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The Pearson family is set to face some difficult topics and conversations in the new season of This Is Us, which returns with new episodes Tuesday, October 27. Its been seven months since the Season 4 finale aired, and there are still many questions left unanswered. Ahead of the new season, the showrunners have promised that the series will soon find its characters confronted with some of the issues our country faces in real life, including both the coronavirus pandemic as well as social justice movements like Black Lives Matter.

Dan Fogelman, the creator of the show, said in a This Is Us panel that incorporating these current events, especially COVID-19, into the narrative was not a simple matter. It was a big decision that we made for the show this season. Ive been working on the first two episodes of the season, which air next week, since late February. I think its the longest Ive ever worked on anything in my life, said Fogelman.

In the end, he believed these issues needed to be projected on TV in a different way. Considering where our show lives with this American family that has a lot of different pockets it felt almost irresponsible not to kind of take on the moment, he said. Its really what these characters, if they were real human beings, would be dealing with in the world right now.

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When it comes to talking about Black Live Matter movement, characters Beth and Randall will be dealing with having to explain what is going on to their kids, while also trying to grasp what is happening themselves.

As Black as Randall and Beth are, theyre not experts on, you know, how to metabolize all of that tragedy, said Susan Kelechi Watson, who plays Beth Pearson on the show. So I think theres a way that they deal with it with their kids that is sort of honest and they get to see their parents kind of grapple with it as theyre grappling with it, and they try to create a space where theyre in it together, she said. The show will also approach Randalls unique perspective on racial injustice, as a Black man raised by white parents.

Despite those two major story changes to the show, This Is Us will continue to address what unfolded last season, one of the major events being the dissolution of Kevin and Randalls relationship.

Fogelman said this is not a fight that will be able to be resolved in a few episodes. Thats a fight thats been building for 40 years between these two boys and now men who grew up in the same house, he said. Its in the front and center in our premiere, and it will be in the front and center of our show for quite a bit.

Fans are also curious to find out if they should be expecting more seasons in the coming years since it is rumored the show will be ending at the end of Season 6. Fogelman couldnt give many details about the future of This Is Us, but he did say that his overall plan has not changed for the show.

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This Is Us Will Tackle COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter in Season 5 - Observer

WAUKEGAN, Ill. In Waukegan Thursday, Black Lives Matter activists held a march and rally demanding justice as officials investigate the killing of a Black man by police.

Rev. Jesse Jackson is demanding that the case be turned over to a special prosecutor, joining many in the community who say they have no confidence in local authorities to find the truth.

Nearly 100 protesters marched through Waukegan Thursday demanding justice after a Waukegan police officer shot and killed 19-year-old Marcellis Stinnette during a traffic stop.

What do we want? Justice!, protesters chanted. What is his name? Marcellis Stinnette.

Stinnette was sitting in a car with his 20-year-old girlfriend Tafarra Williams, who was driving, on Tuesday night.

Police said it was a suspicious vehicle and they stopped the car near Liberty and Oak Street. Police said Williams and Stinnette drove away and another officer found them nearby at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and South avenues.

Police said when an officer approached them, Williams reversed the car toward the officer and then the officer opened fire.

Stinnette was shot and killed and Williams survived.

From her hospital bed, Williams told her mother what happened.

My foot got heavy and I reversed it, Williams said. The whole squad pulled up together, but only one start shooting at me because they blazed my car up.

Williams mother spoke at a rally outside the Waukegan Police Department saying her daughter was shot in the stomach.

Justice will be served because they left you to speak for the ones that can speak, Clifftina Johnson said. Black lives do matter.

No weapon was found in the car. The officer who fired the shots was placed on administrative leave.

Illinois State Police are now investigating, but Black Lives Matter activists said thats not acceptable.

We dont trust the Illinois State Police to investigate the case, said activist Zakee Darr. We prefer to have the DOJ, process, weve seen how this process works we seen how the process plays all across the country.

In the meantime, the grieving grandmother of Marcellis Stinnette said this a time for justice and mercy.

My grandson died with a smile on his face, and the police officer, hes forgiven. Thats what God would want me to do, said Sherrellis Sheria Stinnette. Hes forgiven.

State police investigators are reviewing body camera and dashboard camera video.

The investigation will likely take several weeks. When its finishing, the Lake County States Attorneys Office will determine if the office who fired the shots will face any charges.

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Black Lives Matter activists rally in Waukegan after man shot to death by police - WGN TV Chicago

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) The Black Lives Matter mural painted in Florence will be removed, Mayor Wukela said Thursday.

Mayor Wukela said the city authorized a temporary mural that was to be painted with biodegradable paint that would wash away after a normal rain cycle. Wukela said despite agreeing to the terms, the organization responsible for the painting used permanent paint instead.

It was bliss. The Black community was feeling heard, understood, respected and now you want to slap them in the face and remove this, said Suzanne La Rochelle, leader of Action Together Pee Dee.

It was approved by our city council, Christopher McCray with Next is Now said. Not only was it approved but it was supported as we had council members out here who painted on this pavement themselves.

I love that mural, Pat Gibson-Hye Moore said. It tells a story. There was a lot of work and time put into because I went out there that Saturday and I went out there that Monday. Its just regrettable that theres so much hate in this city, this state, this country, that this has to be an issue.

The mural was defaced with racist messages and due to the organizer using permanent paint, the mural will be removed, Wukela said.

I am deeply disturbed by the racially motivated vandalism of this piece of art, Wukela said. I am also disappointed in the organizers failure to comply with the terms of the authorization for which they applied.

The city will no longer authorize permits for temporary or permanent painting on city streets.

