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A Cozy Hoodie sale at Jachs, a Samsung Galaxy S10 + $50 Amazon Gift Card, and a Nerf, Play-Doh, & Hasbro Games Gold Box lead off Saturday’s best deals from around the web.

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Palmdale teacher on administrative leave again after being accused of telling students she wanted to bring ‘slavery’ back

For the second time this year, a Palmdale teacher is under fire for allegedly making racist and gruesome comments aimed at students of color.

The unidentified history teacher reportedly has targeted Black and Latino students before at Space and Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy in Palmdale with a barrage of obnoxious comments in the last two months, the LA Times reported.

This time, the teacher allegedly praised President Donald Trump efforts at building a border wall while chastising Mexicans by saying they should go back “to their country,” according to the outlet.

READ MORE: Metro Atlanta teacher under fire for fight with student who threw a desk

The teacher also reportedly called for slavery to make a comeback. She also allegedly threatened to torture students, coupled with comments about consuming human flesh, the students reported.

The school has a majority population of about 70% Latino students, according to the outlet. Black students make up the next largest student population, according to data.

The assistant superintendent of human resources at the Palmdale School District, Ryan Beardsley, said that the teacher in question was placed on leave Friday, pending an investigation into her insensitive comments.

Back in October, the teacher reportedly made questionable comments and was placed on leave then. But she ultimately returned to work Dec. 13, only to allegedly re-commit to her racist rhetoric.

Parents reportedly started bombarding the school administrators with reports that the teacher was once again making improper comments. The new allegations prompted administrators to once again hire an independent investigator to look into the accusations.

“Employees are entitled to contractual rights, labor law and due process,” Beardsley said. The teacher has been employed with the Palmdale School District for about six years and is tenured.

READ MORE: Teachers under fire for posting photo of ‘back to school neckties’ depicting nooses

Students at the school said the teacher has a fostered an uncomfortable classroom environment that is filled with Trump memorabilia, they said at a Thursday news conference.

They said the teacher’s teaching method is also heavy on divisive politics.

“It would be uncomfortable for me as a child of an undocumented person to go in that class and suck up all her words and her nasty comments,” eighth-grader Jossylin Villegas said during the conference. “Imagine being an hour in that class and having to hear her talk about how we shouldn’t be here, about how we live off of white people’s money and we’re just stealing their jobs.”

Yaretzy Martinez, 13, said after she refused to attend the teacher’s class because she felt uncomfortable, she was dished a detention.

“I didn’t want to go to my teacher’s class that would talk bad about Hispanics,” she said. “I don’t think I was supposed to be in there. I feel like she has no right to talk bad about our race.”

Students are now on winter break and return Jan. 13. Beardsley said the school has enlisted mental health professionals to help students.

The post Palmdale teacher on administrative leave again after being accused of telling students she wanted to bring ‘slavery’ back appeared first on theGrio.

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‘Just Mercy’ is a Heart-wrenching Story of Justice and Unconditional Black Love

One of the most alarming statistics about black men in America is that 1 in 3 will be imprisoned in their lifetime. Mass incarceration is a multibillion-dollar business and black men and people of color face extreme racial disparities in the criminal justice system beyond crime rates. To date, there are 2.2 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails—a 500% increase over the last 40 years according to The Sentencing Project.

Of those 2.2 million men and women, 2,656 people are on death row and face execution by the state according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Over the years, policymakers, activists, and lawyers have fought to eliminate the death penalty and decrease the numbers of inmates sentenced to capital punishment. As a result, the death row population has declined for 18 consecutive years and deaths by other causes are outpacing new death sentences.

Public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama, has committed the last 30 years of his life and career advocating for the wrongly convicted, disadvantaged, and forgotten within the criminal justice system.

Over the span of his career, Stevenson and his staff have won reversals, relief, or release from prison for over 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row and won relief for hundreds of others wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced.

Walter McMillian, an innocent black man, wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death row before ever going to trial was Stevenson’s first client and person to be exonerated from the death penalty Alabama.

Just Mercy

At the time, Stevenson was an ambitious Harvard law graduate whose mission was to seek justice for marginalized people. Little did he know in 1989 that he was on the brink of making history.

