Getting the Last Laugh, Mo’Nique Finally Has Another Stand Up Comedy Special

To the chagrin of many detractors who continue to write her off, Mo’Nique has rebounded in a big way.

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Video of Baltimore police being attacked underscores divisions in city leadership

When a video went viral on Saturday of a Baltimore police officer being kicked by bystanders while he wrestled with someone he was arresting, another kind of pile-on ensued. Police union leadership seized the moment to call for new city leaders.

State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, who was “disgusted” by the video of the attack on the officer, later lashed out at the city’s Fraternal Order of Police’s “continued inappropriate political rhetoric, fanning the very flames they then call on me to put out,” she said, according to The Baltimore Sun.

READ MORE: Marilyn Mosby confirms 25 Baltimore officers have been accused of using excessive force

“Their responses are relentlessly divisive, and they seem to lose no opportunity to misplace blame,” Mosby continued. “Our city desperately deserves better and needs to move past such divisive rhetoric, and hypocritical finger-pointing.”

The union and its president, Sgt. Mike Mancuso, issued a statement earlier in the day, Fox News reported, directly indicting Baltimore’s elected officials: “Crime in Baltimore is out of control, and until new leadership is elected and appointed, this lack of respect for the law and those who enforce it will continue and deepen.”

Mancuso and the union have frequently issued inflammatory reactions in recent years, as the homicide rate in Baltimore has climbed to record rates and elected officials, including former Mayor Catherine Pugh, have been accused of corruption (Pugh resigned last year and later pleaded guilty to federal charges). In addition, the police themselves have come under fire for their own corruption, including convictions connected to the Gun Trace Task Force.

Mosby seemed to have that in mind in her statement: “The same sense of outrage in this case should be expressed by the leaders of the police union when their officers are convicted of attempted murder, assault, and unlawful arrest against citizens.’’

READ MORE: Slain Baltimore salon owner feared for her ‘life and business’

Mosby came to prominence, and raised the ire of city police, in 2015 when she indicted six officers on charges in connection with Freddie Gray’s death in police custody, charges which followed several days of unrest after Gray’s death. None of the six were ever convicted, however.

Mosby, Mayor Jack Young and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison publicly condemned the actions on the video, but, among others, Mancuso and Gov. Larry Hogan had added on pointed criticism of city politicians.

To the mayor, Mancuso said in an additional statement: “We all know the truth is that you are way in over your head! Attacking me is just another attempt to take the heat off your failed leadership.”

 

 

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EXCLUSIVE: Here is why Black educator Geoffrey Canada endorsed Mike Bloomberg

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg on Sunday garnered a coveted endorsement from education leader Geoffrey Canada after the candidate announced a bold $70 billion investment plan for Black America.

Bloomberg announced the initiative Sunday at the site of historic race riots in Tulsa, Okla., in the Greenwood community. The area, once known as the “Black Wall Street,” was destroyed by marauding racists in one of the worst incidents of racial terror in U.S. history.

Read More: Bloomberg claims ‘Stop and Frisk’ was meant to help Black, but admits mistake

Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City who has been a national leader in education and education reform, especially for some of the nation’s poorest children, called the plan a major game-changer. 

Bloomberg’s plan, “The Greenwood Initiative: Economic Justice for Black America,” proposes a $70 billion investment in 100 disadvantaged communities in this country. In addition, it sets goals to create 1 million new Black homeowners and 100,000 new Black-own businesses, largely women, in the next decade.

MLK and “True Equality”

“[A]s we celebrate the life of Dr. King, we remember that he not only marched for equal rights, he marched for economic justice, because they go hand-in-hand,” Bloomberg said in a statement released over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. “He knew that equality under the law was only the first step to true equality, and true equality is only achieved when there is no correlation between skin color and success.”

Canada, who spoke exclusively to TheGrio, said such an investment in Black communities is long over due.

“I know from experience that simply raising salaries is not going to improve the outcomes for poor children around this country and we need a massive investment in community infrastructure if we’re going to save children,” Canada said. “Our communities are way overdue for a massive reinvestment in community infrastructure necessary for communities to be successful.”

As a respected advocate for poor Black and Brown kids, Canada knows that he will be asked how he can support Bloomberg who is well-known for his “Stop and Frisk” program, which disproportionately impacted people of color. 

READ MORE: Michael Bloomberg campaigns against voter suppression at voters rights summit in Georgia

The Problem with “Stop and Frisk”

“Mike and I have this interesting relationship because he will admit I am one of the people who told him he was wrong about “Stop and Frisk” and he debated back and forth with me on this. He believed what his criminal justice people were telling him about broken windows and why this was really going to be a successful crime fighting strategy and homicide were decreasing. And I argued that this was a discriminatory practice. And we simply debated this, and he refused to move on this point. And it was a mistake. And I told him it was a mistake. And I told him it was going to undermine the good work he had done in the city, in particular supporting education and other issues in the Black and Brown community.”

