The U.S. Capitol was on lockdown Wednesday afternoon following a breach by hundreds of protesters who battled with police on blood-streaked pavement while waving flags that announced their support for President Donald J. Trump.
U.S. Capitol Police officers stood in the House chamber with guns drawn. Members of the House of Representatives were ordered to put on escape hoods and take shelter. Protesters swarmed police outside, breaking through their ranks and running riot.
One woman was shot in the chest, U.S. Capitol Police confirmed, and arrests were made. Vice President Michael R. Pence was rushed out of the Senate chamber where he was presiding over a debate about Republicans’ objections to electoral votes from Arizona.
Five other states’ votes were expected to draw similar objections, each leading to debates of up to two hours in the House and Senate. But the Senate was formally in recess before the debate could end, with an unidentified gas wafting down the hallway from the ornate Senate chamber. Senators were told to reach under their seats and pull out gas masks, a Cold War carryover precaution, and to evacuate.
In the House chamber, fewer Members than usual were on the floor when the debate was suspended, a product of Covid-19 precautions ordered by Speaker Nancy. P. Pelosi. After the floor was cleared, protesters stormed in. One stood at Pelosi’s place, high up on the dais, and shouted, “Trump Won That Election!”
Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol. (Ford Fischer)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation’s capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
President Trump called for his supporters to march from the White House area down Penn toward the Capitol. Hundreds doing so now. pic.twitter.com/Z5TOkzexEL
C-Span footage showed other protesters marching through the Capitol Rotunda in an orderly line, careful not to stray outside a walkway bordered by velvet ropes. One man was captured in a tweeted photo sitting at Pelosi’s desk in the Speaker’s Office, grinning. The office was vandalized.
Police anticipated violence during what protesters called the “Stop The Steal” event; tensions had flared Tuesday night on city streets.
Supporters of Trump belonging to the Proud Boys group, and others, clashed with Metropolitan Police Department officers, fighting in the open near Black Lives Matter Plaza, an area just north of the White House.
Meanwhile, reporters were scurrying both into the fray and away from it, watching from staircases and balconies as the mini-rebellion forced its way through pepper spray, climbed over barricades and stone walls, burst through doors and smashed leaded-glass windows.
Hours earlier the Cannon House Office Building, a short tunnel-walk away, was evacuated following a bomb scare. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser ordered a 6:00 p.m. curfew city-wide.
Wednesday’s chaos unfolded a day after hotly contested U.S. Senate elections won by Democrats who appear to have enough seats to take over both chambers of Congress. An hour before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol steps, the president was lavishing in their cheers on the Ellipse, south of the White House, just two miles away.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: U.S. Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building during demonstrations in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Protesters enter the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
He urged them, “Lets walk down Pennsylvania Avenue,” and returned to the White House instead of joining them. By the time he tweeted a demand for calm and order, Capitol Police had retreated in the face of an overwhelming force carrying signs and shouting slogans.
Some were heard chanting, “Bullshit! Bullshit!” — a refrain that broke out on the Ellipse after Trump used that word to describe the election he lost.
Outside the White House an hour later, a heavy-coated Trump recorded a one-minute video pleading for peace despite losing what he called “a fraudulent election.”
“We don’t want anybody hurt,” he said.
“I know your pain. I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us … but you have to go home now,” Trump said.
Trump had tried to rouse his supporters’ passions as some but not all Republicans argued against accepting electoral vote totals from states where they believe elections were rife with fraud. “We’re going to try & give our Republicans, the weak ones,” he said, “because the strong ones don’t need any of our help. We are going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
So they marched to the Capitol, wreaking havoc at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue while the president sat at the other end planning his next move from the Oval Office.
In a joint statement, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck E. Schumer issued a joint statement calling on Trump “to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately.”
Biden, just two weeks from taking office, said: “It borders on sedition, and it must stop now. I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege.”
An explosive device was also found near the Republican National Committee headquarters in Southeast Washington. It was safely detonated.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -– One of the most popular resolutions at the beginning of each year is the desire to quit smoking, with more than 70% of smokers reporting they want to quit. Smoking is a risk factor for severe illness from COVID-19, which makes 2021 an even more opportune time to begin the journey to quitting once and for all. With the help of the American Lung Association, more than a million people have achieved success with their goal to quit smoking.
The American Lung Association has the following five tips for those looking to quit smoking this year:
1. Utilize a plan that is proven to be both safe and effective in helping you quit for good. Despite what Juul and other e-cigarette companies want you to believe, switching to vaping (e-cigarettes) is not quitting smoking. E-cigarettes are tobacco products, they contain nicotine, and FDA has not approved any e-cigarette as a quit smoking device.
2. Learn from past experiences. Most smokers have tried to quit before and sometimes people get discouraged thinking about previous attempts. Instead, treat those experiences as steps on the road to future success. Think about what helped you during those tries and what you’ll do differently in your next quit attempt.
3. You don’t have to quit alone. Enrolling in a tobacco counseling program, such as American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking®, can increase your chances of success by up to 60% when used in combination with medication.
4. Talk to a doctor about quit smoking medications. Talking to a doctor can significantly increase your chances of quitting successfully. There are seven FDA-approved quit smoking medications that can help you quit. Just make sure to follow the directions and use them for the full duration they are prescribed.
