Karmelo Anthony Trial. NOLA Judges Eliminated. SCOTUS Strikes VR Ruling. Roland Rips Fox's Ingraham
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Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Jury selection for the Carmelo Anthony murder trial is underway in a conservative Texas county, raising concerns about fairness.
- ❖Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill to eliminate several judgeships in New Orleans, disproportionately impacting Black judges, without clear data to support the reduction.
- ❖The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the legislature's power to eliminate judgeships, a move attributed to increased Republican power due to low Black voter turnout.
- ❖A South Carolina jury acquitted store owner Rick Chow of murdering 14-year-old Cyrus Carmarmac Belton, who was shot in the back after being chased for alleged water theft.
- ❖Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Cory Booker clashed over the Trump administration's foreign policy cuts and the Iran deal, with Booker arguing the US is less prepared for global outbreaks.
- ❖The Supreme Court's 'Clay' decision weakened the Voting Rights Act, enabling states like Alabama and Mississippi to draw discriminatory congressional maps and Louisiana to target Black congressional seats.
- ❖The Minnesota Republican convention held a moment of silence for convicted murderer Derek Chauvin, drawing widespread condemnation and highlighting racial insensitivity within the party.
- ❖The panel emphasizes that low Black voter turnout directly leads to adverse political outcomes and the erosion of Black political power.
- ❖Economic withdrawal from businesses that demonstrate anti-Black sentiment or actions is proposed as a direct response strategy.
Insights
1Judgeships Eliminated in New Orleans, Targeting Black Parishes
Louisiana Republican lawmakers passed Senate Bill 217, reducing the number of judges in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Juvenile Court, and Municipal and Traffic Court. This move eliminates three specific judgeships, including those held by Judge Simone Lavine, Judge Ronda Good Douglas, and Judge John Fuller. The legislation's sponsor, from Northern Louisiana, cited judicial inefficiency without providing supporting data, despite a prior work study meant only for adding, not reducing, judges. Host Roland Martin frames this as a 'GOP war on Black America,' directly linking it to the consequences of low Black voter turnout in the last gubernatorial election, which granted Republicans a supermajority.
Louisiana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 217, reducing Orleans criminal district court judges from 13 to 9, juvenile court judges from 4 to 2, and municipal/traffic court judges from 7 to 5. The eliminated criminal court judges are Simone Lavine, Ronda Good Douglas, and John Fuller. Judge Douglas stated the rationale was judicial inefficiency, but no data supported it, and a prior work study was for adding judges, not reducing them. New Orleans was the only parish targeted. (, , , , )
2Acquittal in Shooting of Black Teen Raises Concerns of Diminished Black Life Value
A South Carolina jury acquitted store owner JK Rick Chow of murdering 14-year-old Cyrus Carmarmac Belton. Chow chased Belton for over 130 yards from his convenience store, falsely accusing him of stealing water, and shot him in the back. Chow claimed self-defense, alleging Belton pointed a gun at his son, but prosecutors argued Belton's gun had fallen, and Chow acted in anger. The verdict sparked outrage, with the family's attorney emphasizing the palpable anger and the feeling that 'our children don't matter.' The panel highlights the diminished value of Black life in the justice system and the absurdity of a self-defense claim when the victim was shot in the back after a long chase over a minor alleged offense.
A South Carolina jury acquitted store owner JK Rick Chow, 61, who shot 14-year-old Cyrus Carmarmac Belton in the back after chasing him over 130 yards from his Columbia convenience store, falsely accusing him of stealing water. Prosecutors stated Belton's gun had fallen during the chase. The family's attorney, Todd Rutherford, expressed 'palpable anger' and disbelief at the verdict. (, , , , )
3Minnesota GOP Honors Derek Chauvin, Exposing Racial Divides
The Minnesota Republican statewide convention held a moment of silence to pay tribute to convicted murderer and former police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd in 2020. This occurred just days after the anniversary of Floyd's murder. A Black Republican gubernatorial candidate, Kendall Qualis, struggled to condemn the act, offering a nuanced, non-committal response, which Roland Martin and the panel sharply criticized as 'cowardice' and 'pathetic.' This incident is presented as a stark example of racial insensitivity and a deliberate alignment with figures associated with police brutality against Black individuals within the Republican party.
The Minnesota Republican statewide convention paid tribute to convicted murderer, former cop Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd in 2020, with a 10-second moment of silence. Black Republican gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualis, when asked, stated he wasn't privy to it beforehand and wouldn't say it was a 'mistake,' but rather 'not the venue or timing.' (, , )
4Voting Rights Act Weakened, Leading to Discriminatory Maps
The Supreme Court's 'Clay' decision significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act, making it harder for racial minorities to win voting discrimination lawsuits. This has enabled Republican-controlled legislatures in states like Alabama and Mississippi to continue drawing congressional maps with minimal majority-Black districts, despite Black populations making up a significant portion of the states. In Louisiana, white residents are now attempting to eliminate a second Black congressional seat, that of Congressman Troy Carter, claiming it's a racial gerrymander. This systematic effort is described as an 'attack on Black America' designed to defund and wipe out Black political power, reminiscent of the post-Reconstruction era.
Black voters in Alabama urged the Supreme Court to reject a congressional map with only one majority-Black district, which lower courts found discriminatory. In Mississippi, a federal judge ruled state supreme court election districts violated the Voting Rights Act. These issues are linked to the conservative Supreme Court's 'Clay' decision, which weakened the Voting Rights Act. In Louisiana, white residents are attempting to eliminate Congressman Troy Carter's seat, claiming it's a racial gerrymander. (, , , )
Lessons
- Prioritize voter registration and turnout: Actively engage in local and state elections, recognizing that low voter turnout directly leads to the erosion of Black political power and adverse legislative outcomes.
- Implement economic withdrawal: Boycott businesses that demonstrate anti-Black sentiment or actions, as exemplified by the call to cease patronage of the store owned by the acquitted shooter.
- Organize and mobilize locally: Establish and participate in Black-focused citizenship education and training sessions in communities, ensuring sustained engagement beyond election cycles and building collective power.
Quotes
"If you get stopped in Colin County or Den County, good luck. Good luck because it is known that those two places is a no no for minorities."
"This makes us feel as if our children don't matter and they do. This makes us feel like Cyrus's life did not matter, and it did."
"It is not open season on black people for anybody to feel like they should be able to do it because the jury found him not guilty."
"The value on black life is very diminished. And you know, so many people, but white supremacists have done a great job of making us taking our humanity away from us. So, it's almost as if people don't see Cyrus. They don't see a 14-year-old child. they see a menace."
"There's a sickness that exists inside of America and we never want to talk about it, right? There there's a there is a mental and a spiritual sickness that exists inside of this country that you could extinguish um our lives and they've been doing it um since the founding of this country."
"You are a weak, impotent, pathetic disgrace of a black man."
"I speak to all black people except for black people who don't like black people. Besides that, but even they should go ahead and vote, right?"
"The big difference between black women, black men and black women is black women are going to organize and mobilize and they're not going to ask somebody's permission."
Q&A
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