Why The 'Race Card' Is Played

Kofi Annan death: World leaders honour former UN chief World figures have been paying tribute to former UN secretary-general and Nobel laureate Kofi Annan, who has died at the age of 80. Current UN chief Antonio Guterres hailed him as "a guiding force for good" and Russian President Vladimir Putin described a "remarkable person". Ex-US President Barack Obama said Annan had always pursued "a better world". The Ghanaian national served as UN chief from 1997 to 2006 and is the only black African ever to hold the post. Since then he has served as the UN special envoy for Syria, leading efforts to find a solution to the conflict.

Stephon Clark shooting leads Sacramento police to major policy shift The new policy adopted in July requires police officers to weigh their own safety, potential danger to the public and the importance of making an arrest in each of these incidents, KCRA reports. Officers also must start their body cameras, explain why they are launching a chase and must offer a description of the person they are chasing. Officers may stop pursuit at any time “if the risk of pursuing outweighs the need for apprehension,” according to the policy. Law enforcement officers must also give thought to their surroundings and rethink the chase if the suspect enters a building or some other enclosed  space . They also must consider whether there are other officers available to back them up, KCRA reported.

John Elway says Colin Kaepernick 'had his chance to be' a Bronco but turned it down Aug 17 at 9:14am John Elway, the general manager for the Denver Broncos, revealed Thursday that the team once gave embattled former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a “chance” to be on the team, but he turned them down. Elway’s comments came while speaking to the press following the end of team camp. The former quarterback was asked whether Kaepernick could be seen as “a viable candidate” to fill a back-up quarterback roll. “Colin had his chance to be here. We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it,” Elway responded. Elway was referring to a trade offer made to Kaepernick prior to the 2016 season while he was still a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, USA Today reported. The deal was reportedly not accepted due a proposed pay reduction. Kaepernick ultimately chose to stay with the 49ers. During the season, Kaepernick started his national anthem protests. He began kne

Why NYPD paid Spike Lee $200k for ad campaign to improve relationship between police and community The NYPD is paying director  Spike Lee  more than $200,000 for a leading role in helping facilitate the relationship between cops and the Black community through a new policing programs. Given the onslaught of police  shooting  of unarmed  black men  in recent years, New York City’s own history of racial profiling by officers and Lee’s own criticism of the department this seems like an odd pairing. Lee’s 1989  movie   Do the Right Thing  was ahead of its time, tackling the tenuous race relations in Black communities. Lee ended his movie with a character Radio Raheem, getting choked to death by police. In recent years, Lee drew a comparison to his movie character and the choking death of  Eric Garner . “The Foundation approached and consulted several creative teams including the Spike DDB agency to help develop a public awareness campaign that would aim to strengthen the part

How Aretha Franklin Supported Angela Davis and the Black Panthers Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul and 20th century pop titan who died Thursday at home in Detroit, had a special connection to the Bay Area's radical history. Franklin, whose "Respect" became a civil-rights anthem, connected with the Black Power movement in the Bay Area. In a 1971  Jet  magazine interview, she offered to pay the bail of Angela Davis, then imprisoned after eluding arrest for alleged ties to a courtroom escape-turned-shootout in Marin. “Angela Davis must go free,” Franklin said. “Black people will be free. I’ve been locked up... and I know you got to disturb the peace when you can’t get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a black woman and she wants freedom for black people. I have the money; I got it from black people." Franklin noted that her father, the pre

Trump at 36 percent approval among African-Americans, new poll finds Even as cable news networks debate reports of the existence of a recording of President Donald Trump using a racial slur, a  new poll from Rasmussen Reports  says that the president's approval rating among African-Americans is at 36 percent, nearly double his support at this time last year.  "Today's @realDonaldTrump approval ratings among black voters: 36%," Rasmussen said in a tweet. "This day last year: 19%."  That is a staggeringly high number for a man who only won 8 percent of the African-American vote in 2016. It is even more unexpected given the president's rocky history on matters related to race , including his current nasty feud with former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, who has  alleged Trump said " n word "  on the set of the reality-TV show "The Apprentice."  Conservatives celebrated the poll as a sign of trouble for Democrats