“I just was trying to respond to a crisis encountered as a young lawyer. I was meeting people who were literally dying for legal assistance. I was outraged that people could be wrongly convicted, and no one seemed to care. It was really all about just meeting their needs and securing their freedom. It’s been great to see how these triumphs and standing up for something that’s important has resonated with people and given rise to this broader movement.

In the new motion picture, Just Mercy, Stevenson’s journey as an attorney, his fight for McMillian’s freedom, and McMillian’s life is presented in an intricately beautiful way.

In anticipation of the movie, Stevenson opened up about his life’s work, Walter McMillian, and the criminal justice system and what it’s like to see his journey be displayed on the big screen portrayed by actor Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx who portrays McMillian. And he says that while it is surreal he is glad that the story made from his critically acclaimed book, Just Mercy.

“Meeting Michael and working with Destin [Daniel Cretton] the director, gave me a lot of confidence that we could do this [create the movie] because not only are they incredibly talented creative people; they’re both dedicated. They’re both committed to these issues. And that gave me confidence and then when the rest of the cast got involved, I became more hopeful for seeing it was really so affirming and exciting. I’m really proud of the film, I think it’s going to hopefully get people to think critically about these issues that we’ve ignored for too long.” says Stevenson.

Fighting for a community

Communities and families receive unfair sentences when loved ones are wrongfully convicted.

(L-r) MICHAEL B. JORDAN as Bryan Stevenson and (seated to Michael’s left) KARAN KENDRICK AS Minnie McMillian in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama JUST MERCY, a Warner Bros. COPYRIGHT:
© 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (Photo by Jake Giles Netter)

Twenty-six years after McMillian’s exoneration, Stevenson is hopeful that his story is going to restore hope for the families and communities of people impacted by mass incarceration and wrongful convictions.

“When you wrongly put someone on death row; falsely convict them; wrongly convict them, and unfairly sentence them—you don’t just do something to that person…you do something to their family. And, you do something to their community…It’s traumatic for people and deeply discouraging, which is why it was so important to stay engaged with the family and the community,” says Stevenson.

Everyone in a relationship with people who are imprisoned is impacted by the absence of their loved one. In the case of McMillian, his wife Minnie McMillian, their five children, and his entire community experienced loss during the six years he was behind bars.

In Just Mercy, Karan Kendrick portrays Mrs. McMillian who is a powerful woman of few words who leads her community. In America, there are 132 million people who have family members in jails or prisons or who have been in jails and prisons.

For Kendrick, bringing Mrs. McMillian’s life to the big screen came with a great sense of personal responsibility to relieve black women from unhealthy bonds with strength; to highlight the significance of unconditional black love, and display the sacrifice that black women often make when black men are removed from the household and their communities.

A ‘1 Corinthians 13’ kind of love

“We get it. We get a chance to see what it looks like to journey with someone, what it looks like to choose to love. What it looks like to walk with someone even when it’s not easy. But it’s necessary—and in your heart is right and it is the right thing to do,” says Kendrick.

Kendrick’s portrayal of McMillian is a powerful depiction of black women and their humanity.

“I wanted to kind of destroy this ‘strong black woman-ness’. I think it can be paralyzing and detrimental to the understanding of the wholeness of who we are. So, I didn’t want me to be just strong. I wanted her to be terrified and disappointed. I wanted her to hurt to have moments of joy, understanding, and moments of confusion.”

Kendrick adds that McMillian’s silence is a different form of survival.

“There are certain moments when she isn’t saying anything, and you feel the hurt. You feel the pain and you feel the other things that are happening inside of her. My hope in my work is to present as fully and wholly as I can a black woman who is not a stereotype or a monolith—but a whole woman. I like to try to pull the curtain back and show parts of us that you won’t see unless we allow you in. In doing so, we begin to not only better understand each other but understand black women as human beings,” says Kendrick.

Black women are often in the fight for justice for their loved ones, the world, and members of their community. What Kendrick wants viewers to leave the theaters thinking after watching how Mrs. McMillian fought is that we have to show up no matter what that looks like.

“Her fight was is in her persistence. Her fight was is in her showing up. Sometimes I think we think that we have to show up in a certain way. We have to show up pretty, all together, whole and not hurting, and when things quote-unquote in a perfect place. But in reality, oftentimes we just got to show up,” says Kendrick.

Stevenson and Kendrick are hopeful that Just Mercy, the motion picture, will continue to the much-needed conversation about justice and the power of community.