5. Every smoker can quit. Find the right combination of techniques for you and above all, keep trying. Slip-ups – having a puff or smoking one or two cigarettes – are common but don’t mean that a quitter has failed. The important thing is to keep trying to quit.
The American Lung Association is here for you every step of the way with tools, tips and support. The important thing is to keep trying to quit, until you quit for good. Freedom From Smoking® helps individuals create their own unique quit plan for vaping and smoking, as well as tips and techniques to stay successful in the long run. Freedom From Smoking can be accessed online, at a virtual group clinic, by phone at 1-800-LUNG-USA and through a self-guided workbook. Those looking to quit smoking are encouraged to use the method that works best for their learning style, schedule and unique quit smoking plan. Ranked as the most effective smoking cessation program in a study of 100 managed care organizations conducted at Fordham University Graduate School of Business, Freedom From Smoking has helped hundreds of thousands participants quit smoking.
“The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for people, when they’re ready, to find the proven quit smoking support they need,” said American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer. “Quitting smoking will immediately improve your health and might also decrease your odds of severe illness from COVID-19. It’s the perfect way to set yourself up for a healthy new year and healthy years to come.”
For more information about quitting smoking and how to access Freedom From Smoking, visit the American Lung Association website at Lung.org/ffs or call the free Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872).
About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, a holder of the coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and a Gold-Level GuideStar Member, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org.
SACRAMENTO–The California Legislative Black Caucus has elected Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Assemblymember Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) to serve as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively, through the 2021-2022 legislative session. In addition, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) will now serve as Secretary and Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) will remain in his position as Treasurer.
“I am honored and humbled to be elected by my colleagues to serve as the next Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. We are grateful for Dr. Weber’s leadership during her time with the Caucus and have no doubt she will lead with the same passion and desire for equality and justice as Secretary of State. I look forward to serving in a similar fashion of Dr. Weber and previous Chairs championing African American issues for the state and nation,” said Senator Bradford.
Senator Bradford was elected to the legislature in 2009, making him the longest serving member of the Caucus and currently the only Black senator in the state legislature. Senator Bradford’s election as Caucus Chair follows Governor Newsom’s appointment of former Caucus Chair, and Assemblymember, Dr. Shirley Weber as California’s next Secretary of State.
“It is a bittersweet moment as I pass the leadership torch to Senator Steven Bradford. The California Legislative Black Caucus is a small but mighty group of 9 members. Together we have been a powerful force, united and unwavering in our commitment to fight and win tough battles to improve the lives of Black Californians. I thank the Black Caucus for its support during my tenure as Chair, and I have full trust and confidence in Senator Bradford to take on the leadership of the Caucus. I also look forward to building on the partnership between the Secretary of State’s office and the CLBC to protect and expand voting rights in California,” said Dr. Shirley N. Weber.
Throughout its over 50-year history, the CLBC has been instrumental in crafting and supporting legislation to promote racial and gender equality for the State. We will continue to advance an agenda that assures quality health care, establishing a more transparent and accountable police system, increased employment and economic security, and justice for all Californians.
Some thoughts on how something that once looked impossible became possible … still, there’s a lot of reasons to remain cautious
By Charles Ellison, b | e Note
January 5th (well, possibly some number of days or weeks after depending on how tight it is) will answer a very critical question for Americans on the current trajectory of our very troubled nation – who will run the federal government: Joe Biden or Mitch McConnell?
The answer will hinge on the convergence of two events: 1) the voting decisions made by more than 7.7 million Georgians who are currently registered to vote in the state of Georgia and 2) how much Republicans will, literally, cheat.
That’s a Lot of Georgians …
First: Stacey Abrams Great Georgia Revenge Tour is definitely a beautiful feat of voter mobilization to watch. She’s done a superb job – to get two Democratic candidates into a tightly contested runoff in a deep Southern politically fried red state like Georgia was once unimaginable … well, for conventional thinkers.
When we say 7.7 million registered Georgians, we’re talking about 72 percent of Georgia’s population of nearly 11 million. So far, more than 3 million have voted. That translates into more than 39 percent turnout … and that’s in the early voting phase … of a runoff Senate race. That’s also about 28 percent of Georgia’s entire population already voting. With so much excitement, high national anxiety, flooded email inboxes and campaign ad bombardment around this state, will the turnout crack records?
Here’s a look at how that’s breaking down demographically …
So Far, So Good
Democrats have multiple reasons to feel positive and enthusiastic. For one: they were able to flip the state from red to blue in the presidential race, handing it to President-elect Joe Biden.
They’ve got two fairly well-polished, young and energetic candidates in Jon Osoff and Rev. Ralph Warnock. Grassroots voter mobilization boots on the ground are getting it done. High early voting returns would suggest a Democratic advantage. Younger voters – from GenZ to Millennial – are turning out in big numbers. The whole party is unified behind the candidates. And there have been, so far, about 118,000 new voters who’ve participated in early voting during the run-off who didn’t vote in the 2020 General Election.
Meanwhile, as the Democratic candidates are running perfectly (on the surface, at least) as a team, Republicans are faced with vicious party infighting. Both GOP candidates continue to make the state look bad and backward (at a time when many Southerners are pushing for “New South” themes). One Republican incumbent (David Perdue) is quarantined by COVID while the other Republican incumbent (Kelly Loeffler) is parading around with white Klan terrorists. As all that’s happening, the outgoing leader of the GOP, President Trump, is openly committing violations of both state and federal law by pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State into committing voter fraud (and since Georgia’s Attorney General is a Republican and the federal Department of Justice is run by more Republicans, no one will prosecute him for this). Both Democratic candidates have raised more than $265 million combined for their Senate races (even though they’re both burning cash fast).
