Racists worst nightmare: Young, good-looking, Black, accomplished, and doing the job.
Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar
Racists, especially emboldened MAGA racists, will never pass up on an opportunity to show and share their racism. It’s just what they do and who they are.
Tuesday morning, we woke up to the news that the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland had collapsed overnight after it was hit by a container ship. While transportation officers were able to close the bridge before the impact, and thus save lives, workers on site were not that lucky. Six of them died that early morning. As often happens when tragedy strikes, the officials of federal, state, and local governments will hold press conferences and do their part to calm, reassure, and inform the public. And so it was that the country at large was introduced to the mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Maurice Scott.
The 39-year-old mayor was elected in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Brandon Maurice Scott is an American politician serving as the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, since 2020. The city of Baltimore uses a strong mayor-council structure for their government, meaning Scott holds strong mayoral powers. He is the former president of the Baltimore City Council and was a candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland in 2018, as well as a representative for Baltimore's second district.[3] On May 6, 2019, Scott was elected to replace Jack Young as council president after Young succeeded Mayor Catherine Pugh.[4] In September 2019, Scott announced his candidacy for mayor[5] and won the June 2020 Democratic primary.[6] Scott won the November 3 general election and took office on December 8, 2020…
… as expected, he won the November 3, 2020, general election in a landslide, with a nearly 3-to-1 margin over his nearest opponent
He has drawn some high praise for his command of the issues and the masterful way he’s handled the reporters at the press conferences:
In a video shared by the Daily Mail, the 39-year-old mayor was answering questions about the bridge collapse when he was asked: "How long is it going to take to rebuild [the bridge]?"
Immediately, Mayor Scott responds: "We shouldn't even be having that discussion right now. The discussion right now should be about the people, the souls, the lives that we're trying to save."
"There will be a time to discuss about a bridge and how we get a bridge back up, but right now there are people in the water that we have to get out. And that's the only thing that we should be talking about," he concluded.
And he's received nothing but praise online.
That last statement, I wish that were true. The, “He’s received nothing but praise online,” that is. It didn’t take long for racists to notice him and to take to social media to share their uninformed, malicious, bigoted, and idiotic opinions. “DEI hire” was the most oft-used phrase, which, in less tense times, would be laughable in its idiocy. For those who don’t know, Elon “Apartheid Man” Musk has been waging a fierce battle against DEI & “woke” on the fully functioning platform he bought, renamed, rebranded, and is now claiming credit for. He’s made it fashionable for users of that site to indulge in their most hateful fantasies. Thus, the ghouls were out in full frothing force over the last few days.
Nothing scrambles the hateful mess in racists’ craniums like the notion that Black people have money or power. Nothing is guaranteed to send them into an apoplectic frenzy quicker than successful Black folks. Racists really do believe the lies they’ve told themselves for some five centuries. And who can blame them, really? Centuries of brainwashing: of claiming inventions you know you borrowed, of discovering places that weren’t lost, of claiming you built things you inherited, of claiming you scaled heights to which you were carried… Damn, if I were you, I’d start to think that I’m all that, too, and everybody else is a whole lot less.
In the wake of the accident, we see a young Black governor and a young Black mayor masterfully doing their jobs competently, professionally, and with empathy. They proved that they are equal to the task, and racists are mad. They can stay mad.
A word about those who died: As far as we know, the people who lost their lives as a result of the accident on Tuesday morning, were all workers. Some of them, we are told, may even have been undocumented. Workers who were out there fixing potholes in the middle of the night so that citizens—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—could drive safely over that bridge. They do not deserve the hate and contempt that grotesque right wing trolls are so gleefully dumping on them. They deserve our thanks. We call their names: Maynor, Miguel, Dorlian, José, Alejandro, and the unnamed sixth man. We honor them. May they all rest in peace. Sending fortifying energy for their loved ones.
A call to action:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
failed Republican presidential CANDIDATE DeSantis, no longer in the spotlight has threatened TO send more REFUGEES TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD, only this time Haitian refugees are his target. NPR: DeSantis is prepping for a wave of Haitian migrants. Advocates say he's grandstanding
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More than a half million Haitians live in Florida. For decades, the state has been a primary destination for people fleeing political turmoil and economic hardship on the island. Florida's large Haitian-American community is closely monitoring the crisis. Tessa Petit. who was born and raised in Haiti now directs the Florida Immigrant Coalition, an advocacy group. She's been in touch with people on the island and says, "Folks in Haiti are living in complete panic. Supermarkets don't have food. People are running out of food. There's no electricity. Communication is very difficult. And people are living in fear."