In the words of Stevenson, “Hopelessness is the enemy of justice.”

Watch the trailer

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2ZbtiQx

‘Just Mercy’ is a Heart-wrenching Story of Justice and Unconditional Black Love

One of the most alarming statistics about black men in America is that 1 in 3 will be imprisoned in their lifetime. Mass incarceration is a multibillion-dollar business and black men and people of color face extreme racial disparities in the criminal justice system beyond crime rates. To date, there are 2.2 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails—a 500% increase over the last 40 years according to The Sentencing Project.

Of those 2.2 million men and women, 2,656 people are on death row and face execution by the state according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Over the years, policymakers, activists, and lawyers have fought to eliminate the death penalty and decrease the numbers of inmates sentenced to capital punishment. As a result, the death row population has declined for 18 consecutive years and deaths by other causes are outpacing new death sentences.

Public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama, has committed the last 30 years of his life and career advocating for the wrongly convicted, disadvantaged, and forgotten within the criminal justice system.

Over the span of his career, Stevenson and his staff have won reversals, relief, or release from prison for over 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row and won relief for hundreds of others wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced.

Walter McMillian, an innocent black man, wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death row before ever going to trial was Stevenson’s first client and person to be exonerated from the death penalty Alabama.

Just Mercy

At the time, Stevenson was an ambitious Harvard law graduate whose mission was to seek justice for marginalized people. Little did he know in 1989 that he was on the brink of making history.

“I just was trying to respond to a crisis encountered as a young lawyer. I was meeting people who were literally dying for legal assistance. I was outraged that people could be wrongly convicted, and no one seemed to care. It was really all about just meeting their needs and securing their freedom. It’s been great to see how these triumphs and standing up for something that’s important has resonated with people and given rise to this broader movement.

In the new motion picture, Just Mercy, Stevenson’s journey as an attorney, his fight for McMillian’s freedom, and McMillian’s life is presented in an intricately beautiful way.

In anticipation of the movie, Stevenson opened up about his life’s work, Walter McMillian, and the criminal justice system and what it’s like to see his journey be displayed on the big screen portrayed by actor Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx who portrays McMillian. And he says that while it is surreal he is glad that the story made from his critically acclaimed book, Just Mercy.

“Meeting Michael and working with Destin [Daniel Cretton] the director, gave me a lot of confidence that we could do this [create the movie] because not only are they incredibly talented creative people; they’re both dedicated. They’re both committed to these issues. And that gave me confidence and then when the rest of the cast got involved, I became more hopeful for seeing it was really so affirming and exciting. I’m really proud of the film, I think it’s going to hopefully get people to think critically about these issues that we’ve ignored for too long.” says Stevenson.

Fighting for a community

Communities and families receive unfair sentences when loved ones are wrongfully convicted.

(L-r) MICHAEL B. JORDAN as Bryan Stevenson and (seated to Michael’s left) KARAN KENDRICK AS Minnie McMillian in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama JUST MERCY, a Warner Bros. COPYRIGHT:
© 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (Photo by Jake Giles Netter)

Twenty-six years after McMillian’s exoneration, Stevenson is hopeful that his story is going to restore hope for the families and communities of people impacted by mass incarceration and wrongful convictions.

“When you wrongly put someone on death row; falsely convict them; wrongly convict them, and unfairly sentence them—you don’t just do something to that person…you do something to their family. And, you do something to their community…It’s traumatic for people and deeply discouraging, which is why it was so important to stay engaged with the family and the community,” says Stevenson.

Everyone in a relationship with people who are imprisoned is impacted by the absence of their loved one. In the case of McMillian, his wife Minnie McMillian, their five children, and his entire community experienced loss during the six years he was behind bars.

In Just Mercy, Karan Kendrick portrays Mrs. McMillian who is a powerful woman of few words who leads her community. In America, there are 132 million people who have family members in jails or prisons or who have been in jails and prisons.

For Kendrick, bringing Mrs. McMillian’s life to the big screen came with a great sense of personal responsibility to relieve black women from unhealthy bonds with strength; to highlight the significance of unconditional black love, and display the sacrifice that black women often make when black men are removed from the household and their communities.

