Tag: Black Lives Matter

Interview

Race in America | Dismantling Structural Racism with Opal Tometi

By Karen Attiah | The Washington Post

Tometi is a Nigerian-American human rights leader, community organizer and writer. As one of the three founders of Black Lives Matter, she is credited with initiating the project’s social media strategy which turned a hashtag into one of the most successful civil rights campaigns in modern history. Tometi has been active in the #EndSars movement in Nigeria where demonstrators have called for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit accused of extortion, harassment, kidnapping and extrajudicial violence. Tometi joins Washington Post global opinions editor Karen Attiah to discuss the work being done in the U.S. and across the world to dismantle structural racism and injustice

Continue reading “Race in America | Dismantling Structural Racism with Opal Tometi” →
Communities

Seattle’s African immigrants, refugees confront what it means to be Black in America

by | king5

King County has a large East African population. They are learning that America’s Black Lives Matter movement is for them, too: “We need to be visible.”

Continue reading “Seattle’s African immigrants, refugees confront what it means to be Black in America” →
Opinion

What American schools should teach about race, racism and slavery

By Dennis Prager | Liberal First

Regarding race and much else, America’s students are not taught history. In fact, they are not taught; they are indoctrinated. With anti-Americanism. The purpose of all teaching about race in American schools is to engender contempt for America. They are, therefore, “taught” the lies of The New York Times’ “1619 Project” — that the United States was founded to preserve and protect slavery — and of such works as Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility.”

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Uncategorized

BLM, End SARS Protests Unite Americans & Nigerians in Global Fight For Equality

Both campaigns have gone viral, allowing the two groups to share information and resources for their grassroot efforts towards equality

By Jorden Hales – NBC 7 San Diego

Continue reading “BLM, End SARS Protests Unite Americans & Nigerians in Global Fight For Equality” →
Uncategorized

Babatunde Olatunji | The Nigerian drummer who set the beat for US civil rights

Three years before Rosa Parks’ bus boycott, Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji protested against racial segregation in the southern states of America. He was part of a generation of Africans who played an important role in the fight for racial justice in the US – and continue to do so.

By Aaron Akinyemi | BBC

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Sports

Israel Adesanya | Nigerian-born UFC star commends NBA players for racial injustice boycott

By Danny Segura | USAToday

Nigerian-born Israel Adesanya is siding with some of his fellow professional athletes’ decision to halt play in protest of a police shooting in Wisconsin earlier this week. The UFC middleweight champion said he commends NBA players for boycotting play in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha.

Continue reading “Israel Adesanya | Nigerian-born UFC star commends NBA players for racial injustice boycott” →
Sports

Kamaru Usman | Nigerian MMA star responds after Colby Covington rips NBA, MLB players for striking as protest for Jacob Blake shooting

By Damon Martin | MMA Fighting

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington has injected himself into the news after players from the NBA and MLB initiated strikes in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. This has elicited a sharp response by Nigerian UFC champion Kamaru Usman

Continue reading “Kamaru Usman | Nigerian MMA star responds after Colby Covington rips NBA, MLB players for striking as protest for Jacob Blake shooting” →
Uncategorized

Kei Kamara | Sierra Leone footballer joins teammates to protest the killing of Jacob Blake

By Sports Africa | BBC

Ex-Sierra Leone striker Kei Kamara feels the campaign for social justice is more important than sport in the United States at the moment. He was talking as his MLS side Colorado Rapids chose not to play a game on Wednesday against FC Dallas in protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.

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Sports

Serge Ibaka demands respect for Black lives around the world

Serge Ibaka is a power forward for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He was born in Congo Brazaville and is a member of the NBA winning Toronto Raptors team of 2019. In this article he talks on his views on the treatment of immigrants and the Black Lives Matter Movement.