DeSantis says the Guard troops he's sending, along with state law enforcement officers will help intercept any migrants who attempt to come from Haiti to the U.S. by boat and then turn them over to the Coast Guard. "Given the situation that's happening in Haiti," he says, "some brutal reports that are happening, we want to make sure we're protecting Floridians."
DeSantis was speaking at a news conference where he signed measures to crack down on undocumented immigrants in Florida. Later that day, in an interview on Fox News, he again spoke of the potential threat to Florida posed by any surge of migrants from Haiti. "We want to be prepared," he said. "I was asked today at our press conference, 'Why are you doing this when there has not actually yet been a massive influx?' I said, 'What are you supposed to do, wait for it to happen?' So, we're putting our assets in place to be able to defend the state."
The Coast Guard says it has intercepted and returned about 130 migrants to Haiti since October. And it has not seen a rise in interdictions since the recent violence began there.
Petit says she's been disappointed by the way DeSantis and other Republicans are framing a humanitarian crisis for one of the U.S.'s closest neighbors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previous Bachelorettes and contestants have been able to unlock high follower counts and opportunities. JoJo Fletcher, a contestant on the 20th season of The Bachelor in 2016 and the lead on the 12th season of The Bachelorette that same year, has 2.6 million followers on Instagram and hosts regular product giveaways through partnerships with home furniture brand Abbyson Home and others. She’s also founded a spirits company, launched home decor and clothing lines, hosted a reality TV show for the USA Network, and partnered with brands such as recipe platform Yummly and Walmart. Season 23 contestant and former 2019 bachelorette Hannah Brown boasts 2.7 million followers on Instagram, and has erected an empire with a Dancing with the Stars season win, New York Times bestselling books, a podcast, and recent sponsorship deals with beverage company Flying Embers, cheese brand Athenos, and pharma giant AstraZeneca.
Follower count is directly correlated to a contestant’s screen time and the nature of the screen time they receive. More screen time means a greater chance of being known to viewers, although a negative storyline usually hurts follower count (but can sometimes help). Ultimately, though, follower counts reveal who the fan base is excited about. “We fall in love with these contestants when they’re on the show. And when we follow them, we want insights into their lives. We want to live with them,” said Somers. “This is the purpose of reality TV, for us to live in somebody else’s life and experience their stories and find a way to relate.”
“Instagram follower counts aren’t everything, but they give us a sense of whose stories we are invested in and whose stories we want to continue to follow,” said Tabron.
Data across seasons, collected in real time by Somers, supports the idea that Bachelor Nation is not as interested in following contestants of color online.
Somers noticed the racial trend when she first began collecting data during Colton Underwood’s 2019 season of The Bachelor. Contestant Tayshia Adams, who is Black and would go on to become the franchise’s second Black lead in 2020 after Rachel Lindsay in 2017, did not gain the kind of following that white contestants on the season did.
“The trend was that if you got a one-on-one date, that would translate to more followers. But that didn’t hold with Tayshia,” Somers said. “Even with someone as beautiful and amazing as Tayshia, if you are white, you are going to get more followers than if you are not white.”
Though Tayshia has now built her Instagram following to 1.4 million (the only Black lead to have more than 1 million followers), it’s important to view her growth in comparison to her white counterparts in real time. During Colton’s season, the final four women were Cassie Randolph, Hannah Godwin, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, and Tayshia; all three white women had follower counts that fell between about 500,000 and 700,000, while Tayshia had less than 100,000.
“You will not find a season where a person of color contestant is ahead of all the other white contestants, even if they’re [finalists],” said Somers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is speaking out against the racists who called him the “DEI mayor” after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed earlier this week. The tragedy happened early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship lost power and crashed into the bridge.
There were six people presumed deceased, but the focus for certain conservative social media users—including Utah Rep. Phil Lyman and Florida congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini—was finding a way to blame diversity, equity and inclusion for the catastrophe.
On Wednesday, Scott sat down with MSNBC’s Joy Reid to discuss the online attacks. “I know, and we know, and you know very well that Black men—and young Black men in particular—have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy white men should have a say in anything,” he stated.
Scott also explained that he didn’t receive a special appointment to his position because of his race—he was literally elected to office. In fact, the 39-year-old politician served on the city council before becoming mayor in 2020. Scott won more than 70 percent of the vote.
