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EDUCATION HEADLINES NEWS & LIFE

Racism: Osundare is latest Nigerian poet to write on George Floyd

Akeem Lasisi

Acclaimed poet, Niyi Osundare, has intervened in the battle against racism especially as sparked by the death of Black American George Floyd, on whose neck a former white cop, Derek Chauvin, had brutally felt.

Some Nigerian poets, including EC Osondu and James Eze, had earlier dedicated poems to the struggle.

In Osundare’s award-winning tradition, he deploys satire to the race question, while digging deep into the discrimination that pervades American system.:

“I Can’t Breathe”
(Episodic Variations on the Ripples of a Primal Scream)

I can’t breathe

I can’t breathe

I can’t bre

I can’t

I can’t

2020: Black Lives Matter

1965: I AM A MAN

There are countless ways

Of lynching without a rope

The casualties were fewer than we ever expected:

10 Persons

&

1,000 Negroes

For every Black in college

There are a hundred more in prison

So many centuries on,

America still has a “Negro Problem”

My skin is my sin,

Sings Bluesman with the wailing strings,

My very life is an “underlying condition”

For countless afflictions

And the Media Sage responds:

Racism is America’s Original Sin

Violence, its inalienable companion

There is a common crime in town:

Breathing While Black (BWB)

Mr. George Floyd committed two cardinal crimes:

He was Black

He was big

Black Lives Matter

Black Life Martyrs

Asked Louis Armstrong, the Smiling Trumpetman:

What did I do to be so black and blue?

II
Black Life Martyrs,

Their voices rise from their untimely graves:

Amadu Diallo, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Botham Jean, Breanna Taylor, Philando Castille, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd. . . . .

Any Hall of Fame

For Trophies from Police hunts?

To be and not to be

To wallow in want in a sea of wealth

To shout and not be heard

To stand and not be seen

To sow and never to reap

To live all your life below the Law

To be stopped and frisked stopped and frisked stopped and frisked stopped and. . . . .

To be told countless times

To forgive and then forget

Yess Sur, Yes Maa’m. . . .

Put them at ease with your Negro smile

Your low, low, bow and your high regard

That cool façade is your saving grace

The “Angry Black Man” is as good as dead

911, 911, 911, 911

My name is Sue,

Calling from my car in City Park

There’s a big black male around

Whose big dark shadow is menace to my sight

Please send a cop; my life is at risk

Choke-hold, choke-hold

Stranglehold and dash and dangle

400 years of knee-on-neck

Our Police know their oath:

To serve

&

To protect

*
The Police Chief took a knee

The Sheriff followed in tow

Is this a genuine genuflection

To Kaepernick’s treason

Or patronizing bribe of momentary appeasement?

And the Emperor snarls

From the bunker of his White Castle

Vowing “vicious dogs and ominous weapons”

Rolling in guns to “dominate the streets”

His unhappy nation now his “battlespace”

Black Lives Matter

Black Life Martyrs

Asked Louis Armstrong, the smiling Trumpetman:

What did I do to be so black and blue?

I can’t breathe

I can’t breathe

I can’t breathe

Floyd being pinned down
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Uncategorized

I’m greatly pained by Floyd’s matter – Michael Jordan

Basket Ball great, Michael Jordan, has said that he is truly pained by the killing of George Floyd, the Black American on whose neck a white police officer brutally knelt last week.

The death resulting from Derek Chauvin’s action has sparked massive outrage and many people have continued to condemn it.

Jordan said in a post on Monday that, via peaceful protest or voting power, the people must continue to battle racism.

‘I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,’ Jordan, an NBA Hall of Famer said. ‘I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage, and frustration.

“I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough.

Chauvin

“I don’t have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy, and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability.

“Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systemic change. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all.

Floyd being pinned down

“My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd and to the countless others whose lives have been brutally and senselessly taken through acts of racism and injustice.”

