imagine. And so Maddie Crawford and Ella Gamble just represent thousands of incarcerated Black women, and men, whose labor was exploited by the souther states.
And so this practice of exploitation continues today, as we see in the case of prison laborers who are now working for only 13% of the pay the sanitation workers were making. So for example, incarcerated workers who have replaced sanitation workers only make $1.33 an hour. Okay? And they’re not being offered any PPE. They’re not being offered any hazard pay. And so they’re being exploited. They’re being exploited. But it’s a double edged sword because what’s the alternative? To sit in a jail cell all day long? To be afraid of contracting COVID in an overcrowded cell block where over 100 people are crammed together like sardines?
Eddie Conway: Well tell me, what can the public do to either expose this or put a stop to it? Is there any avenues that the general public can use? Even our audience?
Prof. Talitha L…: Mm-hmm (affirmative) You know, I think there are a number of things that we can do to support incarcerated workers. First of all, one thing that we can do is to join incarcerated workers in their protests against the injustices that they’re facing. The 2018 incarcerated workers strike is an excellent illustration of how incarcerated workers are fighting to stop what many of them refer to as prison slavery. So we can support incarcerated workers by getting more involved. There’s an organization known as the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, and it’s participating in a continuous struggle to combat the injustices that incarcerated workers face all over this country.
And one of the injustices that they’re attempting to address is the denial of a living wage. So incarcerated people are having wealth extracted from their labor, but they’re not even being provided a living wage. And they don’t even have access to jobs when they leave prison or jail. So it’s not as though these occupations are preparing them for future employment.
Another suggestion could be to boycott companies that profit off of prison labor. I believe that here as a recent, many popular media outlets have done a really great job of exposing the various companies that are indeed profiting off of prison. So boycotting those companies to whatever extent that we can and demanding that incarcerated workers be provided a living wage. Those are two ways that we can join in the fight.
Eddie Conway: Mm-hmm (affirmative) Well, what would you say, years ago while I was in prison I, back in the early ’70s, organized the United Prisoners Labor Union, and actually we were adopted by 1199 E the union that Dr. Martin Luther King ended up getting assassinated [crosstalk 00:15:32]. What would you say about prisoners private debt level of prison labor being organized as a way forward? Because obviously it’s about money and if you could get a minimum wage for prisoners, they would no longer be valuable to the state or to the people hiring them.
Prof. Talitha L…: There you go.
Eddie Conway: What do you think about that as a way forward?
Prof. Talitha L…: I think that’s an excellent suggestion, forming prison labor unions. I wouldn’t know much about how to implement that. But as a suggestion, I think it’s wonderful. And if you were willing to say more about how people can organize within the prisons and create unions and how people on the outside can support the creation of those unions, that’s something that I would love to hear and would love to be able to get behind. And I think it’s an excellent suggestion. I think it’s a wonderful way forward. As much as we can do to empower incarcerated workers the better. Because the bottom line is these private companies, these states, they’re making money. I don’t think that this country will go out of this way to incarcerate as many people as it does and to hold people in this system of captivity if it wasn’t profitable. I just don’t buy this narrative that, “Prisons are not profitable.” Well, yeah, they are to the companies that exploit prison labor.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Well, it looks like that we might be in for a long winter and I don’t know what’s going to happen with the garbage workers. But perhaps you can kind of like keep an eye on it and get back in touch with us and let us know if there’s new developments and it’s things that we can report on. We would like to make sure it’s being covered.
Prof. Talitha L…: I will be glad to do that.
Eddie Conway: Okay, so thank you for joining me.
Prof. Talitha L…: Thank you for having me. This was a pleasure.
Eddie Conway: Okay. And thank you for joining this episode of Rattling the Bars.
Studio: Cameron Granadino
Production: Cameron Granadino, Ericka Blount Danois
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therealnews--2020-05-27--Stir Crazy! Episode #41: Stand Up, Fight Back

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Jaisal is currently the Democracy Initiative Manager at the Solutions Journalism Network and is a former TRNN host, producer, and reporter. He mainly grew up in the Baltimore area and studied modern history at the University of Maryland, College Park. Before joining TRNN, he contributed print, radio, and TV reports to Free Speech Radio News, Democracy Now! and The Indypendent. Jaisal's mother has taught in the Baltimore City Public School system for the past 25 years. Follow him on Twitter @jaisalnoor.


therealnews--2020-05-27--NYU Response To Grad Student Sickout Puts Fall Semester In Question