A ‘1 Corinthians 13’ kind of love

“We get it. We get a chance to see what it looks like to journey with someone, what it looks like to choose to love. What it looks like to walk with someone even when it’s not easy. But it’s necessary—and in your heart is right and it is the right thing to do,” says Kendrick.

Kendrick’s portrayal of McMillian is a powerful depiction of black women and their humanity.

“I wanted to kind of destroy this ‘strong black woman-ness’. I think it can be paralyzing and detrimental to the understanding of the wholeness of who we are. So, I didn’t want me to be just strong. I wanted her to be terrified and disappointed. I wanted her to hurt to have moments of joy, understanding, and moments of confusion.”

Kendrick adds that McMillian’s silence is a different form of survival.

“There are certain moments when she isn’t saying anything, and you feel the hurt. You feel the pain and you feel the other things that are happening inside of her. My hope in my work is to present as fully and wholly as I can a black woman who is not a stereotype or a monolith—but a whole woman. I like to try to pull the curtain back and show parts of us that you won’t see unless we allow you in. In doing so, we begin to not only better understand each other but understand black women as human beings,” says Kendrick.

Black women are often in the fight for justice for their loved ones, the world, and members of their community. What Kendrick wants viewers to leave the theaters thinking after watching how Mrs. McMillian fought is that we have to show up no matter what that looks like.

“Her fight was is in her persistence. Her fight was is in her showing up. Sometimes I think we think that we have to show up in a certain way. We have to show up pretty, all together, whole and not hurting, and when things quote-unquote in a perfect place. But in reality, oftentimes we just got to show up,” says Kendrick.

Stevenson and Kendrick are hopeful that Just Mercy, the motion picture, will continue to the much-needed conversation about justice and the power of community.

In the words of Stevenson, “Hopelessness is the enemy of justice.”

Watch the trailer

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2ZbtiQx

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are spending the holidays in Canada

Tis’ the season for the royal couple and their new tot to end the year with a holiday vacay in Canada.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, have finalized travel plans to Canada to not only celebrate the season, but to pay homage to a land that holds a special meaning to them, according to TODAY.

READ MORE: Prince Harry holds back tears during speech about Megan Markle and fatherhood

“The decision to base themselves in Canada reflects the importance of this Commonwealth country to them both,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet. “The Duke of Sussex has been a frequent visitor to Canada over many years, and it was also home to The Duchess for seven years before she became a member of the Royal Family.”

The couple seemingly are forming their own family tradition and won’t be spending the holiday with the Queen at the Sandringham estate like they have the past two Christmases, the outlet reports. Markle’s mom Doria Ragland will be on deck this time and joining the couple and their seven-month-old son Archie Harrison in Canada.

“This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the Royal Family, and has the support of Her Majesty The Queen,” according to a previous statement.

This is a big move for Prince Harry who has only twice before broken the ranks of tradition by missing a Sandringham Christmas gathering. The only other time was in 2012 when he was on active duty in Afghanistan in 2012.

“They are enjoying sharing the warmth of the Canadian people and the beauty of the landscape with their young son,” their spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

It appears the royal family is really in a good place and in a jolly good mood and ending the year on a high note after several difficult turn of events that ended with lawsuits against media outlets.

In fact, Prince Harry really got into the Christmas spirit and dress up like Jolly Ole Saint Nick himself to express gratitude to military families who lost loved ones, for their brave service.

Prince Harry has sent a special Christmas message to children at a festive party thrown by @CorporalScotty🎅🏻
The charity provides support to kids across the UK who have lost a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.

Watch in full here: https://t.co/x1TIEs5TKS pic.twitter.com/30ooLusqCr

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) December 20, 2019

Harry appeared in a video and addressed members of the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers and vowed that their fallen loved ones would “never be forgotten,” CNN reports.

READ MORE: Prince Harry slams British tabloid, as Meghan Markle launches lawsuit

“I hear there’s a 190 of you there this year, so please cause as much chaos as humanly possible,” he said. “I also want to encourage you guys to look around and realize that you are part of a family, part of an amazing community, that there is support there for you every single day, should you need it.

“And having met some of you a few years ago, or most of you, I know how incredibly strong you are.”

“And I really, really hope and I know that you will all leave today with a huge smile on your face. And for the younger ones of you, probably covered in food as well. So have a fantastic Christmas and Happy New Year!” he said.

The post Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are spending the holidays in Canada appeared first on theGrio.

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