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HEADLINES INTERNATIONAL

George Floyd: Mark Zuckerberg mourns, expresses support for Black emancipation

Facebook funder, Mark Zuckerberg, has mourned the killing of George Floyd and expressed support for black emancipation.

Reacting to Floyd’s death after he was pinned down by a white policeman Derek Chauvin, Zuckerberg, in a statement on Monday, pledged institutional and financial support for the cause against police brutality against the Black.
He noted: “The pain of the last week reminds us how far our country has to go to give every person the freedom to live with dignity and peace. It reminds us yet again that the violence Black people in America live with today is part of a long history of racism and injustice. We all have the responsibility to create change.

“We stand with the Black community — and all those working towards justice in honor of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and far too many others whose names will not be forgotten.

“To help in this fight, I know Facebook needs to do more to support equality and safety for the Black community through our platforms. As hard as it was to watch, I’m grateful that Darnella Frazier posted on Facebook her video of George Floyd’s murder because we all needed to see that. We need to know George Floyd’s name. But it’s clear Facebook also has more work to do to keep people safe and ensure our systems don’t amplify bias.

MARK ZUCKERBERG

“The organizations fighting for justice also need funding, so Facebook is committing an additional $10 million to groups working on racial justice. We’re working with our civil rights advisors and our employees to identify organizations locally and nationally that could most effectively use this right now.

“I know that $10 million can’t fix this. It needs sustained, long term effort. One of the areas Priscilla and I have personally worked on and where racism and racial disparities are most profound is in the criminal justice system. I haven’t talked much about our work on this, but the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has been one of the largest funders, investing ~$40 million annually for several years in organizations working to overcome racial injustice. Priscilla and I are committed to this work, and we expect to be in this fight for many years to come. This week has made it clear how much more there is to do.

“I hope that as a country we can come together to understand all of the work that is still ahead and do what it takes to deliver justice — not just for families and communities that are grieving now, but for everyone who carries the burden of inequality.”

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS & LIFE

Obama speaks on killing of George Floyd

Former President Barrack Obama has reacted to the death of a Black American, George Floyd, believed to have resulted from the brutal way he was seized by a white police cop, Derek Chauvin.
The incident that happened in Minneapolis on Monday has sparked global outrage.
Reacting via a tweet, Obama said the abnormal had become normal in America.
He noted:

“It was fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death is investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done.

“But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station – including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day – to work together to create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.”

Floyd being pinned down

“It’s natural to wish for life “to just get back to normal” as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us,” he said.

“But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully and maddeningly “normal” – whether it’s while dealing with the healthcare system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.”

Floyd

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS & LIFE

George Floyd latest: Wife of brutal policeman Chauvin opts for divorce

The American policeman who pinned Black American George Floyd to death, Derek Chauvin, is facing another battle at home.

He has been sacked, widely criticized while his action has caused protests and mayhem in parts of the US.

But apart from the fact that he has been charged to court, his wife, Kellie, has also opted to divorce him based on the incident.

Her lawyers confirmed on Friday night that she was seeking the “dissolution of her marriage” to Chauvin.

Kellie

The Sekula Law Office said in a statement: “This evening, I spoke with Kellie Chauvin and her family. She is devastated by Mr. Floyd’s death and her utmost sympathy lies with his family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy.

“She has filed for dissolution of her marriage to Derek Chauvin. While Ms. Chauvin has no children from her current marriage, she respectfully requests that her children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy during this difficult time.”

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HEADLINES INTERNATIONAL

Trump lambasts Mayor as George Floyd protests go crazy

President Donald Trump has expressed anger at the protests greeting the killing of Black American George Floyd, by a white policeman aided by two other colleagues.

The policeman, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck till his life apparently disappeared.

The protest has however turned crazy, with many involved looting whatever they could see.

Reacting on Friday, Trump said he would not watch the act continue, as he lambasts the city’s Mayor and threatened military action.
He tweeted, “I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right

“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”