By Aaron Rose | Sports Illustrated

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Issues

Ime Archibong | As Facebook’s unofficial Black leader, the Nigerian-American is pursuing racial justice while seeking the next big thing

By Salvador Rodriguez | CNBC

Nigerian-American Ime Archibong plays a unique role in Mark Zuckerberg’s orbit.

For nearly a decade, Zuckerberg has turned to Archibong any time he’s come up with ideas for special projects at Facebook. Archibong is also Zuckerberg’s point person in dealing with third-party developers. Outside of the office, the two executives are running buddies. 

Continue reading “Ime Archibong | As Facebook’s unofficial Black leader, the Nigerian-American is pursuing racial justice while seeking the next big thing” →
Uncategorized

Opal Tometi | Nigerian-American co-founder of Black Lives Matter says organisation was designed to be a Global Movement

BLM founder Opal Tometi always intended for the diaspora to come together in fighting anti-Black racism.

By Chanté Joseph | VICE

Continue reading “Opal Tometi | Nigerian-American co-founder of Black Lives Matter says organisation was designed to be a Global Movement” →
Opinion

Does Black Lives Matter apply to African immigrants as well?

I came to the U.S. from Burundi after being tortured. But more restrictive immigration policies are making it harder for folks like me to seek asylum.

Come Nzibarega | USAToday

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Communities

The role Somali-Americans are playing in standing against systemic racism

Home to the largest Somali community in the country, Minnesota Somali-Americans have played a pivotal role in taking a stand against systemic racism in the weeks following the death of George Floyd.

This report by CBS sheds light on their collective action.

Source CBS

Communities

Isak Abdirahman Aden | Family of Somali-American killed by police files lawsuit

By Randy Furst | Star Tribune

The family of a Somali American man who was shot to death during a multicity SWAT operation in Eagan a year ago has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that the shooting was unjustified and that the man was targeted because he was a racial minority.

Continue reading “Isak Abdirahman Aden | Family of Somali-American killed by police files lawsuit” →
Opinion

Hassan Mead | Somalian-born runner Speaks Up About the Racism He’s Dealt With Since Coming to the U.S. 21 Years Ago

By HASSAN MEAD AS TOLD TO TAYLOR DUTCH| Runner’s World

When I heard stories about America, growing up as a farmer’s kid living in Somalia, it was always nothing but good things. So when I learned our family was moving there, I thought I was moving to a paradise where no one suffers and everyone lives their best lives.

Continue reading “Hassan Mead | Somalian-born runner Speaks Up About the Racism He’s Dealt With Since Coming to the U.S. 21 Years Ago” →
Opinion

How George Floyd’s death united Africans and African-Americans

African immigrants have not always felt at home in African-American communities. Black Lives Matter protests may be changing that.

By Anthony Akaeze  | Christian Science Monitor

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Opinion

Not all black people are African American. Here’s the difference

BY CYDNEY ADAMS | CBS

Black Lives Matter protests have opened up conversations about the history of privilege, racism, and the lived experiences and identities of black people in America. Now, the distinction between “black” and “African American” has become a prominent conversation on social media.

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Uncategorized

Zozibini Tunzi: South Africa’s first black Miss Universe joins Black Lives Matter Protest in New York to fight racism

By Kim Harrisberg | IOL

When Zozibini Tunzi marched in the Black Lives Matter protests in New York City, the latest Miss Universe kept thinking how young people in her native South Africa died fighting for the same cause 44 years ago.

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Uncategorized

Suspect in killing of Tallahassee activist, Oluwatoyin Salau, arrested in Orange County

By KATIE RICE | ORLANDO SENTINEL

A 49-year-old man suspected in the killings of two women in Tallahassee, including 19-year-old activist Oluwatoyin Salau, was arrested Sunday in Orange County, according to records. Aaron Glee Jr. was arrested by the Orlando Police Department on warrants out of Leon County for homicide and kidnapping, according to the Orange County Jail.