On May 6-8 , NYU ’ s graduate students held a three-day sickout to try and force the administration to commit to additional financial support for students in the wake of the novel coronavirus .
The students of NYU are echoing the demands of students at other universities : summer funding , a one-year extension of current funding packages , committing to not have a hiring freeze , and support for undocumented students .
But NYU ’ s refusal to engage with the graduate students is especially galling given the university ’ s endowment is , by its own accounting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aid , Relief , and Economic Security ( CARES ) Act provides an additional $ 25 million of emergency funding for the school .
Sarah Sklaw , 28 , is a doctoral student in the Department of History and a member of the student activist group NYU COVID Coalition .
She said the university ’ s reaction to the spread of coronavirus was , from the beginning , ill-thought out and confusingly communicated .
On March 16 , NYU President Andrew Hamilton sent out a memo to the NYU community saying all NYU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , giving students less than a week to move their belongings and arrange for stays elsewhere .
The university would pro-rate rent and utilities accordingly .
The university offers housing at Stuyvesant Town , also known as StuyTown , to a limited number of graduate students .
The complex is a housing option on the university ’ s website .
For graduate students who found the housing through NYU , it seemed obvious this residence was NYU housing .
Students went about the difficult and expensive task of vacating .
A March 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students they did not need to vacate , but could do so if they chose and pay pro-rated rent .
A day later , an email from NYU ’ s Senior AVP of Student Affairs , Tom Ellet , told confused graduate students in StuyTown this memo did not apply to them and their rent would not be pro-rated .
A student I spoke with who was trying to break their lease received only silence and , of course , a bill .
Graduate students said the move-out was just one example of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students , and why they have lost faith in NYU ’ s ability to respond to the pandemic .
The university , which has campuses in Shanghai and Abu Dhabi , touts itself as part of a global community in its promotional material .
Now , some graduate students—both in New York City and abroad—are finding themselves financially stranded and unsure if they should , or even can , return to teach .
For students stuck outside the New York area , NYU is offering students the ability to “ attend ” the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ option comes without any tuition decrease .
Before the sickout , NYU created an emergency fund in response to students ’ financial concerns granting up to $ 500 per qualified person .
The university quickly solicited alumni for donations .
Students who applied in the first week or two would sometimes get some of the cash .
But according to NYU ’ s graduate student union , GSOC , people who applied around April 27 or later had their applications rejected en masse on May 12 .
NYU did not respond to repeated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The graduate student union is affiliated with the United Auto Workers .
Its current contract has a no-strike clause—meaning the union could not sanction the sickout .
The sickout came on the heels of strikes at the University of California campuses , which were also done without union approval .
The New School in New York had its own undergrad and graduate student strike , resulting in commitments from the university to lower tuition , a reduction in administrators ’ salaries , continued payments to cafeteria staff , among others .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this summer , calling into question whether they will show up to teach and grade for undergraduate classes in the fall .
According to Bhumika Chauhan , an international graduate student in the Department of Sociology , the university ’ s failure to respond to the coalition ’ s demands means a “ strike seems to be the only real way that we can actually put pressure on NYU .
Right now , it doesn ’ t seem like NYU is really listening.
” Chauhan was unable to leave New York and do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Usually , she and her husband sublet their apartment in the summer .
Now , they have to bear the cost of a New York apartment , despite not having guaranteed summer funding .
Additionally , Chauhan ’ s visa restricts where she can work .
For most international students , the easiest place to work is for their university .
But if NYU returns to in-person classes in the fall , Chauhan said she is “ absolutely not ” comfortable with in-person teaching .
Having worked as a teaching assistant in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of social distancing on campus .
She said , “ NYU has said this many times : They have a space issue.
” If NYU is looking for graduate workers to reassure undergraduates about returning to campus , it seems clear that will not be the case .
Hayeun Kim , 19 , is a junior in the Department of History .
As an undergraduate , her tuition is $ 54,882 a year .
Kim said she relies on a combination of financial aid and scholarships to afford tuition normally .
Because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campus rather than commute .
That brings Kim ’ s total up to at least $ 74,126 a year .
If the university does not offer a reduction for the upcoming year , Kim said , “ I don ’ t see why I would ever pay as much as NYU ’ s tuition is to attend online courses or even the social distancing classes .
The resources are not going to be the same.
” Sklaw said she would not recommend students enroll for the fall semester after seeing NYU ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrew Hamilton makes close to $ 2 million annually and has not announced plans to take a pay cut despite highlighting the financial toll of the pandemic on the university .

