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Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Cherokee Sheriffs OfficeATLANTAA Georgia man who professed a passion for guns and God was in custody on Tuesday night after a string of shootings that police said appeared to target Asian women at massage parlors and left eight people dead.Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia, was caught on video at the crime scenes and later nabbed on a highway two hours south of Atlanta following a police chase, authorities said.Police stressed that it was still much too early to announce a motive, but the horrific attacks come amid a wave of targeted violence against the Asian-American community. Details about the suspect that began to trickle out offered few clues.Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life. Its a pretty good life, read the tagline on an Instagram account that appeared to belong to Long.A student who graduated from Sequoyah High with Long in 2017 who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Daily Beast, He was very innocent seeming and wouldnt even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didnt seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. He was big into religion. Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs have left multiple people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said Tuesday. Brynn Anderson/AP The rampage began at Youngs Asian Massage in Acworth in Cherokee County, where two people were killed, one other person succumbed to their injuries en route to a nearby hospital, and one died while in treatment, according to the sheriffs office. The victims were two Asian women, a white woman, and a white man, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A Hispanic man was also injured in the shooting and was rushed to a hospital for medical treatment, a spokesman for the sheriff said. About an hour later and 30 miles away, two spas on the same Atlanta streetGold Spa and one in Aroma Therapy Spawere targeted by gunfire, and four Asian women were killed.Officers had just arrived at one of the spas to find the victims when they were summoned to the second. While at [the first location] we received another call across the street of shots fired, and responded to find another individual shot at that location, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney N. Bryant told reporters.While no details about the Acworth victims were given, Bryant said that it appears that all the [Atlanta] victims are female and it appears that they may be Asian.Two men who live just across from Gold Massage Spa who refused to give their names said their neighbors started asking them about the incident around 6:15 p.m. They said the area was very diverse, but that the spa was known to be an Asian-owned business.This is the worst shooting since 99 I think, one of the men told The Daily Beast. There was a shooting then where a guy went through his office and killed a bunch of people and he killed his family. That was 12 people I think, so this is the worst one since Ive been here.Bryant has declined to say whether police believe the shootings in Georgia Tuesday amounted to a hate crime, saying, We cant make that determination just yet. Law enforcement officials confer outside a massage parlor following a shooting on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Atlanta. Brynn Anderson/AP Cherokee County Sheriff s Capt. Jay Baker told reporters: Nothing is going to be ruled out. Wherever the investigation leads us, thats where we are going to go. Atlanta police said video surveillance of Longs car at all three massage parlors captured Tuesday night made it extremely likely he was the main suspect in all three shootings. Crisp County Sheriff's Office President Joe Biden recently condemned the surge in crimes of hate, which have included a brazen, deadly assault on an 84-year-old from Thailand who was killed on a morning stroll in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), in offering condolences to the families of the victims of the Atlanta shootings on Tuesday night, noted that many of the victims are Asian.These murders occurred at a time when anti-Asian violence has been spiking. All officials should do their part to condemn violence and not inflame further discrimination, he tweeted.The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus said it was horrified by news of the shooting at a time when were already seeing a spike in anti-Asian violence.The legal advocacy nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta released a statement saying the group was shaken by the shootings. Now is the time to hold the victims and their families in our hearts and with light.In testimony to the Georgia State Senate the day before the shootings, Michelle Au, a Democratic state senator representing Johns Creek, GA, said, In the last year, 32 incidents of hate crimes towards our Asian-American and Pacific Islander community here in Atlanta have been reported. Recognize that we need help, we need protection, and we need people in power to stand up for us against hate.Baker said that Long was arrested by Crisp County Sheriffs officers who performed a PIT maneuver, or a pursuit intervention technique, in which police force another car to plow sideways and stop.Longs family did not respond to calls for comment. His youth pastor at the Crabapple First Baptist Church confirmed he was the suspect and said elders would be releasing a statement.A 2018 video on the Crabapple Facebook page features Long discussing his Christian journey toward baptism. As many of you may remember, when I was 8 years old I thought I was becoming a Christian, and got baptized during that time. And I remember a lot of the reason for that is a lot of my friends in my Sunday school class were doing that, Long says in the clip.And after that time, there wasnt any fruit from the root that is our salvation.He goes on to say that when he was in seventh grade he attended a youth group and a speaker was discussing the biblical story of the prodigal son.The son goes off and squanders all that he has and lives completely for himself and then, when he finds hes wanting to eat pig food, he realized theres something wrong and he goes back to his father and his father runs back to him and embraces him. And by the grace of God I was able to draw the connection there and realize this is a story between what happened with me and God. I ran away living completely for myself, and he still wants me, and so thats when I was saved.with reporting by Rachel OldingRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. 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Rev. Al Sharpton on George Floyd familys settlement with Minneapolis: It doesnt end there - Yahoo News

Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) applaud Judge Merrick Garlands confirmation as the 86th Attorney General of the United States. The Justice Department will now have an agenda-focused Attorney General to promote, reform, correct, and expand law rule with integrity and independence. We look forward to working with the DOJ to promote fairness and justice, confront racial injustice, and encourage all Americans civil rights.