The most recent polling also suggests Osoff and Warnock are doing rather well.
And here is the look from RealClearPolitics (which is a little more stingy with the data) …
But … Stay Cautious
While all the fundamentals look good for Democrats, there are still quite a few reasons to remain cautious – and not “cautiously optimistic,” either.
Say all you want about Southern states like Georgia attempting to re-brand themselves into “The New South,” the South, at the moment, is still the South. All the more reason to remain skeptical. There are a lot of questions: will White Georgia voters want a Black (Warnock) and Jewish (Osoff) Senator representing them in Washington? Even though there is high early voting turnout, there’s no way to tell at the moment just how many of those voters are Republicans actually turning out (despite objections from a president they remain loyal to). Will Georgia Republicans turn out stronger on Election Day when heading to the polls? And will Georgia Republicans view this as an opportunity for a protest vote against Biden’s election, to vent their rage at what they wrongfully view as a “stolen” election?
And just because Democrats are outperforming Republicans in the fundraising race doesn’t mean much since Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Harrison was doing the same thing in neighboring South Carolina against incumbent Lindsey Graham. In fact, he was absolutely obliterating Graham in the fundraising race. Polling showed that race tight, too. Harrison was raising all kinds of loot.
Still, Harrison ending up losing by 10 points.
Some clues on the outcome in Georgia are found in the latest AtlasIntel poll
GOP registration slightly outnumbers Democratic registration, which means a lot will depend on self-reporting Independents (Osoff and Warnock won 51 percent and 37 percent of independent voters, respectively, in the general election). Nearly 61 percent of the electorate is White while 30 percent is Black, which means Democrats need to cobble together a solid coalition of Black, White, Latino and Asian voters.
Here are the breakdowns for the Purdue vs. Osoff match-up …
And here are the breakdowns for the Loeffler vs. Warnock match-up …
The White electorate isn’t budging much, and there are large numbers of Latinos (along with 10+ percentage points of Black voters) saying they’re voting for the GOP candidate. One other thing others might dismiss, but we shouldn’t: Black voters account for 28 percent of the Georgia electorate even while they’re 33 percent of the overall state’s population (that’s a 5 percent difference); the White Georgia electorate matches its statewide population proportion of 60 percent. So, in a sense, Black voters in Georgia are still punching below their potential electoral weight in terms of size.
A slightly good thing, for Democrats, is that there is a very small, barely noticeable number of undecideds. So, every registered voter about to vote is locked into their decision, according to this poll. Still, fewer White voters went for Perdue in 2020 (69 percent) than they did in 2014 (74 percent). Yet, there is that pending question from the Loeffler vs. Warnock general election match-up: while Loeffler won 42 percent of White voters compared to the other GOP candidate Rep. Doug Collins at 28 percent, where will those White voters go? Theoretically, that’s 70 percent of White voters going to Loeffler.
Republicans Are Cheaters
Lastly: modern Republicans don’t appear to know anything about legal, democratic elections. While a genocidal pandemic rages on, killing nearly half-a-million Americans thus far (with the long term public health consequences not fully grasped), they are still uniformly obsessed with overturning an election in which the legitimate winner won by a nearly 8 million vote margin.
Republican cheating and racist voter suppression techniques are par for the course in Georgia. The sting of being cheated out of a statewide election by the current Governor is what’s driving Abrams. That Biden even won Georgia by such a slim margin probably means he really won by such a convincing number of ballots that Republican cheating methods could not overcome it. Republicans everywhere cheat in elections – but, in Georgia, they’ve transformed it into a dark and sinister art form.
Forty percent of Georgia’s 10 most populous counties had dramatically closed the number of early polling locations before the runoff. Most of those counties hold the highest concentrations of Black voters. That was expected. An 11th-hour attempt to purge voter rolls in two Georgia counties was thwarted by a federal judge just days before New Year’s Day. Voting rights advocates were already battling the purges of more than 200,000 Georgia voters by the current Secretary of State.
And while lots of folks on and off social media want to induct current Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger into the Justice League as he’s smoking Trump on Twitter and refusing to engage in criminal voter fraud acts on a recorded phone call, watch the mail ballot rejection rates in Georgia’s early voting returns very carefully.
Here are the Georgia counties with mail ballot rejection rates above 1 percent
Two of these counties are majority Black and all, with the exception of one, hold Black populations of more than 30 percent. In terms of total numbers of ballots rejected thus far, we’re seeing a similar pattern in counties with large Black populations ..
This could lead to issues and challenges resulting in a protracted recount battle way past January 5th.
January 4th Marked with Tributes, Actions and Care Package Drive for Homeless People and Pets
PHOENIX, AZ — Today on Monday, January 4, the Muhaymin family and advocates from national and Phoenix-based organizations will mark four years since Phoenix police brutally killed Muhammad Muhaymin—an unarmed, Black, Muslim, disabled man—while mocking his faith. To date, none of the officers involved in this killing have faced any criminal or disciplinary consequences; all are still actively policing in Phoenix.