On May 6-8, NYU’s graduate students held a three-day sickout to try and force the administration to commit to additional financial support for students in the wake of the novel coronavirus.
The students of NYU are echoing the demands of students at other universities: summer funding, a one-year extension of current funding packages, committing to not have a hiring freeze, and support for undocumented students. But NYU’s refusal to engage with the graduate students is especially galling given the university’s endowment is, by its own accounting, $4.3 billion. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides an additional $25 million of emergency funding for the school.
Sarah Sklaw, 28, is a doctoral student in the Department of History and a member of the student activist group NYU COVID Coalition. She said the university’s reaction to the spread of coronavirus was, from the beginning, ill-thought out and confusingly communicated.
On March 16, NYU President Andrew Hamilton sent out a memo to the NYU community saying all NYU residences would be closed by May 22, giving students less than a week to move their belongings and arrange for stays elsewhere. The university would pro-rate rent and utilities accordingly. The university offers housing at Stuyvesant Town, also known as StuyTown, to a limited number of graduate students. The complex is a housing option on the university’s website. For graduate students who found the housing through NYU, it seemed obvious this residence was NYU housing. Students went about the difficult and expensive task of vacating.
A March 18 email from NYU grad housing then told students they did not need to vacate, but could do so if they chose and pay pro-rated rent. A day later, an email from NYU’s Senior AVP of Student Affairs, Tom Ellet, told confused graduate students in StuyTown this memo did not apply to them and their rent would not be pro-rated. A student I spoke with who was trying to break their lease received only silence and, of course, a bill.
Graduate students said the move-out was just one example of the ways NYU failed to work with students, and why they have lost faith in NYU’s ability to respond to the pandemic.
The university, which has campuses in Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, touts itself as part of a global community in its promotional material. Now, some graduate students—both in New York City and abroad—are finding themselves financially stranded and unsure if they should, or even can, return to teach.
For students stuck outside the New York area, NYU is offering students the ability to “attend” the university at local satellite locations. This option comes without any tuition decrease.
Before the sickout, NYU created an emergency fund in response to students’ financial concerns granting up to $500 per qualified person. The university quickly solicited alumni for donations.
Students who applied in the first week or two would sometimes get some of the cash. But according to NYU’s graduate student union, GSOC, people who applied around April 27 or later had their applications rejected en masse on May 12. NYU did not respond to repeated request for comment on the emergency fund.
The graduate student union is affiliated with the United Auto Workers. Its current contract has a no-strike clause—meaning the union could not sanction the sickout.
The sickout came on the heels of strikes at the University of California campuses, which were also done without union approval. The New School in New York had its own undergrad and graduate student strike, resulting in commitments from the university to lower tuition, a reduction in administrators’ salaries, continued payments to cafeteria staff, among others.
The current contract for NYU graduate workers ends this summer, calling into question whether they will show up to teach and grade for undergraduate classes in the fall. According to Bhumika Chauhan, an international graduate student in the Department of Sociology, the university’s failure to respond to the coalition’s demands means a “strike seems to be the only real way that we can actually put pressure on NYU. Right now, it doesn’t seem like NYU is really listening.”
Chauhan was unable to leave New York and do her field research over the summer. Usually, she and her husband sublet their apartment in the summer. Now, they have to bear the cost of a New York apartment, despite not having guaranteed summer funding. Additionally, Chauhan’s visa restricts where she can work.
For most international students, the easiest place to work is for their university. But if NYU returns to in-person classes in the fall, Chauhan said she is “absolutely not” comfortable with in-person teaching. Having worked as a teaching assistant in the past, Chauhan brought up the difficulty of social distancing on campus. She said, “NYU has said this many times: They have a space issue.”
If NYU is looking for graduate workers to reassure undergraduates about returning to campus, it seems clear that will not be the case.
Hayeun Kim, 19, is a junior in the Department of History. As an undergraduate, her tuition is $54,882 a year. Kim said she relies on a combination of financial aid and scholarships to afford tuition normally. Because of a disability she needs to stay on campus rather than commute. That brings Kim’s total up to at least $74,126 a year.
If the university does not offer a reduction for the upcoming year, Kim said, “I don’t see why I would ever pay as much as NYU’s tuition is to attend online courses or even the social distancing classes. The resources are not going to be the same.”
Sklaw said she would not recommend students enroll for the fall semester after seeing NYU’s response to the pandemic.
NYU President Andrew Hamilton makes close to $2 million annually and has not announced plans to take a pay cut despite highlighting the financial toll of the pandemic on the university.
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therealnews--2020-05-27--Handcuffed Man Dies After Minneapolis Cop Kneels On His Neck

Stephen Janis is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work has been acclaimed both in print and on television .
As @ @ @ @ @ the now defunct Baltimore Examiner , he won two Maryland DC Delaware Press Association Awards @ @ @ @ @ number of unsolved murders in Baltimore and the killings of prostitutes .
His…

Host & Producer
Stephen Janis is an award winning investigative reporter turned documentary filmmaker. His first feature film, The Friendliest Town was distributed by Gravitas Ventures and won an award of distinction from The Impact Doc Film Festival, and a humanitarian award from The Indie Film Fest. He is the co-host and creator of The Police Accountability Report on The Real News Network, which has received more than 10,000,000 views on YouTube. His work as a reporter has been featured on a variety of national shows including the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries, Dead of Night on Investigation Discovery Channel, Relentless on NBC, and Sins of the City on TV One.
He has co-authored several books on policing, corruption, and the root causes of violence including Why Do We Kill: The Pathology of Murder in Baltimore and You Can’t Stop Murder: Truths about Policing in Baltimore and Beyond. He is also the co-host of the true crime podcast Land of the Unsolved. Prior to joining The Real News, Janis won three Capital Emmys for investigative series working as an investigative producer for WBFF. Follow him on Twitter.


therealnews--2020-05-28--Stir Crazy! Episode #42: “A Riot is the Language of the Unheard”

Visual Producer (former)
Raised in southern New Jersey outside Philadelphia, and now residing in Baltimore Maryland, Andrew Corkery worked as a Visual Producer / Editor/ Researcher for the Real News Network. Prior to that he worked for nearly four years as Video Editor for CBS 3 Eyewitness News, and an Investigative Journalist for Spirit News both in Philadelphia. He graduated from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in May of 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in Digital Media. While in college Andrew completed a media education and co op work program at CAPA London, working as a researcher and video editor for COAST, a digital strategy and brand film content production company.
Andrew maintains a relentlessly keen interest in all things geopolitics in almost every corner of the globe. He has since applied this passion and interest to his creative and investigative work as a producer, editor, journalist and videographer. One of his most impactful pieces focused on a story outlining how to combat Islamophobia in communities across the world, articulating the differences between Radical Islamists and the vast majority of people who follow Islam, while showing the many layers of nuance, both in politics and religion more broadly. That Story, "Islam in the Riverwards: PART 1 AND 2," along with "Being Black in Bridesburg", a story highlighting the impacts and legacy of racial injustice in a largely white community within Philadelphia, were both published in Spirit News and later featured in write ups from The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine.
With Andrew's career expanding experience of living and working abroad in mind, he recognizes the importance of staying connected to the world. The cornerstones of Andrew's work can always be found in uncovering the expansive impact of global events and political issues, while relating them to people's everyday lives, through the mediums of online video, film and writing. Finally, Andrew is currently the Lead Singer and Member Manager of a successful original alternative rock band called Shadowplay, based in Mt. Laurel, NJ, founded in 2008 at Lenape High School. The band has since performed over 200 shows, including performances at such festivals as SXSW, and opening up for bands like Tracy Guns, Weitz and The Parlor Mob.


