Why The 'Race Card' Is Played

After months of reports that many of America’s biggest stars had turned down the halftime show slot, news broke that Maroon 5 would be performing at the game on Feb. 3. As fans wrote petitions urging the band not to play in the show, the NFL delayed officially announcing the halftime show lineup for months, waiting until mid-January – weeks before the game – to actually confirm Maroon 5 would be playing. And when the rapper Travis Scott recently announced he would be joining Maroon 5 on the stage, he affirmed that he only agreed to perform if the NFL made a donation to a social justice organization, and yet still received criticism for signing on to the show. More: Petition asks Maroon 5 not to play Super Bowl halftime show to support Kaepernick 2018: Super Bowl LII viewership dips overall, streaming audience sets record Start the day smarter: Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox Colin Kaepernick at heart of halftime show aversion Months-delayed announcements, a

George RR Martin on the lack of Black Characters in Game of Thrones. He is best known for his series of epic fantasynovels, A Song of Ice and Fire, which was adapted into the HBO series Game of Thrones. #fantasy

KKK plans official Super Bowl protest rally at nearby Confederate memorial A group of White nationalists will hold a rally at Stone Mountain in Georgia on the Saturday before the Super Bowl in Atlanta, t h e J o u r n a l - C o n s t i t u t i o n r e p o r t s . The group of “white nationalists and white supremacists” includes the Ku Klux Klan and other groups, according to the paper. Organizers had their application for a “pro-white” event rejected but will push forward anyway. “To hell with their permit. The Constitution is our permit,” white nationalist Michael Weaver said of the February 2 rally. “We move forward. We aren’t going to be discriminated against because you don’t like our views.” The organizing group had previously staged a “white power” rally at the Stone Mountain site, which is the “Confederate Mount Rushmore.” About two dozen white power activists showed up and were met by hundreds of counter-demonstrators who ended up clashing with police.

Everyone needs to see this video. This is yet another example of how much they’ve been lying to you. #martinlutherkingjr

The Most Prominent Athletes Who Have Taken a Knee Many athletes have taken a knee since Colin Kaepernick helped start the movement in 2016 — will it continue at Super Bowl LIII? The Most Prominent Athletes Who Have Taken a Knee PEOPLE.com-4 hours ago Eric Reid, 27 — then of the San Francisco 49ers — joined C o l i n K a e p e r n i c k in protest before their game against the Los Angeles Rams on ... https://people.com/sports/athletes-take-a-knee-movement/

Elite LAPD unit disproportionately stopped black drivers An LA Times analysis found that nearly half the drivers stopped by LAPD Metro officers are black, which helped drive up the share of African Americans stopped by the LAPD overall from 21% to 28%, in a city that is 9% black.

Florida’s GOP Secretary of State resigns after photo appears of him mocking Hurricane Katrina victim with blackface Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Secretary of State has resigned after a photo emerged of him in blackface pantomiming a Hurricane Katrina victim, reports T h e T a l l a h a s s e e D e m o c r a t .   The photo, taken at a private event 14 years ago, shows Michael Ertel with fake breasts and black paint on his face, presumably to mock a black woman struggling in the aftermath of the Hurricane. Approximately 1,833 lost their lives during Hurricane Katrina, with a large majority being people of color. The delayed response is widely seen as one of the biggest failures of the Bush administration.