Muhaymin was killed by Phoenix police in 2017 after attempting to bring his service dog into a public restroom. In August of 2020, new body camera footage was made public showing officers using their knees to pin Muhaymin’s head, neck and body into an asphalt parking lot. Before he is killed, Muhaymin can be heard yelling “I can’t breathe” and “Please Allah,” with an officer responding “Allah? He’s not going to help you right now.”
Muhammad’s sister Zarinah Tavares and advocates will deliver national and Phoenix-area tributes to her brother while urging the public to join efforts to hold the officers accountable for this killing and for all victims of similar violence. The day will be marked with:
A video tribute to Muhammad narrated by Ms. Tavares alongside national advocates Rep. André Carson, Muslim Advocates, the National Disability Rights Network and Phoenix-area advocates from Poder in Action, Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro and the Black Mother’s Forum. Click here to watch the video.
Tribute radio ads narrated by Ms. Tavares running all day on Phoenix radio station Power 98.3 KKFR. Click here to listen to the ad.
An action urging the public to contribute to a living tribute card to Muhammad designed by Black Muslim artist Amir Khadar. Click here to sign the card.
A care package drive for homeless people and pets in the metro Phoenix-area. Click here to learn more.
In the video, Tavares shares details about her brother, saying “he was a proud man who loved to dance, to take his daughter on walks in the park, and beatbox with me and my sisters. He always made us laugh. Muhammad was stolen from us by Phoenix police officers who brutally killed him, just for using the restroom.” She ends the video with a call to action “The system keeps pretending like we don’t matter. But we do.”
Lawmaker’s Provisions will Streamline Supply Chains, Encourage Collaboration
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced multiple provisions in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that will help Inland Empire manufacturers streamline supply chains and better collaborate with Manufacturing USA Institutes and Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers.
Preventing Supply Chain Disruptions for Small and Medium Manufacturers: Rep. Torres passed a provision requiring the federal government to take first steps towards a National Supply Chain Database that would connect small and medium manufacturers, like those in CA-35, across state lines to prevent supply chain disruptions. The provision would require the federal government to conduct a detailed feasibility study for the database. The need for this collaboration became clear when local manufacturers struggled to retool and get the supplies they needed to produce needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
Streamlining Collaboration Between Manufacturers: Rep. Torres passed a provision to help small and mid-size manufacturers with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership have access to and influence the technologies developed by the Manufacturing USA Institutes, which create technological tools to help manufacturers of all sizes improve their businesses.
Torres, who recently held a listening session to hear directly from local businesses, trades, and workforce leaders, represents a district where MEP Centers work with 79 aerospace and defense manufacturers, creating over 3,000 jobs.
Rep. Torres released the following statement:
“Manufacturing is at the heart of economic activity in communities across this country, and the Inland Empire is no exception,” Rep. Torres said. “The provisions I’m announcing today will help local manufacturers secure their supply chain and streamline their business operation. What this means for our region is simple: more jobs, better wages, new opportunities, and more money flowing through our local economy.”
Congresswoman Torres is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which allocates all federal spending. She also sits on the House Rules Committee, where she has influence over the amendment process for every bill considered in the House of Representatives.
The holiday gift that keeps teenagers on the sofa with game controllers in their hands may help parents pay their college tuition. For some, training to compete in cyberspace contests like Fortnite and NBA2K could soon replace training for team sports — and create a new scholarship pipeline and professional opportunities after graduation.
Gaming and esports are becoming sources of camaraderie and competition for students at HBCUs. Three of the four HBCU athletic conferences have corporate partnerships with developers of gaming platforms that allow students to compete against on-campus peers as well as students at schools in their conferences. And this popular form of social entertainment is quickly becoming more than just a pastime.
“Having an esports presence is very important to our institutions in the future,” Southwestern Athletic Conference Associate Commissioner Jason Cable said.
Fortnite is a wildly popular videogame whose best players can compete for college scholarship money. (Epic Games)
Esports teams and individuals compete head-to-head in live online competitions. The industry has grown rapidly worldwide, with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion and global audiences of more than 443 million, according to research by Green Man Gaming.
Most conventional sports franchises took financial losses last spring as American sports leagues postponed events and slashed their schedules to avoid exposing players and fans to the coronavirus. Esports tournaments picked up the slack through sports network TV. College and high school students looking for new ways to live, work, learn and play turned to competitive video gaming more than ever, making esports a cultural force.
Total enrollment at America’s 101 black colleges and universities dropped by 6,000 in the 2018-19 school year. School administrators see a new way to help recover.
“Our institutions are looking to increase enrollment and retain students, and esports gives them a chance to do both,” Cable said. “It’s the next big thing.”
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams said gaming and esports, which are grounded in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, benefit students academically.
“The move into esports aligns with the educational experience in STEM and overall strategic plan that remains consistent with efforts to continuously grow our brand and advance our students,” McWilliams said.
McWilliams’ athletic conference is one of three dedicated HBCU sports leagues that have attracted corporate sponsorships for competitive gaming platforms and tournaments while athletic sports remain on partial hiatus.
Gamers can compete in tournaments for scholarship money and for the attention of professional sports franchises that may hire the esports movement’s most talented competitors. There were 500 known esports franchises that earned between $95,000 and $36 million in tournaments by the end of 2019, according to Esports Earnings, which tracks the flow of money in the nascent industry. Some socially distant tournaments award as much as $750,000 in prize money.