Last summer over 200 thousand people joined us at the Lincoln Memorial to call on reform to harmful policing practices and misconduct much of which falls under DOJs purview. Attorney General Garland has a record of being a consensus-builder throughout his esteemed career. We immediately call on him to honor his pledge to prioritize civil rights and ensure racial equity in our justice system, keeping with a deep and abiding reverence for the rule of law to ensure that the law is applied fairly and equally, said Ebonie Riley, Washington, DC Bureau Chief of National Action Network.

This new administration has reinvigorated the American spirit and hope in a democratic society that is inclusive of all people, not just a select few. The murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others exposed inequities in our criminal justice system and a history of discriminatory police practices. Judge Merrick Garlands confirmation as the 86th Attorney General of the United States is a signal of hope that we are heading in the right direction for a Department of Justice that addresses police misconduct, advances racial equity, and creates a fairer nation for all, said Rev. Al Sharpton President of Founder of National Action Network.

About National Action Network

National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender.

For more information go towww.nationalactionnetwork.net

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Rev. Al Sharpton & National Action Network (NAN) Statement on Judge Merrick Garland's Confirmation as the 86th Attorney General of the United...

Girls and women of color around the country can look toward the White House today and see the nations first Black woman to hold the vice presidency, but Kamala Harris path was paved decades earlier by the Brooklyn daughter of Caribbean immigrants.

Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968.

That you will never regret having worked to send your humble servant, Shirley Chisholm, to fight for you on the national level, Chisholm said on the night she was elected. Because I recognize how I came, and from whence I came.

That was the night of Nov. 5, 1968. Four years later, she shook the world once more with her words.

I stand before you as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States of America, Chisolm said in front of a podium at Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyns Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on Jan. 5, 1972.

Chisholm took aim straight at the Nixon White House.

Leadership does not mean putting the ear to the ground to follow public opinion, Chisholm intoned that night. But to have vision of ones necessary and the courage to make it happen.

At the time, Chisholms courage attracted the ear of an 18-year-old. He was already known as the Boy Preacher in his neighborhood and in some other cities around the nation where he preached sermons. His name was Al Sharpton, and he quickly signed on as the youth coordinator for Chisholms campaign.

What attracted me was it was unusual for a woman to be able to hold her own, even against misogynistic Black politicians in Brooklyn at the time, Rev. Sharpton said from the office of his National Action Network in Harlem.

Sharpton remembers a campaign that was not well received, even by some fellow Black Americans. The discord hurt Chisholm deeply, Sharpton said.

She would discuss it very openly saying the nerve of them to talk to me like that. Women have to deal with racism and sexism, Alfred, Sharpton recalled.

Alfred was what Chisholm called Sharpton at the time.

Some, such as filmmaker Shola Lynch, did not really become familiar with Chisholms legacy until college history courses.

I had taken in the idea that as a Black person you could never be president, not in my lifetime. And as a woman, you could never be president, not in my lifetime, Lynch said.

Lynch is now curator of the Schomburg Centers Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division. She also won a Peabody Award for her 2005 documentary Chisholm 72: Unbought and Unbossed, which chronicled Chisholms groundbreaking run.

You know, when Walter Cronkite announced she was running for president, he smirked saying another bonnet was being thrown into the ring, Lynch said. To him it was a joke!

Dr. Zinga Fraser is director of the Shirley Chisholm Project at Brooklyn College, Chisholms alma mater.

Fraser said that by understanding Chisholm, you understand what it takes to be a leader.

Government isnt just about those who are in leadership, Fraser said. But its really about ways in which that leadership meets the needs of the people.

Rep. Yvette Clark now represents a portion of the Brooklyn district that sent Chisholm to Congress. She believes the fights Chisholm started on behalf of the people are still worth fighting today.

She was working with the least of these, Clarke said. And her persona made them believe that she understood what they were living with and living through and that she would fight for them.

In the last interview before her death, Chisholm said she wanted to be remembered as a woman who dared to be a catalyst for change in America.

Her favorite saying: If they wont give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.

Chisholm died on New Years Day in 2005.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 posthumously by President Barack Obama.

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How Brooklyns Shirley Chisholm paved the way for women of color in politics - WPIX 11 New York

The president of the National Black Farmers Association has called for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to apologize for his critical comments about a provision of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief billthat will benefit Black farmers.

John Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation Black farmer and civil rights activist, said on a Sunday episode of MSNBCs PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton that the senior South Carolina senator hasnt ever spoken up out against discrimination, despite the challenges they face.

