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Julian Assange Extradition A Frontal Attack On Freedom Of The Press

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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DEBUNKING Biden’s DELUSIONAL Speech on the US Economy

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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Drag queen bounces fake chest IN FRONT OF CHILD

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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The black diaspora does NOT respect African-American spaces

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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Demetra- Becky Falsely Accuses Brothas Of Looking At Her Pancakes While at the Gym, and Gets Kicked Out! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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Sheriff admits department 'dropped the ball' after Nakamoto report on startling rape case; investigation turned over to DA's office

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A sheriff is admitting his office botched a rape investigation after the accusation went unaddressed for years until the case made international headlines because of a WBRZ Investigative Unit report.

The statement from Sheriff Daniel Edwards came as the department wrapped its investigation into the long-overlooked complaint, which was first filed nearly seven years ago. The case has now been turned over to the district attorney's office, which will decide whether to pursue charges.

The supervisor responsible for assigning investigations at the time has not worked at the department since 2019, the sheriff's office said Friday.

The rape happened in 2005 and left Crysta Abelseth—who was 16 years old at the time—pregnant with John Barnes' daughter.

Abelseth said she didn't make a report until July 2015 because she thought it was too late for law enforcement to investigate the complaint.

"I thought if I didn't do it the next day, there was nothing I could do about it," Abelseth said. "I went to a trauma counselor, and he said, 'No, you have 30 years after you turn 18.'"

Barnes, who admitted in court to being the child's father, was later granted custody of his teenage daughter. Judge Jeffrey Cashe also ordered that Abelseth pay child support.

Read the full story here

The full statement from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office can be found below.

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards reports that as of June 15, 2022, the case involving allegations against 46 – year-old John Barnes of Ponchatoula, LA, which has gained widespread media attention, has been turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.

This decision was made after the investigation revealed many layers and complexities surrounding the case, including statutory violations that were in effect during the 2005 timeframe of when the incident occurred. Due to the sensitive nature of cases involving sexual assault victims and juveniles, the sheriff’s office, along with other law enforcement agencies, does not have the luxury of releasing detailed information to the public. In a statement released yesterday, 21st Judicial District Family Court Judge Jeff Cashe signed a “Reasons For Judgement” which allows court documents related to this case to be made available to the public through the Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court’s Office.

In tracing this case back to the time the initial complaint was filed on July 1, 2015, it was discovered that the report never made it through the proper channels within the department to be assigned for investigation. Therefore, our department absolutely dropped the ball, and we simply must own our mistake. This is a mistake, however, that simply has never been a problem before or since, and we must make sure to keep it that way.

“The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office has reviewed and identified the breakdown in operations relating to the initial complaint filed by the complainant. Since that time, enhancements to department procedures have been implemented and measures put in place to ensure reports from the public never go overlooked or mishandled. Especially those cases alleging criminal acts against our youth.” says Edwards. "The Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to protecting children and will do everything possible to protect the youth of our community from abuse and neglect.”

Additionally, it is important to note that the complainant did not follow up on this matter until April of 2022. Upon receiving notice, a team of investigators were assigned to and worked diligently to delve deep into the facts surrounding the case. Due to the complex nature of their findings, the case was turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.

Sheriff Edwards urges the public to dial 9-1-1 for all emergency situations. Citizens can also file a police report directly with our office by calling (985) 748- 8147. Sheriff Edwards strongly discourages the use of social media to report crimes. Edwards also reminds the public that filing a false police report is a crime. Those found guilty of doing so will be fully prosecuted.

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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Abbott's Baby Formula Production Shutdown By Flooding At The Sturgis Michigan

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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When you want to sing along to the Disney lyrics but you’re African American! You ain’t pale!

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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Sounds, Looks, and Smells Just Like the Hell Hole We Call Amerika!

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The Fast-Food-ification of College Education: CollegeInc.com

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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The Juneteenth flag, explained

The flag’s designer shares the story and inspiration for his design.

As the Juneteenth holiday approaches, you’ll start to see various symbols of Blackness across the country. Front lawns, apartment balconies and clothing with the Pan-African flag, “Black Power” fist, and other celebratory symbols will be everywhere. But did you know there’s a specific flag for Juneteenth?

In fact, it has a backstory that goes back to the late 1990s. Capital B spoke with Ben Haith, the flag’s creator, and others to learn more about its history and impact.

The history

Haith, a community organizer and activist known better as “Boston Ben,” created the flag in 1997. In an interview with Capital B Atlanta, Haith said once he learned about Juenteenth, he felt passionately that it needed representation.

“I was just doing what God told me,” Haith said. “I have somewhat of a marketing background, and I thought Juneteenth, what it represented, needed to have a symbol.”

Haith wasn’t impressed by his initial version — a “rough draft” — but every Juneteenth holiday he would raise the flag near his son’s middle school in Roxbury, a majority Black community in Boston.

