DC METRO POLICE FATALLY SHOOTS 18-YEAR-OLD MAN: On Wednesday evening (September 2nd), DC Metro police shot and killed 18-year-old Deon Kay in his Congress Heights neighborhood. According to Essence, there are conflicting reports as to what caused the shooting. Police accounts say that cops responded to a call about a man brandishing a gun. Cops say that Kay was one of several people surrounding a vehicle when officers responded to the call. When cops approached the car, a foot chase began when Kay and another "suspect" began to run. Information obtained by the Washington Post based on bodycam footage suggests that as one of the officers ran past the car to pursue the fleeing subjects, Kay pulled a gun from his waist. The cop fired at Kay, striking him in the chest. Kay was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Several community members have disputed the cops' account of what happened to Deon Kay. After the shooting, over 100 protestors gathered outside of the 7th District police station. (Essence)
1,000 BLACK WOMEN LEADERS CALL OUT DONALD TRUMP IN OPEN LETTER: A group of 1,000 influential black women leaders have come together to call out Donald Trump and his current administration in an open letter. In a petition organized by a group called #WinWithBlackWomen and posted on Change.Org with the hasthag #TooMuchToLose, the letter is in response to Trump asking Black voters during an August 2016 rally "What the hell do you have to loose?" They wrote, “This week, we have been reminded of the question you asked Black people during the 2016 election: 'What do you have to lose?' Our answer, evidenced by increasingly poor economic outcomes, high racial tensions and hate incidents, the coronavirus, and an overall lack of dignity and respect in the White House, is a lot. And for Black women in particular, it’s too much." The letter continued, “Black households still earn 41% less than White households. Over 60% of the Black population lives below the poverty line. As for jobs, our unemployment rate is still double that of our White counterparts. An Associated Press fact check says that the most progress to Black unemployment occurred in 2010 under the Obama administration, when Black unemployment was at a record low of 7.8%. On your watch, in May 2020, Black unemployment was 16.8%. A recent report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 41% of Black-owned businesses were shuttered in April 2020." (Change. org)