therealnews--2020-05-29--Stir Crazy! Episode #43: We Can’t Breathe

Executive Producer
Eddie Conway is an Executive Producer of The Real News Network. He is the host of the TRNN show Rattling the Bars. He is Chairman of the Board of Ida B's Restaurant, and the author of two books: Marshall Law: The Life & Times of a Baltimore Black Panther and The Greatest Threat: The Black Panther Party and COINTELPRO. A former member of the Black Panther Party, Eddie Conway is an internationally known political prisoner for over 43 years, a long time prisoners' rights organizer in Maryland, the co-founder of the Friend of a Friend mentoring program, and the President of Tubman House Inc. of Baltimore. He is a national and international speaker and has several degrees.


therealnews--2020-05-29--Baltimore Mayoral Candidate Wants to Limit Mayoral Power

Baltimore ’ s upcoming primary election will be notable and not just because residents will primarily vote by mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
The mayoral election on June 2 comes after a massive corruption scandal led to a federal indictment against the previously-elected mayor in 2019 .
As a result of that corruption scandal , there is a heated debate over whether the city should reform its “ Strong Mayor ” system of governance that gives more power to Baltimore ’ s City executive than any other major city , offers few checks on their power and many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One leading mayoral candidate , City Council President Brandon Scott , is opposed to Baltimore ’ s “ Strong Mayor ” system which is favored by business interests , and features limiting the power of the office he is seeking as part of his campaign .
“ I used to think the system was fine and we just had bad mayors , but now I ’ ve grown to know that our system is broken and needs to be changed , ” Scott , who has served on the council since 2011 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his city council allies proposed a number of reforms to Baltimore ’ s governing document , the City Charter , to make the mayor more accountable to the city council by distributing control over city spending , and by making it easier to override the mayor ’ s decisions or impeach a mayor charged of a crime .
“ I ’ m not running for mayor of Baltimore so I can have all the power , ” Scott said .
“ Even plugging great people into a broken system means they are doomed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 Baltimore Sun/University of Baltimore/WYPR poll , Scott is polling at 15 % .
He trails Democratic primary candidates former Mayor Sheila Dixon—who was convicted of embezzlement herself in 2009 , resigned in 2010 , and is now running again—and millionaire finance executive Mary Miller , who are both polling at 18 % .
22 % of voters said they remained undecided , and the poll ’ s margin for error is 4.9 % .
In a deep blue city like Baltimore , the Democratic primary is the deciding election .
Currently no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baltimore has not had a Republican mayor since 1967 .
The charter reforms faced a setback on May 18 when current Mayor Bernard C. “ Jack ” Young—who replaced Pugh following the scandal—vetoed two reforms that would make it easier to override a mayoral veto , including reducing the number of votes required from 12 to 10 of the council ’ s 15 members .
“ What was vetoed would have simply put us in line with other neighboring jurisdictions , ” said Scott .
“ This is about building a better system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on her support of a $ 15 minimum wage bill only to veto that legislation once in office under intense pressure from the business lobby .
The council was unable to muster the votes necessary to override that veto .
Baltimore ’ s mayor controls three of five seats on the city ’ s spending board , the Board of Estimates ( BOE ) , which approves city contracts greater than $ 100,000 ( the other two votes on the BOE are the city comptroller and city council president , who are selected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was revealed that then-mayor Catherine Pugh sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of her self-published “ Healthy Holly ” children ’ s books to entities that did business with the city .
Those contracts were approved by the BOE .
“ I am working to weaken the control of the mayor over the BOE because we know it has been used for corruption , ” said Scott .
“ You have to learn from your mistakes and make it extremely hard for anyone else to repeat them.
” The mayor also sets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s City Council does not have the power to appropriate any funding .
Another proposed charter amendment would give the Council the power to appropriate money in the budget .
Along with making it easier for the council to override a mayor ’ s veto , the proposals would create a city administrator to oversee day-to-day operations , grant the council to add money to the budget , and reduce the power of the mayor to approve city spending proposals , and give the council the power to remove a sitting mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serving three years in prison for her role in “ Healthy Holly , ” but the unraveling scandal shed light on the power Baltimore ’ s mayor wields , and how few checks on that power exist .
Pugh stayed in power despite weeks of growing calls for her resignation , and seven days after a high profile FBI raid on City Hall , because no legal mechanism exists to remove a sitting mayor absent a criminal conviction .
Lawrence Brown , author of the forthcoming book “ The Black Butterfly : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America , ” argues that to fight corruption , Baltimore must reduce the power of the mayor , and invest in racial equity .
“ You have a city that spends more on policing than it does on health , housing , art , parks , workforce development and Civil Rights combined , ” Brown said .
“ Can Baltimore dismantle its own apartheid to create a city where racial equity is a reality ?
” After decades of disinvestment , Baltimore ’ s African-American neighborhoods experience dramatically lower wealth , income and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brown argues for participatory budgeting , which gives residents a direct say in how a portion of the city budget is used , but is not included in the current proposed reforms .
“ There ’ s no way fulfil the practice of racial equity if you have an apartheid budget in place , ” Brown said .
Scott says he would consider implementing participatory budgeting if elected , particularly in capital expenditures , which he said tend to be the most inequitable .
“ In Baltimore for every year I have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the failure of our young people instead of their promise , and we need to flip that around , ” Scott said .