Read the full statement from Mayor Wukela below:

Some weeks ago, Mr. C. Wyleek Cummings, a representative of a community organization, contacted the City with a request to be permitted to use biodegradable painting materials on a section of a street within the City limits to paint the words Black Lives Matter on the pavement. The intent expressed by Mr. Cummings understood by the City was that this would be a community project and temporary in nature, with the use of biodegradable materials. In the request, Mr. Cummings wrote, Materials used to complete project are biodegradable and are not meant to be a permanent fixture.

The City authorized the temporary mural to be painted with biodegradable paint that would wash away within a normal rain cycle. The organization applied for, and accepted, permission on these terms.

The organization subsequently painted a well-done and attractive mural on Barnes Street in front of the Pearl Moore Basketball Center. Unfortunately, and in violation of the terms of the Citys permission, the organizer used permanent paint.

Later, the mural was defaced by bigots who painted racial epitaphs on the face of the mural.

I am deeply disturbed by the racially motivated vandalism of this piece of art. I am also disappointed in the organizers failure to comply with the terms of the authorization for which they applied.

In any event, given that the mural has been defaced and that it is in violation of the City authorization, the City will be forced to remove the mural.

Suffice it to say, going forward, no permits will be authorized for painting on City streets whether permanent or temporary.

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City of Florence to remove Black Lives Matter mural - WBTW

A Hampshire Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday allowing a Belchertown condominium owner to display a Black Lives Matter sign near her unit after she was ordered to remove the sign by condominium trustees.

Judge Richard Carey issued the injunction allowing Margery Jess, the owner of a condo in the Summer Hill Estates Development on Route 202 in Belchertown, to display her sign in a common area pending the outcome of her suit against the condo association.

Jesss attorneys argued that the condo rules and regulations did not prohibit signs, and besides Article 16 of the state Declaration of Rights declares, The right of free speech shall not be abridged.

Jess, along with the American Civil Liberties Union Western Massachusetts Legal Office and the Northampton law firm Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan and Hoose, filed the lawsuit earlier this month after the Chairman of the Trustees ordered her to remove the sign she had placed in a flower bed in front of her condo unit or face a $50 per day fine twice the amount allowed by condo rules.

According to the complaint filed on October 13, Jess placed her sign reading Black Lives Matter outside of her condo on May 30. The next day Frank Pudlo, Chairman of the Condominium Trust, sent her an email ordering the removal of the sign. At the same time, several other condo units had patriotic or ethnic placards posted and in one case hearts in appreciation of front-line medical workers. Condo trustees called the other signs decorative rather than Jesss political statement.

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Injunction allows Black Lives Matter sign to stay in Belchertown condo complex - masslive.com

FE has some of the most diverse classrooms around and should be setting an example when it comes to representation, writes Teresa Carroll

Teaching and learning at its best should reflect the diversity of our learners worlds.

Covid-19 has brought into focus the disparity in learners experiences from a social and economic perspective. Meanwhile, movements such as Black Lives Matter have highlighted that systems in Britain (sometimes unintentionally) can default to a white, middle-class, heterosexual, ableist norm that fails to acknowledge the full range of our society.

We want learners in FE to see themselves in the curriculum and in the workforce too. Learning is about enriching lives so that learners can become the people they want to be. A learning experience underpinned by if you can see it, you can be it makes this much more likely.

That means that we want our learners to be taught more often by people who look and sound like them. But our most recent staff individualised record report, which brought together findings from 186 FE providers, outlines that the 84 per cent of the staff workforce identify as white British; 81 per cent report having no disability and 81 per cent identify as heterosexual.

Meanwhile, the workforce is predominantly female, at 64 per cent, and the average age is 46 years old.

Thats before we even consider FE staff who experience intersectionality of identities, such as being both black and disabled.

Only by fully acknowledging and embracing diversity in all its forms can the FE sector go some way to narrowing the achievement gap in the classroom.

FE is especially well placed to do this, as many colleges have some of the most diverse classrooms in the education system across age, socio-economic background and ethnicity.

According to the Association of Colleges, 16 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds claimed free school meals at age 15 last year, compared with just eight per cent in maintained school and academy sixth forms.

An inclusive learning experience is one that is emotionally nurturing

Meanwhile, about 17 per cent of college learners have a learning difficulty, disability or difference, compared with about 15 per cent in schools.

We also know that more than 30 per cent of people who enter the prison system have a learning disability or difficulty. This isnt good enough.

Much more needs to be done. For instance, in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), there is evidence that inequity begins early and becomes more pronounced along the educational journey. Male learners outnumber female learners in STEM apprenticeships by 9:1.

Meanwhile, around 27 per cent of young carers experience educational difficulties, including disrupted school or college attendance a figure that rises to 40 per cent where children care for a relative with drug or alcohol problems.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 99,000 college students are aged 60 and over and we want to make sure that there are opportunities to harness their skills. What are we doing to support them in their next career move?

Finally, almost one-third of adults in FE colleges are from an ethnic minority background, and about a quarter of students aged 16 to 18 are.

So serious work still needs to be done to help teachers challenge stereotypes and avoid reinforcing inequity.

An inclusive learning experience is one that is emotionally nurturing, where learners feel they belong and are valued for who they are, including through the way we listen to them.

We want teaching and learning to be a truly positive experience where learners and staff recognise that learning is about so much more than qualification attainment.

A curriculum that reflects the diversity of modern Britain, and particularly draws on theory and practice from a diverse range of academics, will go some way to engage learners with content that is relevant to their lives.

And remember, its important to remember that every learner is different and learns differently. Get to know your learners if we take the time to listen we have so much to learn from them.

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After Black Lives Matter, its time FE led the way on inclusion - FE Week