“We’ve been the bogeyman for [racists] since the first day they brought us to this country, and what they mean by DEI in my opinion is duly elected incumbent,” he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carl Grant, a Vietnam veteran with dementia, wandered out of a hospital room to charge a cellphone he imagined he had. When he wouldn’t sit still, the police officer escorting Grant body-slammed him, ricocheting the patient’s head off the floor.
Taylor Ware, a former Marine and aspiring college student, walked the grassy grounds of an interstate rest stop trying to shake the voices in his head. After Ware ran from an officer, he was attacked by a police dog, jolted by a stun gun, pinned on the ground and injected with a sedative.
And Donald Ivy Jr., a former three-sport athlete, left an ATM alone one night when officers sized him up as suspicious and tried to detain him. Ivy took off, and police tackled and shocked him with a stun gun, belted him with batons and held him facedown.
Each man was unarmed. Each was not a threat to public safety. And despite that, each died after police used a kind of force that is not supposed to be deadly — and can be much easier to hide than the blast of an officer’s gun.
Every day, police rely on common tactics that, unlike guns, are meant to stop people without killing them, such as physical holds, Tasers and body blows. But when misused, these tactics can still end in death — as happened with George Floyd in 2020, sparking a national reckoning over policing. And while that encounter was caught on video, capturing Floyd’s last words of “I can’t breathe,” many others throughout the United States have escaped notice.
Over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through means not intended to be lethal, an investigation led by The Associated Press found. In hundreds of cases, officers weren’t taught or didn’t follow best safety practices for physical force and weapons, creating a recipe for death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A federal court on Thursday ruled that this year’s congressional elections in South Carolina will be held under a map that it had already deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters, with time running out ahead of voting deadlines and a lack of a decision on the case by the Supreme Court.
In an order, a panel of three federal judges from South Carolina wrote that “with the primary election procedures rapidly approaching, the appeal before the Supreme Court still pending, and no remedial plan in place, the ideal must bend to the practical.”
South Carolina’s primary elections are June 11, and early voting starts May 28. The deadline for overseas absentee ballots is April 27, ahead of which the judges wrote that it’s “plainly impractical” to make changes to the maps.
The case hinges on South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, currently held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. Last year, the same three-judge panel ordered South Carolina to redraw the district, which runs from Charleston to Hilton Head Island, after finding that the state used race as a proxy for partisan affiliation in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
When Mace first won her election in 2020, she edged out Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Cunningham — who two years earlier had been the first Democrat to flip a House seat in South Carolina in 30 years — by 1%, under 5,400 votes. In 2022, following redistricting driven by the 2020 census results, Mace won reelection by 14%.
After South Carolina’s Legislature, which Republicans lead, redrew the district, civil rights groups swiftly filed a lawsuit, charging state lawmakers with choosing “perhaps the worst option of the available maps” for Black voters, arguing they had removed Black voters and made it a safer seat for Republicans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jamaican government has joined widespread condemnation of comments by the Conservative’s party’s biggest donor, Frank Hester, amid concerns about a contract it signed with his digital health company.
Earlier in March, the Guardian revealed that during a meeting in 2019 Hester had said Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, made you “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”, remarks that are now subject of an investigation by West Yorkshire police.
After the publication of the remarks, Jamaica’s health ministry has faced calls to cancel a deal, worth a reported $5m (£4m), for Hester’s healthcare technology company, TPP, to manage the country’s digital medical records.
In its first comments on the issue, Jamaica’s ministry of health and wellness (MOHW) said in a statement that it “condemns any form of discriminatory behaviour, including racism and sexism”, the Jamaica Gleaner reported.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Nigerian army has rescued students and staff who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country’s north earlier this month, the military said, days before the deadline for a ransom payment.
School officials and residents had said 287 students were taken on 7 March in the town of Kuriga, in the north-western state of Kaduna. A military spokesperson said 137 hostages – 76 female and 61 male – were rescued in the early hours of Sunday in the neighbouring state of Zamfara.
“In the early hours of 24 March 2024, the military, working with local authorities and government agencies across the country in a coordinated search and rescue operation, rescued the hostages,” Maj Gen Edward Buba said in a statement.
A security source said the students had been freed in a forest and were being escorted to Kaduna’s capital for medical tests before being reunited with their families.
The governor of Kaduna, Uba Sani, earlier put the number of people kidnapped at more than 200. Given the discrepancies in numbers reported, it was unclear whether any hostages remained in the kidnappers’ hands. Some Kuriga elders said Sani had told them all hostages had been freed.
Jibrin Aminu, a spokesperson for the Kuriga parents, said he would clarify numbers on Monday, when families had been given the chance to “take account of their kidnapped children”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