Baltimore’s upcoming primary election will be notable and not just because residents will primarily vote by mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mayoral election on June 2 comes after a massive corruption scandal led to a federal indictment against the previously-elected mayor in 2019. As a result of that corruption scandal, there is a heated debate over whether the city should reform its “Strong Mayor” system of governance that gives more power to Baltimore’s City executive than any other major city, offers few checks on their power and many argue, enabled the 2019 scandal.
One leading mayoral candidate, City Council President Brandon Scott, is opposed to Baltimore’s “Strong Mayor” system which is favored by business interests, and features limiting the power of the office he is seeking as part of his campaign.
“I used to think the system was fine and we just had bad mayors, but now I’ve grown to know that our system is broken and needs to be changed,” Scott, who has served on the council since 2011, told The Real News.
Scott and his city council allies proposed a number of reforms to Baltimore’s governing document, the City Charter, to make the mayor more accountable to the city council by distributing control over city spending, and by making it easier to override the mayor’s decisions or impeach a mayor charged of a crime.
“I’m not running for mayor of Baltimore so I can have all the power,” Scott said. “Even plugging great people into a broken system means they are doomed to fail.”
According to a May 20 Baltimore Sun/University of Baltimore/WYPR poll, Scott is polling at 15%. He trails Democratic primary candidates former Mayor Sheila Dixon—who was convicted of embezzlement herself in 2009, resigned in 2010, and is now running again—and millionaire finance executive Mary Miller, who are both polling at 18%. 22% of voters said they remained undecided, and the poll’s margin for error is 4.9%.
In a deep blue city like Baltimore, the Democratic primary is the deciding election. Currently no Republican candidates have garnered much support and Baltimore has not had a Republican mayor since 1967.
The charter reforms faced a setback on May 18 when current Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young—who replaced Pugh following the scandal—vetoed two reforms that would make it easier to override a mayoral veto, including reducing the number of votes required from 12 to 10 of the council’s 15 members.
“What was vetoed would have simply put us in line with other neighboring jurisdictions,” said Scott. “This is about building a better system of governance for Baltimore.”
Pugh campaigned on her support of a $15 minimum wage bill only to veto that legislation once in office under intense pressure from the business lobby. The council was unable to muster the votes necessary to override that veto.
Baltimore’s mayor controls three of five seats on the city’s spending board, the Board of Estimates (BOE), which approves city contracts greater than $100,000 (the other two votes on the BOE are the city comptroller and city council president, who are selected by voters).
In 2019, it was revealed that then-mayor Catherine Pugh sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of her self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s books to entities that did business with the city. Those contracts were approved by the BOE.
“I am working to weaken the control of the mayor over the BOE because we know it has been used for corruption,” said Scott. “You have to learn from your mistakes and make it extremely hard for anyone else to repeat them.”
The mayor also sets the budget. Unlike Congress, Baltimore’s City Council does not have the power to appropriate any funding. Another proposed charter amendment would give the Council the power to appropriate money in the budget.
Along with making it easier for the council to override a mayor’s veto, the proposals would create a city administrator to oversee day-to-day operations, grant the council to add money to the budget, and reduce the power of the mayor to approve city spending proposals, and give the council the power to remove a sitting mayor.
Former Mayor Catherine Pugh is now serving three years in prison for her role in “Healthy Holly,” but the unraveling scandal shed light on the power Baltimore’s mayor wields, and how few checks on that power exist. Pugh stayed in power despite weeks of growing calls for her resignation, and seven days after a high profile FBI raid on City Hall, because no legal mechanism exists to remove a sitting mayor absent a criminal conviction.
Lawrence Brown, author of the forthcoming book “The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America,” argues that to fight corruption, Baltimore must reduce the power of the mayor, and invest in racial equity.
“You have a city that spends more on policing than it does on health, housing, art, parks, workforce development and Civil Rights combined,” Brown said. “Can Baltimore dismantle its own apartheid to create a city where racial equity is a reality?”
After decades of disinvestment, Baltimore’s African-American neighborhoods experience dramatically lower wealth, income and life expectancies. To correct this, Brown argues for participatory budgeting, which gives residents a direct say in how a portion of the city budget is used, but is not included in the current proposed reforms.
“There’s no way fulfil the practice of racial equity if you have an apartheid budget in place,” Brown said.
Scott says he would consider implementing participatory budgeting if elected, particularly in capital expenditures, which he said tend to be the most inequitable.
“In Baltimore for every year I have been alive, they have been investing in the failure of our young people instead of their promise, and we need to flip that around,” Scott said.
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therealnews--2020-05-29--Essential Remittances To Africa Devastated By Coronavirus Pandemic

