#Bills aimed at Jackson remind of apartheid | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

reasoningdaily · 2 years

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Mississippi Today: Bills aimed at Jackson remind of apartheid, Lumumba says

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, with City of Jackson Communications Manager Melissa Payne, fields questions during a community meeting held to update the public on the water system, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2022, at College Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba on Monday lambasted state lawmakers’ ongoing attempts to strong-arm city leadership through legislation that would remove local control over judicial and drinking water systems.

In the current legislative session, lawmakers have introduced the following bills:

HB 1020, which would create a new court to oversee cases within Jackson’s Capital Complex Improvement District with judges appointed by the state Supreme Court and prosecutors appointed by the state attorney general.

HB 696, which would expand the boundaries of the the district.

SB 2889, which would put the long-term control of Jackson’s drinking water system under a board mostly appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor.

SB 2338, which would prevent cities from charging for water based on property value, a plan Jackson’s new third-party manager is proposing as a way to lower the cost burden on poorer residents.

The mayor spoke to the pattern of recent attempts to remove control over issues in Jackson from the 83% Black, majority Democrat city, and put it in the hands of state leaders; all of Mississippi’s statewide elected officials are white Republicans.

“It reminds me of apartheid,” Lumumba said Monday. “They are looking to colonize Jackson, not only in terms of them putting their military force over Jackson, but also dictating who has province over decision-making.

“They put this military force over us, and we’re just supposed to pay taxes to the king.”

Lumumba also called out HB 370, which would allow voters to recall municipal elected officials. Critics of the bill argue it was aimed at removing Jackson leadership, although the bill’s author, Rep. Shanda Yates, said she didn’t introduce it with the city in mind.

The mayor has frequently criticized the role of state leaders over the past year. Last April, Lumumba called the Legislature “paternalistic” and “racist” after a dispute over the appropriation of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. In their handling of the funds, lawmakers attached extra oversight over Jackson’s spending of infrastructure money that wasn’t required for other cities in the state.

Last fall, after a combination of flooding and broken pumps shut down the capital city’s drinking water system, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that the state was taking over Jackson’s water operations. After both initially said that the city and state were working together, Reeves and Lumumba spent weeks launching public attacks against each other.

The federal government recently appropriated $600 million to directly assist Jackson’s water system; that money is part of a total $814 million in federal funds that will go towards the city’s water and sewer projects.

Lumumba said Monday there has never been an investment like this before, referencing that Flint received $100 million in federal funds to aid its lead crisis. He said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann expressed doubts that Jackson could secure such funding without the state’s help.

“(Hosemann) said that I needed to look at a possible relationship with the state, because what did I think, Biden was going to write me a check?” Lumumba said. “I recently told (Hosemann): ‘I do, and he did it.'” Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba (left) and water system’s third-party administrator Ted Henifin, answer questions regarding the current state of the city’s water system during a town hall meeting held at Forest Hill High School, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Mayor hasn’t seen proposal yet, appointing new public works director

Asked about last week’s proposal from the city’s new water manager, Ted Henifin, Lumumba said he hasn’t yet reviewed the plan, and couldn’t speak to specific ideas in the plan, such as charging customers based on property values or creating a nonprofit to govern the system long term.

Lumumba did say the city was getting ready to announce a new interim public works director; the previous interim director, Jordan Hillman, is now working for Henifin’s organization, JXN Water.

The mayor said the city is hiring a recruiting firm to find a permanent director, and added that the new director will no longer be handling the city’s drinking water.

Asked if management of the drinking water system would remain with a separate entity long-term, Lumumba said “it’s too early to say.”

“I will say my interest is not just to run (the water system) and operate it for the sake of running and operating it,” the mayor said.

Lumumba will host a town hall to discuss the latest around federal funding and Henifin’s role on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Forest Hill High School.

#Bills aimed at Jackson remind of apartheid #Lumumba says #Jackson Mississippi #systemic racism

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ladystylestores · 4 years

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US grapples with Confederate past after protests – Live updates | USA News

The police killing of George Floyd has triggered anti-racism protests around the world. A number of monuments with links to colonialism and slavery have either been defaced or pulled down in Europe and the United States as protests continue for racial justice.

Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, testified before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, along with family lawyer Ben Crump and 10 others at the first congressional hearing to examine the social and political undercurrents that have fuelled weeks of protests nationwide and overseas.

The death of Floyd, who died after a policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has sparked nationwide calls for policing reforms.

Wednesday, June 10:

22:10 GMT – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demands statues of 11 men linked to the Confederacy removed from US Capitol

Pelosi sent a letter to the House-Senate panel in charge of the National Statuary Hall collection in the Capitol to take down the likenesses of 11 Confederate soldiers and officials that she said “pay homage to hate, not heritage”.

Calling the halls of Congress “the very heart of our democracy” ahd said the statues should embody Americans’ “highest ideals” not men “who avocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end”.

The statues which fill the halls of Congress should reflect our highest ideals as Americans. Today, I am once again calling for the removal from the U.S. Capitol of the 11 statues representing Confederate soldiers and officials. These statues pay homage to hate, not heritage.