Educators are more excited about the impact on black students’ professional opportunities when they embrace STEM fields as part of their immersive gaming experience. Programming, software development and cybersecurity can give them the inside track on lucrative career paths. Some are groomed through academic programs as early as high school, preparing them for athletic esports scholarships.
More than 100 U.S. and Canadian schools offer esports scholarships, following the lead of Robert Morris University Illinois, an institution that has since merged into Roosevelt University. Robert Morris Illinois offered subsidies for members of its first varsity-level Sports League of Legends team in 2014. Some packages today can be worth as much as $76,000 over four years of competitive eligibility. The most talented gamers can defray half of their tuition, room and board.
HBCUs aren’t offering scholarships but want students to think outside their Xbox. HBCU Heroes, a nonprofit launched by former NCAA and NBA champion George Lynch and business partner Tracey Pennywell, raises money to help those schools level the playing field with competitive scholarship offers to student athletes. Now that platform includes esports.
The most talented gamers in America can earn college scholarships that cover half of their tuition, room and board expenses. (campuspartymexico/CC)
Larger universities have vastly more support from sponsors and alumni than most HBCUs.
“My experience at [the University of] North Carolina was on a whole other level,” Lynch said. “We played in the ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference], who had the big TV deal, then went to the Final Four and brought back millions of dollars to subsidize the Olympic sports. But most of the traditional HBCUs that we played when I was coaching didn’t have the funding in the athletic department to support the student-athlete’s needs.”
Lynch saw how tight budgets held back athletes at small black colleges while he was head men’s basketball coach at Clark Atlanta University.
“We learned that STEM and cybersecurity is part of gaming,” Lynch said. “Our goal is to fund 12 labs at HBCUs where students can have a curriculum in STEM and develop their skills that give them options other than [major universities] to learn about them.”
Texas Southern University in Houston has extended its sports management program to include an esports curriculum. The interdisciplinary approach is focused on the management side of staging events, designing games and developing sound systems.
Dr. Kenyatta Cavil, interim associate dean of academic affairs in TSU’s College of Education, said he oversaw development of the program to empower students.
“We want the students to get out of the mindset of just being on the couch. We want them to know what’s on the other side of the games,” Cavil said. “We’re trying to be intentional about getting HBCU students into the business segment of the [esports] marketplace.”
Back when street hustlers and killers called him “Glaze,” the crack cocaine king of New York was among the most feared men walking the streets of new York. But in 1990 the enforcer for a drug kingpin from Queens pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges that put him in the middle of five murders and two attempted murders between 1985 and 1988. Brian Gibbs was 26 and had spent most of the 1980s fueling the city’s addictions and getting his hands dirty in Brooklyn.
Glaze terrorized both the weak and the strong as the leader of what was known as the M&M Crew — the “M” initials stood for money and murder — and part of the notorious “Round Table” headed by Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols and Howard “Pappy” Mason. His reputation was well-earned, and crossing him could be a deadly mistake. Today he admits that he personally killed six people.
But the boy from the Cypress Hills housing projects found himself locked away, helpless, and unable to be with his mother when she died in 1992. His own pain opened his eyes to what he had put his victims’ families through. Gibbs parlayed his cooperation with federal prosecutors into a lenient sentence and served just eight years and eight months in prison. After 18 months in federal witness protection with a new identity, he re-emerged as himself, trying to tell loved ones of the people he killed that he’s changed.
Gibbs spends his time reliving stories from his past in YouTube, hoping to steer the new generation of would-be gangsters in a different direction. Zenger News caught up with him to talk about his past, his present and his future.
Percy Crawford interviewed Brian Gibbs for Zenger News.
Zenger News: Congratulations on the success of your YouTube page. It’s been a pleasure watching your page grow and you personally grow. How are you, brother?
Brian Gibbs: Everything’s going well, man. When you speak about the YouTube Channel, you’re right. It’s like another way to express yourself. And to me, my YouTube Channel is my ministry. I’m not your typical minister. How do I minister my life experiences to the younger generation to get them to understand, man, that is not the way — that street life is not the way?
Zenger: We’re seeing that more and more, Glaze, with these young rappers being murdered at an alarming rate trying to live that lifestyle. Everything you say is coming to fruition, and the deaths and life sentences say it all.
Gibbs: You see these kids, these rappers and the lifestyle that they want. I just did a piece in regard to Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols. Christmas Day was his 62nd birthday. He did 32 consecutive birthdays, 32 consecutive Christmases behind the wall. The question I asked on the piece that I put up on my channel is, “Will Lorenzo Nichols die in jail?” Once again, you sit back and think about it: He had all the ghetto riches. He had all the money. Millions! He had cars, homes, jewelry, all the girls that he could possibly afford at that time. But was it all worth it?
Brian “Glaze” Gibbs (left) is pictured during the 1980s with (then) fellow Cypress Hills housing projects drug dealer Lannie “LD” Dillard. (Brian Gibbs)
Zenger: I watched that episode, and they took everyone around “Fat Cat” down, including you. Do you feel like at some point he deserves to live out his days as a free man?
Gibbs: You know what, honestly speaking, I hope he does. I think sometimes when you’re expressing yourself sometimes people take it the wrong way. I think everybody deserves a second or third chance. I can honestly say, and I believe it, he has changed. And I think right now he regrets everything he has done. If he had the opportunity to do it over again, that dude could’ve been a doctor or lawyer. He could’ve been a politician. The difference is when you’re out there you get caught up. You lose yourself to the street at a very early age.