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Kim Brown : Welcome to The Real News .
I ’ m Kim Brown .
As reports of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic continue to grow many African countries are witnessing the slowdown of remittances from guest workers in foreign countries .
With seasonal workers unable to travel and guest workers already in host countries out of work , how can they , the workers , continue to send remittances upon which millions of families depend on to survive ?
Well , joining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leonce Ndikumana .
He teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst .
He ’ s also the Director of the African Development Policy Program at the Political Economy Research Institute and he ’ s also a member of the U.N. Committee on Development Policy .
He co-authored the book Capital Flight From Africa : Causes , Effects , and Policy Issues .
He joins us today from Amherst , Massachusetts .
Professor , thank you so much for being here .
Leonce Ndimuman… : Thank you very much for the opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So professor in your opinion , in view of your research on capital flows to and from African countries , what is the likely impact of shrinking remittances on the financial health of the African region and individual countries as a whole ?
Leonce Ndimuman… : Thank you very much .
This is a great question .
And as you said to give talks , give it context it is important to put this in the context of development financing , capital flows from and to African countries .
What we have seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries have been able to receive an increasing amount of foreign capital flows , including remittances , FDI , foreign direct investment and official government aid .
In many countries remittances make a big proportion of the resources are coming from the rest of the world , which end up supplementing domestic resources and other forms of foreign capital flows .
In some countries to give an idea in Egypt , for example , remittances amount to near almost 27 billion as estimated in 2018 , the amount is about 24 billion in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kenya .
But for some countries in relative terms , remittances make a big part of the resources in a big fraction of GDP .
So for example , for South Sudan , remittances are 34 % of GDP .
For Lesotho 21 % .
For Senegal , 10 % .
Now to understand what is likely to be the impact of the Coronavirus and the global economic crisis on remittances and on these economies it ’ s important to understand a couple of things about these economies .
First of all , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exchange to afford their imports .
Many of them are dependent on imports of critical commodities , critical imports , including food .
Secondary , these economies are , have a large fraction of the population , which rely on the informal economy .
So when the crisis hit and its national trade declined and movement on goods and people is curtailed there are people are not going to be able to survive because their income depends on informal activities that need to be done on a daily basis .
So their income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t go in the market , they don ’ t work , they don ’ t get income .
If they don ’ t go to do their temporary jobs they don ’ t get an income .
And in many families you have one person supporting a large number of children , of relatives and so on .
The other important feature is that the remittances make , it ’ s a big way or it ’ s a method of softening the shocks on household income .
So when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people lose their jobs , migrant remittances are the source that are the resources that allow them to sustain their consumption , to keep , to send kids to school , to send people for medical treatment .
So if we ’ re going to see a decline in remittances that has substantial impact on household consumption , on household healthcare services , on children being able to go to work , to school .
What we also see is that the sources of these remittances are quite concentrated mostly from Europe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For example , countries like Zambia , Senegal , no Zambia , Lesotho , Zimbabwe have remittances coming from South Africa , which make a big chunk of their revenue or remittances revenue .
So as the South African economy is weakening then we ’ re going to see people losing jobs .
And this will translate into reduction in remittances .
As we see European economies shrinking in terms of their growth rates , this is going to , it means people losing their jobs .
It means that less income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to underscore the fact that although there is a large fraction of African migrants who are highly educated , there is also a large , a substantial fraction who are low skill workers who depend on the kinds of jobs that have been severely hit by the vital crisis like in tourism industry , hotels , restaurants , transportation .
We have many people from Africa who are in the transportation business as taxi drivers , Uber drivers .
Those are suffering major losses in their income and they are the breadwinners in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters of their relatives who remained back home .
So I think if this crisis is going to last this will have a major impact on African economies , on African households .
Kim Brown : So can this drop in foreign remittances possibly result in the collapse of exchange value of certain African currencies and possibly even result in hyperinflation ?
Leonce Ndimuman… : One of the negative impact of a declining foreign capital inflows , whether it is remittances , FDI and aid is that the reserve of foreign exchange declines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a less foreign exchange on the market , which means that the domestic currency is going to depreciate .
It loses value , which means that people with fixed income are able to afford less with the same income .
The goods that are going to be more expensive .
And this is going to be magnified by the fact that the declining trade in international trade means that less goods are available on the domestic market because imports decline .
And this is going to be able to make the cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the households .
We ’ re already hearing news about people seeing prices on the market increasing on a daily basis and this is going to continue , unfortunately .
Kim Brown : And lastly professor , we know Africa is an enormous continent .
It is not a monolith .
Each government in country operates individually .
Which nations have a social safety net perhaps in place for its citizens given the fact that these remittances are dependent upon by so many ?
And now with the sudden drop in remittances because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prepared to offset those economic losses to help people maintain and survive ?
Who does it best in your opinion ?
Leonce Ndimuman… : That ’ s a very interesting question .
I think to get a perspective of the challenges faced by government to support households , look at the US first .
See how many households are suffering , who lost their jobs and who are left stranded .
Even if we are talking about the country , the biggest economy , the biggest budget and so on and still we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support , the government is not able to support all the people who lost their jobs .
In African governments , in African countries , I can ’ t see anyone , any country who has the resources to support the massive losses of income , of jobs , to support households .
There is simply no fiscal space .
As we said , the budgets are too small and many countries already entered in this crisis already with high budget deficits and revenue is going to decline if the crisis hit severely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that in terms of number of confirmed cases , they are still low in majority of countries , granted that we don ’ t have the , many of them have limited the testing capacity .
So the numbers may be a little bit off , but it is the case that if in the event African countries were to go to see an increase in the COVID cases this would dramatically affect employment in African countries .
Many people would lose jobs .
I don ’ t see an African government that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any significant fiscal intervention .
Kim Brown : All right , we ’ re going to have to leave the conversation there .
We ’ ve been speaking with professor Leonce Ndikumana .
He teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst .
We ’ ve been discussing the sudden drop in remittances that African nations have been receiving from foreign workers abroad working as guest workers , and many nations , many families depend on these remittances for daily survival .
So professor , hopefully we ’ ll check in with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been any change or perhaps improvement in the situation .
But we do appreciate your time today .
Thanks a lot .
Leonce Ndimuman… : Thank you very much .
And stay well .
Kim Brown : You do the same , sir .
And thank you for watching The Real News Network .