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 10, 2020

The letter is the latest move in the wake of global protests over racism, to remove statues of those associated with perpetrating it. Across the United States and internationally, statues have been toppled, removed or covered.

21:23 GMT – NASCAR to ban Confederate flags at events

US professional stock car racing league NASCAR announced it will ban Confederate flags at future events, the Washington Post has reported.

“The presence of the Confederate flag … runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry,” NASCAR said in a statement.

The decision comes two days after Bubba Wallace, the only African American driving in the NASCAR Cup Series, requested NASCAR ban the flag viewed as a symbol of hate for many.

Wallace used a #BlackLivesMatter livery on his Richard Petty Motorsport Chevrolet for a race at Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday.

pic.twitter.com/GzkbpEAROM

— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) June 7, 2020

“I think it’s going to speak volumes for what I stand for, but also what the initiative that NASCAR, the whole sport, is trying to push”, Wallace said ahead of the decision.

19:15 GMT – White House says it is finalising proposals on police reform

The White House said it is putting the finishing touches on proposals to reform the police, and that reducing immunity for cops is a “non-starter.”

Speaking at a White House briefing, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said administration plans to address protester concerns about police brutality are reaching “final edits,” and said the proposals could be made public in the “coming days.”

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany addressing a first press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

19:00 GMT – Trump rules out renaming US bases named for Confederate leaders

President Donald Trump rejected any proposal to rename US military bases that are named for Confederate leaders from the 1860s civil war.

As many as 10 bases carry the names of Confederate leaders, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, one of the largest in the United States, and Fort Hood in Texas. Discussions about renaming them emerged as a way of racial reconciliation.

“The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations…” Trump wrotee in a tweet.

…history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom. The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2020

17:45 GMT – Boston to offer COVID-19 testing to protesters

Boston is offering those participated in street protests following the death of Floyd access to coronavirus testing.

Mayor Marty Walsh said in a news conference that his administration is reaching out to organisers of the demonstrations and is working to create a mobile pop-up testing site in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury that will be open to everyone, whether or not they are showing signs of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

“There is no special screening or requirements,” Walsh said. “As people lift their voices to fight racism and injustice, we want to make sure that we keep them safe as well.”

16:35 GMT – Thousands attend Black Lives Matter demo in Amsterdam

Thousands of people demonstrated in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in a park in Amsterdam named for South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

It was the latest in a series of protests in Dutch cities that have erupted in recent days.

“We are here to hold up a fist against the global pandemic of racism,” protester Mitchell Esajas told the crowd.

Thousands of people demonstrate in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in a park in Amsterdam, the Netherlands [Peter Dejong/AP Photo]

Public debate about racism, discrimination and historical links to the slave trade have intensified in the Netherlands since Floyd’s death.

A Dutch human rights organization called on the government to appoint a coordinator to help tackle what it called “structural discrimination” in the Netherlands.

15:45 GMT – Minneapolis police chief takes on union, promises reform

The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from police union contract negotiations, Chief Medaria Arradondo said as he announced the first steps in what he said would be transformational reforms to the agency.

Arradondo said a thorough review of the contract is planned. He said the contract needs to be restructured to provide more transparency and flexibility for true reform. The review would look at matters such as critical incident protocols, use of force, and disciplinary protocols, including grievances and arbitration.

He said it is debilitating for a chief when there are grounds to terminate an officer and a third-party mechanism works to keep that person on the street.

Security forces take position during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US [Lucas Jackson/Reuters]

“This work must be transformational, but I must do it right,” Arradondo said of changes to the department.

He also promised new research and strategies to spot and intervene with problem officers.

“We will have a police department that our communities view as legitimate, trusting and working with their best interests at heart,” he said, adding that the department has to address issues of racism head-on.

15:00 GMT – ‘Teach them what necessary force is’: George Floyd’s brother calls for police reforms

Lawmakers heard urgent pleas from George Floyd’s brother who called for reforms and better training for police officers.

“Teach them what necessary force is,” he said “Teach them that necessary force should be used rarely, and only when life is at risk.”

He also reminded the panel that police were called because his brother had allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill.

George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd giving his opening statement during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, [Michael Reynolds/Pool via Reuters] [Daylife]

“George wasn’t hurt anyone that day. He didn’t deserve to die, over $20. I’m asking you. Is that what is that what a black man is worth? $20? This is 2020. Enough is enough. The people watching in the streets are telling you enough is enough,” he said.

The Judiciary panel is preparing to shepherd a sweeping Democratic package of legislation aimed at combating police violence and racial injustice, to the House floor by July 4, and is expected to hold further hearings next week to prepare the bill for a full House vote.

14:40 GMT – ‘I’m tired, I’m tired of the pain,’ George Floyd’s brother says

George Floyd’s brother testified Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on issues of racial profiling, police brutality and lost trust between police departments and the communities they serve.

“I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason,” Philonise Floyd said during his testimony.

“I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired,” Floyd said. “George’s calls for help were ignored. Please listen to the call I’m making to you now, to the calls of our family, and to the calls ringing out in the streets across the world.”

“If his death ends up changing the world for the better. And I think it will. I think it has. Then he died as he lived. It is on you to make sure his death isn’t in vain,” he said.