I lobbiedSen. Lindsey Graham as a congressman. I lobbied him as a senator. Ive been by his office and asked him to help me fix the problems at the United States Department of Agriculture that caused Black farmers to lose millions of acres of land and address the lack of loans and subsidies, and hes never once used his megaphone to speak out against the discrimination, he said.

But as soon as we get justice here, some 30 years later, his very first words he said he found it troubling, and in his last part of his statement, he said that we need to check them.

Boyds comments came after Graham criticized a portion of the new legislation set to benefit Black farmers, calling it reparations.

During an appearance on Fox News last week, Graham took aim at the bill. Let me give you an example of something that really bothers me. In this bill, if youre a farmer, your loan will be forgiven up to 120 percent of your loan if youre socially disadvantaged, if youre African-American, some other minority. But if youre [a] white person, if youre a white woman, no forgiveness. Thats reparations. What does that have to do with COVID? he said.

The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden last week. The bill includes $5 billion that will go to socially disadvantaged farmers of color, including Black, Hispanic, Native American or Asian American farmers.

The measure provides $4 billion to go toward covering up to 120 percent of outstanding debt, while $1 billion will be allocated towards education, training, and technical assistance.

Some have applauded the relief for disadvantaged farmers as a steps towards addressing historic inequalities that have contributed to Black farmers shrinking numbers.

I want to reiterate that since 1910, Black farmers have lost 92 percent of their land, some 12 million acres, largely due to systematic racism, said MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton. For our viewers, what does that discrimination look like, specifically where banking and access to federal aid are concerned? You and I have talked about this for years. Youve been on the forefront of it. Explain what has happened historically and why this means something.

The Hill explained last month how Boyd described the way discrimination has often played out for Black farmers:

In counties that have farms, the USDAs Farm Service Agency has governing outposts known as county committees.

Historically, these panels have been overwhelmingly white, purposefully excluding Black farmers. Since loan programs, credit access and other government assistance are doled out through county committees, generations of Black farmerswere often heavily shut off from critical aid.

This not only created stark inequity, but also a cultureofmistrust and lack of communication between Black farmers and the agency.

Boyd said Black farmers continued to remain shut out of financial relief under the previous administration.

Weve been totally shut out. And under the last administration, Rev. Sharpton, they pulled out $29 billion to primarily white farmers in this country, where black farmers didnt participate at all, said Boyd. And when we put this bill in a part of the COVID relief bill, ten senators sponsored amendments to pull our language out. And Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is a very outspoken critic, said it really bothered him that we were a part of this spending bill.

The activist has called for Graham to apologize for his comments. He needs to apologize not only to our Black farmers but to Black people in this country who struggled for so very long and now get a chance for a little bit of justice, and he uses his megaphone to play this race-type thing when he knows firsthand that Black farmers have suffered. When he has 6,000 Black farmers in his state, and he wont help us. but he uses his megaphone to try to deny payments to Black farmers, Boyd said.

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'As Soon As We Get Justice...': Black Farmer Criticizes Sen. Lindsey Graham for Calling COVID-19 Relief Bill Provision That Benefits Black Farmers...

Lyft and Uber will share information on drivers that have been removed from their platforms for the most serious of incidents.

Lyft and Uber have announced the Industry Sharing Safety Program, a first-of-its-kind effort to share information about the drivers and delivery people deactivated from each companys platform for the most serious safety incidents including sexual assault and physical assaults resulting in a fatality.

The ridesharing giants say the goal of the programme is to further enhance the safety of the entire ridesharing industry and equip companies with important safety information to protect their customers. Lyft and Uber will share information about driver deactivations related to the five most critical safety issues within the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers (NSVRC) Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence Taxonomy, along with physical assault fatalities.

Sexual assault is drastically underreported, making these crimes less likely to show up in our rigorous background check and screening processes, said Jennifer Brandenburger, Head of Policy Development at Lyft.

With the Industry Sharing Safety Program, Lyft and Uber are working together to further enhance our screening capabilities, as well as the safety of the entire rideshare industry.

Safety should never be proprietary. You should be safe no matter what ridesharing platform you choose. Were thrilled to come together with Lyft to improve safety for the entire industry, said Tony West, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Uber.

Tackling these tough safety issues is bigger than any one of us and this new Industry Sharing Safety Program demonstrates the value of working collaboratively with experts, advocates and others to make a meaningful difference. We encourage more companies to join us.

The programme has been applauded by other groups in the US, who see the cooperation of the two of the countrys biggest ride hailing companies as a boost to the safety of passengers.

The National Action Network applauds Uber and Lyft for coming together to create the Industry Sharing Safety Program, said the Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network.

Preventing serious safety incidents like sexual assault takes cooperation, even from industry competitors, and the work here will benefit everyone in the industry.

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Uber and Lyft to share banned drivers list - Intelligent Transport