Families dependent on remittances from seasonal workers are facing a crisis, even in countries without widespread COVID-19 cases.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Kim Brown: Welcome to The Real News. I’m Kim Brown. As reports of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic continue to grow many African countries are witnessing the slowdown of remittances from guest workers in foreign countries. With seasonal workers unable to travel and guest workers already in host countries out of work, how can they, the workers, continue to send remittances upon which millions of families depend on to survive? Well, joining us to discuss this today is Professor Leonce Ndikumana. He teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He’s also the Director of the African Development Policy Program at the Political Economy Research Institute and he’s also a member of the U.N. Committee on Development Policy. He co-authored the book Capital Flight From Africa: Causes, Effects, and Policy Issues. He joins us today from Amherst, Massachusetts. Professor, thank you so much for being here.
Leonce Ndimuman…: Thank you very much for the opportunity to join you.
Kim Brown: So professor in your opinion, in view of your research on capital flows to and from African countries, what is the likely impact of shrinking remittances on the financial health of the African region and individual countries as a whole?
Leonce Ndimuman…: Thank you very much. This is a great question. And as you said to give talks, give it context it is important to put this in the context of development financing, capital flows from and to African countries. What we have seen over the past decade is that African countries have been able to receive an increasing amount of foreign capital flows, including remittances, FDI, foreign direct investment and official government aid. In many countries remittances make a big proportion of the resources are coming from the rest of the world, which end up supplementing domestic resources and other forms of foreign capital flows. In some countries to give an idea in Egypt, for example, remittances amount to near almost 27 billion as estimated in 2018, the amount is about 24 billion in Nigeria, two to three billion in Kenya. But for some countries in relative terms, remittances make a big part of the resources in a big fraction of GDP.
So for example, for South Sudan, remittances are 34% of GDP. For Lesotho 21%. For Senegal, 10%. Now to understand what is likely to be the impact of the Coronavirus and the global economic crisis on remittances and on these economies it’s important to understand a couple of things about these economies. First of all, these are economies that depend on foreign exchange to afford their imports. Many of them are dependent on imports of critical commodities, critical imports, including food. Secondary, these economies are, have a large fraction of the population, which rely on the informal economy. So when the crisis hit and its national trade declined and movement on goods and people is curtailed there are people are not going to be able to survive because their income depends on informal activities that need to be done on a daily basis. So their income is a daily income. If they don’t go in the market, they don’t work, they don’t get income. If they don’t go to do their temporary jobs they don’t get an income. And in many families you have one person supporting a large number of children, of relatives and so on.
The other important feature is that the remittances make, it’s a big way or it’s a method of softening the shocks on household income. So when crops don’t grow, when people lose their jobs, migrant remittances are the source that are the resources that allow them to sustain their consumption, to keep, to send kids to school, to send people for medical treatment. So if we’re going to see a decline in remittances that has substantial impact on household consumption, on household healthcare services, on children being able to go to work, to school.
What we also see is that the sources of these remittances are quite concentrated mostly from Europe, the US and from other African countries. For example, countries like Zambia, Senegal, no Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe have remittances coming from South Africa, which make a big chunk of their revenue or remittances revenue. So as the South African economy is weakening then we’re going to see people losing jobs. And this will translate into reduction in remittances. As we see European economies shrinking in terms of their growth rates, this is going to, it means people losing their jobs. It means that less income and less remittances.
We have also to underscore the fact that although there is a large fraction of African migrants who are highly educated, there is also a large, a substantial fraction who are low skill workers who depend on the kinds of jobs that have been severely hit by the vital crisis like in tourism industry, hotels, restaurants, transportation. We have many people from Africa who are in the transportation business as taxi drivers, Uber drivers. Those are suffering major losses in their income and they are the breadwinners in their households. And they are the supporters of their relatives who remained back home. So I think if this crisis is going to last this will have a major impact on African economies, on African households.
Kim Brown: So can this drop in foreign remittances possibly result in the collapse of exchange value of certain African currencies and possibly even result in hyperinflation?
Leonce Ndimuman…: One of the negative impact of a declining foreign capital inflows, whether it is remittances, FDI and aid is that the reserve of foreign exchange declines in the country, which means there is a less foreign exchange on the market, which means that the domestic currency is going to depreciate. It loses value, which means that people with fixed income are able to afford less with the same income. The goods that are going to be more expensive. And this is going to be magnified by the fact that the declining trade in international trade means that less goods are available on the domestic market because imports decline. And this is going to be able to make the cost of living increase for the majority of the households. We’re already hearing news about people seeing prices on the market increasing on a daily basis and this is going to continue, unfortunately.
Kim Brown: And lastly professor, we know Africa is an enormous continent. It is not a monolith. Each government in country operates individually. Which nations have a social safety net perhaps in place for its citizens given the fact that these remittances are dependent upon by so many? And now with the sudden drop in remittances because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are governments prepared to offset those economic losses to help people maintain and survive? Who does it best in your opinion?
Leonce Ndimuman…: That’s a very interesting question. I think to get a perspective of the challenges faced by government to support households, look at the US first. See how many households are suffering, who lost their jobs and who are left stranded. Even if we are talking about the country, the biggest economy, the biggest budget and so on and still we have, we are not able to support, the government is not able to support all the people who lost their jobs. In African governments, in African countries, I can’t see anyone, any country who has the resources to support the massive losses of income, of jobs, to support households. There is simply no fiscal space. As we said, the budgets are too small and many countries already entered in this crisis already with high budget deficits and revenue is going to decline if the crisis hit severely the continent.
We are still fortunate that in terms of number of confirmed cases, they are still low in majority of countries, granted that we don’t have the, many of them have limited the testing capacity. So the numbers may be a little bit off, but it is the case that if in the event African countries were to go to see an increase in the COVID cases this would dramatically affect employment in African countries. Many people would lose jobs. I don’t see an African government that’s prepared to support people through any significant fiscal intervention.
Kim Brown: All right, we’re going to have to leave the conversation there. We’ve been speaking with professor Leonce Ndikumana. He teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. We’ve been discussing the sudden drop in remittances that African nations have been receiving from foreign workers abroad working as guest workers, and many nations, many families depend on these remittances for daily survival. So professor, hopefully we’ll check in with you again and see if there has been any change or perhaps improvement in the situation. But we do appreciate your time today. Thanks a lot.
Leonce Ndimuman…: Thank you very much. And stay well.
Kim Brown: You do the same, sir. And thank you for watching The Real News Network.
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therealnews--2020-05-29--Outrage In Minneapolis After Police Killing Caught On Video