At one point in time he wanted to stay in Alabama. He never wanted to come to New York. But the fact that his mother and her new family was up there, he had to migrate. He left his grandmother. He didn’t want to go. When he got up there, they were teasing him about being chubby and the way he spoke being a country bumpkin. Even me, I get teased for the way I pronounce certain things. I don’t add an “s,” that don’t make me no different. … You think I’m worried about what people have to say? But once again, he definitely deserves a second chance.
Zenger: When I look at cats like Pappy [Mason], Brian “Glaze” Gibbs, “Fat Cat,” it seems like it was so hard to relinquish that lifestyle. Was the hardest thing to let go the power, the respect, the fast money or a combination of it all?
Percy Crawford interviewed Brian Gibbs for Zenger News (Percy Crawford)
Gibbs: You say was it hard to give it up? Sit back and think about it. Do you want the lesser of two evils? Because if you seek to hold on to everything, guess what, man: At the end of the day you know what you’re going to have. Even right now, I wanted something. I wanted the power structure. I remember the first time when I was like nine years old and my late mother took me to see the “Godfather” movie. I must have fell asleep during that movie three or four times. But when I went away from the age of 17 to 20 [for robbery], I read that book when I was in the hole in a box. I read the book “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo, and understanding what they wanted and what they were talking about, building a power structure so strong.
So to answer your question, is it hard to give up? You know what, between the ages 14 to 24 I became “Glaze.” And I got caught up into that wrong thing. You’re right. You got power, with power comes money, with money comes responsibility. But that responsibility is the wrong kind of responsibility because you have to constantly look over your shoulder and watch your back, and constantly worry about when your door is going to get kicked in by law enforcement. You gotta constantly be worried about the wolves and all the people that you have to attack that violated you and your organization. So the difference right now to me, all the money I had, being ghetto rich, I was never happy. So once I hit that road and my mother died, I was able to put things together and see, what’s the sense of you having it all if you really have nothing?
Because you can have all the money in the world. If you don’t have health, what the heck do you have? If you got a billion and one years, you can be a billionaire, if you got a billion and one years in jail, you’re dead anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I have been happier now in my latter years of life than I’ve ever been. When I used to make $40,000 a day, guess what? How can you be happy when you’re constantly watching your back? You don’t have a comfort zone.
Zenger: Do you remember the moment, the incident, the situation where Brian Gibbs turned to “Glaze”?
Gibbs: It’s a double-sword question and I’m going to not give you a double-sword answer. When I became “Glaze” I became “Glaze.” Because by the age of 14 I wanted to be down. I wanted to be cool. As time went on, growing up in New York City or growing up anywhere, it’s a stage. And I call it Broadway: “Lights, camera, action!” So when you’re out there and you graduate, you start off with petty crimes. And then you start elevating to other crimes. You start developing a habit and that reputation and that name starts to increase.
In the criminal world, all of us that didn’t know each other from the five boroughs — Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island — we all met in Riker’s Island or the prison system. Now everybody starts learning from one another. We used to use this word called “frontin’.” You ever heard of that terminology before?
Zenger: Absolutely!
Gibbs: We used to tell people, “Stop frontin’.” I’m not frontin’, that’s me. People don’t understand, frontin’ back then meant acting like something other than yourself. Sometimes you can front into that predicament, that situation, and [it’s] who you become because you pretend so much that it becomes you. It’s no different than Jack Nicholson playing The Joker. No different than Charlton Heston playing Moses. After awhile you played it so much, you start believing that’s who you really are, or that’s who fans see you as.
Zenger: Something used to set you off. Stress, bad temper, arrogance. I don’t know what it was, but you hurt a lot of people. Have you found a coping mechanism that calms you or are you just a completely different person now, and that side of you is long gone?
Gibbs: I’m not that person anymore. But then again, I had to sit back, think about a lot of things and analyze things, because when I first went through the judicial system, the federal, they wanted me to sit down and talk to psychiatrist. I wouldn’t do that. But sometimes we have to admit where we went wrong at. I had to admit where I was wrong. I was wrong about a lot of different things.
It took the death of my mother to help me reevaluate and do some real serious soul-searching. Because the fact that everything you went through, and having my mother die, I was in the hole under investigation. Not that I did anything, but the fact is a few guys dropped a slip on me and said what they thought I was going to do to them. In the feds they lock you down, start an investigation and move you from here to there.
Brian Gibbs is promoting a book about his experiences and his 180-degree turn from a life of crime. (Brian Gibbs)
Gibbs wrote a book in 2015 called “Beyond Lucky,” explaining what he learned while in prison after his life of crime fell apart and he made a deal with federal prosecutors to lessen his sentence. So I’m in the hole under investigation when my mother died. You got plenty of time to think, you got plenty of time to reflect, you got plenty of time to do some real serious soul-searching. It took the death of her, and the pain that I felt from losing her, to help me to understand the suffering and the pain that I inflicted upon my victims and the victim’s families. That type of pain you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
Sometimes in life when things happen to you, it all depends on how you look at the situation and the lesson you learned from the situation. I looked at all the shit I did before in the past, [and it] came back to haunt me and bit me on my behind. Now I gotta feel the same pain that I inflicted on many others. That was reality. That was a wakeup call. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.