Continue reading “Suspect in killing of Tallahassee activist, Oluwatoyin Salau, arrested in Orange County” →
Uncategorized

Oluwatoyin Salau, Black Lives Matter activist found dead in apparent homicide

By Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio | The New York Times

A 19-year-old Black Lives Matter activist whose disappearance this month led to a desperate search after she sent a series of tweets describing a sexual assault has been found dead in Tallahassee, Fla., the police said Monday.

Oluwatoyin Salau seems to have Nigerian heritage.

Continue reading “Oluwatoyin Salau, Black Lives Matter activist found dead in apparent homicide” →
Communities

#BlackLivesMatter: How Kenyans in the United States Protested George Floyd’s Death

By John Wanjohi  | Mwankilishi

Kenyans living in the United States were not left behind as thousands of people poured to the streets in various cities across America to protest the death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old African-American was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer put his knee on his neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds in a disturbing incident captured on camera.

Continue reading “#BlackLivesMatter: How Kenyans in the United States Protested George Floyd’s Death” →
Ancestry

If George Floyd had done his DNA, he was probably from Nigeria

by  Joseph Omotayo | Legit

A senior government official in Nigeria has said if George Floyd had taken an ancestry DNA test before he was killed, he probably would have found out he was a Nigerian. This was said when two Nigerian agencies joined forces to hold a memorial in remembrance of the slain African-American in Abuja, Nigeria.

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Ancestry

Ghana Minister Invites African-Americans to Re-settle in Africa If They Feel Unwanted in the U.S.

BY BRENDAN COLE | Newsweek

The debate about race following the killing of George Floyd has reverberated across the Atlantic Ocean, spurring the tourism minister of Ghana to appeal to its diaspora, including in the U.S., to “leave where you are not wanted,” and return home.

Continue reading “Ghana Minister Invites African-Americans to Re-settle in Africa If They Feel Unwanted in the U.S.” →
Opinion

What no one will tell you about racism in Canada

BY SAMUEL OSHO | The Cable

At the climax of dramatic events that have flipped the year 2020 on its head, the inhumane killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has resurrected a new wave of anti-black racism protests in North America and other parts of the world. Amidst demands for better reforms to obliterate police brutality and anti-black racism, world leaders have been forced to take a knee and repeatedly listen to a legitimate chant: “Black Lives Matter.” 

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Opinion

Why were US Democrats wearing Ghana’s kente cloth?

By BBC

When US Democrats in Congress proposed legislation to reform the police following weeks of protests over the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of a white officer, commenters on social media only wanted to talk about one thing: what they were wearing. Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and other Democratic lawmakers were draped in scarves made from a cloth of colourful geometric Ghanaian designs called kente.

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Opinion

Around the world, the U.S. has long been a symbol of anti-black racism

By Nana Osei-Opare  | The Washington Post

The extrajudicial killing of George Floyd has sparked days of unrest and protest around the United States. What is less well known but no less important is how this event has sparked massive anti-racism protests around the world, including in Nairobi, Lagos, London, Berlin, Toronto and most recently, Paris.

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Communities

Somali-Americans share in the grief and pain over George Floyd’s killing

By Rupa Shenoy | PRI

Malika Dahir, a Somali American and mother of three in Minneapolis desperately needed an outlet to talk about George Floyd’s killing and everything that has happened since so she organized a prayer gathering online to process it together. 

Listen to the story.

Continue reading “Somali-Americans share in the grief and pain over George Floyd’s killing” →
Opinion

George Floyd’s killing touches a nerve with Africans who know police brutality at home and abroad

By Yomi Kazeem | QUARTZ

When a high ranking official condemns state brutality against citizens in an interaction between African countries and the United States, Africa is typically on the receiving end. This week, the tide turned as the African Union (AU) issued a strongly worded statement condemning the killing of George Floyd, the African American killed by Minneapolis police officers.

Continue reading “George Floyd’s killing touches a nerve with Africans who know police brutality at home and abroad” →