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Taya Graham : There ’ s anger in the streets of Minneapolis .
Speaker 2 : I ’ m out here because the cop that killed Floyd was the same one he was involved with a police shooting at Little Earth , maybe a couple of years ago .
And they ’ ve been criminalizing our youth for a long time .
And that ’ s why we ’ re here .
Taya Graham : After the death of George Floyd at the hands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frustration and grief from the community .
And anger over this video , showing Floyd , who was African American , begging for his life as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin puts down forward pressure with his knee on Floyd ’ s neck .
Floyd was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital , but the reaction to his death was swift and emotional .
Wednesday night protests turned violent as police shot , rubber bullets and tear gas .
An AutoZone store was engulfed in flames while a Target was picked clean .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ calm , but he also called for the arrest of Officer Chauvin .
Jacob Frey : Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail ?
If you had done it , or I had done it , we would be behind bars right now .
Taya Graham : Mayor Frey also asked the governor of Minnesota to deploy the National Guard , to quell the unrest in the community .
Minneapolis police have said little about what led to Floyd ’ s arrest .
Instead , they posted a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forgery in progress .
But meanwhile , questions about Chauvin ’ s record have surfaced , including 10 past complaints of excessive force .
The FBI and the Minnesota Attorney General ’ s office have joined the investigation , but pleas from officials and calls for charges against the officers have done little to calm the city , as tensions rise over the death of yet another black man at the hands of police .
This is Taya Graham , Stephen Janis , and Taylor Hebden reporting for The Real News Network .

The city roils after the death of George Floyd as police confronted protesters and the mayor urged prosecutors to charge the officers involved.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Taya Graham: There’s anger in the streets of Minneapolis.
Speaker 2: I’m out here because the cop that killed Floyd was the same one he was involved with a police shooting at Little Earth, maybe a couple of years ago. And they’ve been criminalizing our youth for a long time. And that’s why we’re here.
Taya Graham: After the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, there was an outpouring of frustration and grief from the community. And anger over this video, showing Floyd, who was African American, begging for his life as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin puts down forward pressure with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Floyd was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, but the reaction to his death was swift and emotional. Wednesday night protests turned violent as police shot, rubber bullets and tear gas. An AutoZone store was engulfed in flames while a Target was picked clean. Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey pleaded for calm, but he also called for the arrest of Officer Chauvin.
Jacob Frey: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail? If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now.
Taya Graham: Mayor Frey also asked the governor of Minnesota to deploy the National Guard, to quell the unrest in the community. Minneapolis police have said little about what led to Floyd’s arrest. Instead, they posted a statement shortly after Floyd died, citing a forgery in progress.
But meanwhile, questions about Chauvin’s record have surfaced, including 10 past complaints of excessive force. The FBI and the Minnesota Attorney General’s office have joined the investigation, but pleas from officials and calls for charges against the officers have done little to calm the city, as tensions rise over the death of yet another black man at the hands of police. This is Taya Graham, Stephen Janis, and Taylor Hebden reporting for The Real News Network.
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