After getting some inspiration, he knew which colors and symbols he wanted in the flag, he just needed to finalize it. That’s when he met illustrator Lisa Jeanne-Graf, who responded to an ad in a local newspaper and finalized the flag in 2000.

The design elements

The colors

Juneteenth is often associated with red, green, and black: the colors of the Pan-African flag. However, those aren’t the colors of the Juneteenth flag. The banner shares the colors of the American flag: red, white, and blue. In the past, Haith has said it was a purposeful choice — a reminder that Black Americans descended from enslaved people are exactly that: American.

“For so long, our ancestors weren’t considered citizens of this country,” Haith said. “But realistically, and technically, they were citizens. They just were deprived of being recognized as citizens. So I thought it was important that the colors portray red, white and blue which we see in the American flag.”

Steven Williams, the president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, agreed with the sentiment.

“We’re Americans of African descent,” Williams said. His foundation’s mission statement, he added, “is to bring all Americans together to join our common bond of freedom.”

There has been some debate about whether the Juneteenth flag is the most appropriate symbol for the holiday. Haith said he understood why people could have some hesitancy around using a red, white, and blue flag to commemorate the freedom of enslaved people, which some see as an honor to the oppressors of Black Americans.

“Some of us were raised to recognize the American flag, we salute the American flag, we pledged allegiance to the American flag,” Haith said when asked about skepticism around the flag. “We had relatives who went to war to fight for this country. We put a lot into this country even when our ancestors were enslaved. They worked to help make this country an economic power in the world.”

The star

The star in the middle of the flag has a dual meaning: On June 19, 1865, enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, were informed of the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln’s declaration of the freedom of enslaved people. The star is meant to represent Texas as the Lone Star state, but also the freedom of enslaved citizens.

Williams also spoke of the use of stars as key to help enslaved people escape to freedom.

“When people were escaping down the Underground Railroad … they used stars to navigate where they were at, when they were going up and down,” he said.

With its dual meaning, it’s meant to represent the role that Texas plays in the history of Juneteenth, but also serves as another reminder that Black people are free.

The outline around the star and arch

The outline was inspired by a nova, which is an explosion in space that creates the appearance of a new star. In this instance, it represents both enslaved people being free and a new beginning for Black Americans, Haith said.

Dividing the red and blue in the middle of the flag is an arch, which has similar meaning to the white outline around the star. The curve is meant to represent a “new horizon.”

Williams hopes the design reminds people to keep in mind that new beginnings take effort.

“I tell young people, ‘you are free,’” he said. “You might have obstacles, you might have hurdles, but you are free. … And you need to exercise that freedom, which is liberty.”

The timing

Juneteeth is now a federal holiday, nearly 200 years after enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom. The change, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021, came at the behest of demands for racial progress following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Cities across the country were forced to reckon with calls to remove and rename monuments and institutions honoring Confederate leaders of the past.

In Richmond, Virginia, a capital of the former Confederacy, monuments of Confederate generals that were centuries old were dismantled after protester demands across the country. In metro Atlanta, there is an ongoing debate around the removal of Confederate leaders etched on the side of Stone Mountain. It is said to be the largest monument to the Confederacy in the world.

In America, the Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that at least 160 Confederate symbols were dismantled in 2020.

Individual states started to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday prior to President Biden’s declaration. The first was Texas made in 1980, and more states followed suit in 2020.

Theo Foster, a professor of African American History at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, noted that symbols celebrating Black pride are important, but they’re not enough.

“We tend to just hold on to symbols and let the material go,” he said. “That’s where I’m hypercritical of progress narratives, and flags and 1619 projects, because we don’t get to that point of where the rubber meets the road where the symbols meet the experience of Black boy joy or Black girl magic.”

The banner’s impact

Williams recognizes the flag as a larger part of his organization’s decades-long campaign to make Juneteenth a national holiday. The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation has been on the front lines of the fight to have Juneteenth nationally recognized since its founding in 1997. Haith himself is a member.

Foster says he sees the Juneteenth flag as an attempt to honor Black Americans’ enslaved ancestors.

“Racism exists, anti-Blackness exists. How do we respond to that problem?” he said. “I think the Juneteenth Flag is an attempt to respond to that harm that is ongoing. I think people are right to be critical of it, but also to be in conversation of what’s useful about it.”

Haith said he’s been overwhelmed by the fact that Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, and feels honored when people use the flag.

“I believe we represent our ancestors,” Haith said. “When we celebrate, we’re celebrating for them, and we’re celebrating for the future of our people. The flag represents the people of the past, it represents us, and it will represent the people in the future.”

Kenya Hunter is a reporter covering health at Capital B Atlanta. Before joining Capital B, Hunter served as an award-winning education reporter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

More from the Juneteenth issue of The Highlight.

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96thdayofrage · 2 years

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Watch "Ukrainian Boxer Holds Nazi Flag While Accepting Medal" on YouTube