Zenger: I read your book, “The Brian ‘Glaze’ Gibbs Story: Beyond Lucky,” I watch the YouTube Channel faithfully. Let me ask you this: Whether you were trying to “behave” or not, what was it like to live a life that no matter who got hurt, murdered or anything bad that happened around that time, you were a suspect?
Gibbs: It became the norm. To me, I knew what I was responsible for and what I wasn’t responsible for, but yet you’re right. Anytime something used to happen, because of my reputation, I got blamed. I didn’t have anybody to blame but myself. Even when the rookie police [officer] Edward Byrne got murdered, the 113th Precinct in Queens, the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, all of them based upon their information and all the data that they had, all of them betted that I was the man — I was the man that pulled the trigger on that police officer — not knowing I didn’t have anything to do with it. When you get accused of so many things, especially back then, like for example, when these folks told me that they believed that I averaged one murder a week for almost a year and a half. Guess what, that was a wake-up call, man.
How I’m looking at it, I am not the smartest person in the world and I’m not the dumbest person. Hold up, wait a minute. Y’all not gonna give me all of y’all unsolved cases just to close the cases. I know what I did and what I didn’t do. But based upon the name keep coming up and ringing out there, guess what? He did it. During that period of time, it was like, “He did that, he did this, and that, he could have done this.” They were just throwing everything at me. Even when I went to jail — I was incarcerated, caught a fed case, and there was a DEA agent, his name was Eric Hatchett. He was murdered. I was incarcerated. And I remember one of the last few conversations I had with my mom. My mother said, “You know what, I am so glad that you are in there, because there is no way in the world they can accuse you of killing this DEA agent.”
And like I told you, brother, that has happened in the past also. Where, as I told you, even though I came clean and made a deal, once they told me I had a murder a week for a year and a half, when I sat down with my lawyer and the homicide department from Brooklyn and Queens and we started going through different things, these guys tried to put a double homicide on me. Mainly, they’re telling me I killed two people in the [Community District] 14-section of Brooklyn. They gave me the date, and I believe the date was June 17, 1987. During that whole time, it’s different homicide detectives from different precincts. We’re all there. And I’m saying, “Okay cool. You’re saying I killed these two people on June 17, 1987,” I went to this other detective and said, “Let me ask you a question, Richard: When did I turn myself into you for the Sybil Mims murder?” So, he looks at his notes, “You turned yourself in to me on May 5, 1986.”
“Okay, did I have a bail?” “No, you didn’t have a bail.” “I went to trial, June of ’87?” “Yeah!” “So, when did I get acquitted?”
So they are looking on the record. “You got acquitted. June 22, 1987.” “So, sir, y’all claim that I killed two people on this date, June 17, 1987? So the warden of Riker’s Island, Brooklyn House, wherever I was at, let me out? I killed two people and they let me come back?”
Brian “Glaze” Gibbs (right) is pictured during the 1980s with notorious drug lord Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols
Zenger: So like your mother said, that was one of the rare instances where being locked up actually helped you out and was a good thing to a degree.
Gibbs: Yes! Me and “Tut,” Walter Johnson, we got picked up. We got picked up on attempted murder charges and it never happened. This guy claimed that me and Tut chased him across this busy intersection on Atlantic Avenue and chased him into a crowded White Castle restaurant. Here is it. He said I tried to drag him out and I pulled out my gun and said, “I’m going to kill you the same way I killed your sister.” So no witnesses, nobody there. You’re telling me a crowded White Castle with armed security in there, and nobody saw nothing, nobody reported anything? But me and Tut got arrested and got charged for that. The difference is I went to trial and I was innocent on the attempted murder charge, but I was guilty of the murder charge. Tut was innocent all the way around the board, but he pled guilty to it because when he caught another case they convinced him, “We’ll run this together.” So, he pled guilty to that despite that it never even happened.
Zenger: It’s a gift and a curse. When you see prominent figures like Mike Tyson mention you in interviews and recall your reputation. Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan shout you out and recall your past. It’s cool to have those shout-outs, although it was under the premise of who you used to be and not the man you are today.
Gibbs: Don’t get me wrong, you appreciate the shout-out or whatever, but I feel like this: You can shout me out, but now let’s get together and see what we can work on to become part of the solution. Mike Tyson, Tracy Morgan, they are prominent, they are out there and got a bigger platform. I’m trying to get there. So the difference is right now, they mentioned my name or whatever and I appreciate that. But now let’s take it a step further. Let’s get together and figure out a way to get the word out to the youth. Don’t be the crab pulling me back down in the barrel, be that crab pulling me up out of the barrel.
If you can go on a national platform and mention the fact that you know me, okay. Reach out. Let’s get out in the community and get this message out there. Get these kids to stop making that multi-billion-dollar prison system their permanent address. Get them to put the guns down. Get them to understand why and how you know me, and what we need to do to make sure there are no more “Glaze.”
Zenger: Thank you for your time. It’s great to call you a brother and a friend and it’s amazing to see your transition. Continued success to you. Is there anything else you want to add?
Gibbs: I appreciate that, brother. It’s definitely about seeing the growth and not glorifying my past. Just let them know they can get a signed copy of my book by just emailing me at briangibbs1201@yahoo.com, and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
By Antonio? ?Ray? ?Harvey? ?|? ?California? ?Black? ?Media?