Canada shared that he also sounded the alarm about the negative impact President Bill Clinton’s infamous crime bill would have on people of color. “I have video of me testifying in front of Joe Biden, and telling them that this crime bill, which was a focus on punishment and no support, was going to be a disaster in our community.”

Unable to undo the past, Canada said “For me, the issue is who is going to give our community the best opportunity to recover from that damage that was done by those laws and those police laws. And, for me, that’s Mike Bloomberg.”

True economic investments for African Americans 

Asked about his endorsement for Bloomberg over Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a former educator who is polling strong for president in 2020, Canada was frank about seeking an economic infusion for African Americans. 

“My issue is not on whether or not someone believes in education or has an interest in education or wants to do something significant. I wanted somebody who was prepared to make a massive financial investment in poor communities. Not, you know, a hundred million dollars, a couple of hundred. I’m talking something big enough so we thought it could do the job and there’s no other candidate who’s come up with anything even close to that. This to me is very important for our community that, in the end, we know someone’s going to be president who is going to be prepared to do the kind of investment in our communities that have happened in other communities. 

“President Trump got in, he took care of all the businesses. He made these tremendous tax cuts for them. They’re all doing great. That’s terrific. That’s who he supports. I want somebody who’s prepared to do something as significant for our community and Elizabeth Warren or none of the others have come on that I see with a plan that approaches the kind of scale that I think is necessary if we’re really going to make a difference in the entire country.”

 

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Delbert Orr Africa, member of MOVE 9, freed after 42 years in prison

Delbert Orr Africa had already been arrested, convicted and imprisoned as a member of the MOVE activist group, when Philadelphia police in 1985 notoriously ended a conflict by dropping a bomb on their home base, killing 11 people and burning dozens of surrounding houses.

Orr Africa on Saturday was released from Pennsylvania state prison, according to The Guardian. He was one of nine MOVE members convicted in the wake of a siege that left a police officer shot to death.

READ MORE: ACLU Sues FBI For Sealed Documents That Label Black Activists A Domestic Threat

Now, 73 years old, he was one of the last of the “MOVE 9” still imprisoned. One still remains; Orr Africa is the sixth to be released, and two have died, according to KYW radio. Orr Africa had been jailed since 1978.

The nine had originally been sentenced to 30 years to life in the killing of the officer. But, Brad Thomson, who is part of Orr African’s legal team, told The Guardian that releasing him “affirms what the movement to free the Move 9 has been arguing for decades: that their continued incarceration is unjust.”

Orr Africa’s arrest was captured on video, the Guardian reported, that showed him leaving the Philadelphia house under siege with his arms outstretched, a police rifle pointed at his neck, then being slammed to the ground and kicked in the head.

He described the arrest in an interview with the Guardian last year: “I went down, and after that I don’t remember anything till I came to and a dude was dragging me by my hair and cops started kicking me in the head.”

READ MORE: Black Activists have been unnecessarily monitored by Top Government Agencies

The members of MOVE all took the surname “Africa.” After the 1978 arrest, they reassembled at a new headquarters, the one that eventually was the location of the 1985 police standoff, which ended with police flying a helicopter in to drop an incendiary device on the roof.

One of the five children killed in the attack was Orr Africa’s then-13-year-old daughter, Delisha.

Of the original MOVE 9, only Charles “Chuck” Africa remains in prison.

 

 

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Meghan and Harry give up titles in epic break with royal family

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have relinquished their titles of His and Her “Royal Highness.” They also gave up their rights to public funds as part of a deal that allows them to end their roles as royals, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday.

The announcement capped off nearly two weeks of rumor and speculation about the couple’s next move. The two, however, will retain their titles of Duchess and Duke of Sussex, according to The Associated Press.

READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth releases official statement on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future

The pair’s announcement earlier this month that they wanted to withdraw from the intense media and public scrutiny – a large part of which was racism directed toward Meghan by England’s tabloids – shook the palace and the country accustomed to throwing a bright spotlight on the royals. Meghan, the longtime star of the TV series Suits, Harry and their infant child Archie are expected to live part-time in Canada.

They did agree to repay the $3.1 million in U.S. dollars in renovations to a home they were to share near Windsor Castle. That expense, The AP reported, was part of the public uproar from the announcement that Meghan and Harry wanted to withdraw from the public portion of their royal duties.

In the official palace statement, Queen Elizabeth said: “I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life … It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.’’

“Peaceful” was a term that hardly applied to the relationship between the British press and the then-royal couple, particularly Meghan – dating back to their engagement and their 2018 marriage witnessed by a worldwide audience.

READ MORE: How Meghan Markle exposed racism in the British media (then bounced)

The bitter feud with the media reached new depths in October when Meghan launched legal action against a newspaper for publishing a letter she wrote to her father. Prince Harry has taken his wife’s side unconditionally in the face of the blatantly racist undertones in some of the reporting. The tensions have also contributed to a rift between Harry and older brother William, second in line to the throne behind their father, Prince Charles; the details of the rift, however, have not been made public.

Is the split with the British throne the best move for Meghan’s peace of mind, and for her still-new family? Weigh in on it, Grio fam.

 

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