The California Association of Black Lawyers (CABL) submitted the names of three accomplished African American attorneys to the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) as possible candidates for the state’s soon-to-be open Attorney General position.
In a 46-page document that includes biographical data of the organization’s recommendations, CABL called on Black members of the state legislature to support attorneys Diane Becton, Paul Henderson or Terry Wiley to become the next AG. The group also forwarded the proposal listing the candidates they are supporting – all public servants with significant experience —? to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We are in a unique position to know, understand, and recommend one of our own members to serve as the next California Attorney General. We strongly urge the Legislative Black Caucus to consider the above three candidates and to interview them for recommendation to Governor Newsom,” Melinda Murray, president of CABL, stated in the letter dated December 23.
Earlier this month, President-elect Joe Biden nominated current California AG Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services in his administration. Since then, various candidates have emerged as possible replacements for the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official.
CABL’s decision to focus on who replaces Becerra as AG rests not only on finding a candidate who can ably prioritize and address the broad and complex range of legal issues all Californians face. The group says it is also motivated by the need to address the persisting concerns of criminal justice reform and police use of force in Black communities.
In the wake of George Floyd’s violent death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer and the continued unlawful killings of unarmed Black men and women by law enforcement around the country, the AG’s office and the California Department of Justice “need someone dedicated to criminal justice reform,” the Black lawyer organization stated.
“Californians need and deserve someone who can successfully implement the mandates of Assembly Bill 1506, which authorized the California Attorney General’s Office to investigate and prosecute cases of police use of force resulting in death and officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death,” Murray stated.
The organization believes, Becton, Henderson and Wiley are all candidates with the experience and chops to carry out those tasks. Gov. Newsom signed AB 1506 into law in September. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) authored the legislation.
“Americans across the country took to the streets this summer rightfully demanding more and better of our criminal justice system – and of ourselves,” Newsom said. “We heard those calls for action loud and clear and today are advancing reforms to improve policing practices by ending the carotid hold and requiring independent investigations in officer-involved shootings.”
Becton has spent most of her professional career as a judge, lawyer, and manager. In 2017, she was sworn in as the 25th District Attorney for Contra Costa County. Following her appointment by the county’s Board of Supervisors, she was elected to the position in June 2018.
For 22 years, Becton served as a judge in Contra Costa County. She is a former president of the National Association of Women Judges, the nation’s leading organization for women in the judiciary, and past chair of the State Bar Council on Access and Fairness.
Becton leads a prosecutorial office of approximately 222 lawyers, investigators, and staff. She is the first woman, the first African American, and the first person of color to serve as Contra Costa District Attorney since the office was established in 1850.
Henderson has spent his entire professional career working in public service for the city of San Francisco. He was recently appointed director of the Department of Police Accountability, where he and his legal team are tasked with investigating all complaints regarding police use of force and misconduct.
Prior to this appointment, Henderson, openly Gay, spent seven years as the deputy chief of staff and public safety director to the former Mayor of the City of San Francisco, Edwin M. Lee.
He served as Chief of Administration and prosecutor for former District Attorney of San Francisco Kamala Harris from 1995-2010. Handling all types of cases, ranging from nonviolent misdemeanors to serious felonies, Henderson became known as an expert in interpreting complex criminal justice public policy issues.
Henderson, who served under four elected district attorneys, was both the highest-ranking Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender (LGBT) attorney and African American male attorney in the history of the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.
Terry Wiley is an Assistant II District Attorney and the third ranking prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, located in Oakland. Wiley joined Oakland’s DA Office in 1990. He has supervised the felony trial team, the Juvenile Division and the Oakland Branch Courthouse.
Wiley has served in most assignments on the criminal side of the office and has prosecuted difficult and challenging felony cases, including the case against three Oakland police officers who called themselves “the Riders.”
In that case, the officers were accused of kidnapping, planting false evidence and assaulting citizens. Three of the four officers, eventually fired, were acquitted for criminal charges while the fourth cop fled the country. Civil lawsuits settled in the case totaled $10.9 million and led to police reform within the Oakland police department.
Wiley is currently a member of the American Bar Association Criminal Standards Committee, a past vice president of the National Bar Association, and a past member of the State Bar of California Board of Trustees.
CABL represents approximately 6000 Black attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. According to its website, the organization was founded in 1977 to eradicate the root causes of racism and to defend the legal and human rights of African Americans.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The NAACP San Bernardino is poised to lead the Branch under newly elected Officers and Executive Board members: The membership elected, Chache Wright, President; Che Wright, First Vice President; Joette Campbell, Second Vice-President; Selam Petros, Secretary; Jea Reese, Assistant Secretary; Russell Ward, Treasurer; Tasha Gary, Assistant Treasurer and Richard Blacksher, Executive Director.
The newly elected Executive Committee Members are Jessica Bruny, Hardy Brown, Lisha Blacksher, Cheryl Brown, Wallace Allen and Connie Lexion.
The new officers will take their oath of office on January 7, 2021 during a regular schedule Virtual Executive Board Meeting with them officially taking over their leadership duties in February.
President Wright said after the local election; “There is much work for the Branch to do in the County on the issues of Equity in health care and COVID19, business investment, in education, employment discrimination, police reform, investment in youth programs, voter registration and education”. It is our duty and responsibility to execute the mission of the NAACP, which is to ensure the political, education, social and economic equality of rights for all persons, and to eradicate racial injustice”, stated President Wright.
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