Elon Musk purchases Social Media platform Twitter for $44B
By now, everyone knows the news that Elon Musk purchased Social Media platform twitter for 44 Billion dollars. The sale which seemed to happen overnight saw Musk, basically purchasing about 9 percent of Twitter stock, to rejected to join Twitter’s board of directors to moving to purchase the platform. In hopes to “allow free speech to reign” and “bring new features to the platform” as well as “verifying all humans” said Elon Musk in a press release.
So what now? What does it mean? What happens to Twitter now? Also, how does this effect the social media space — especially after seeing Facebook’s shift to Meta, and the swift shift in Instagram no longer showcasing user’s following, as a feed but opting for the sponsored posts and “you may like” feed. While the story unravels it does open up the dialogue and think pieces around the current news. With tweets pointing out Musk’s recent offer to the UN of providing 6 Billion if they could provide steps that could end world hunger and others stating how the possibilities could exists for everyone if they received the same treatment as Musk, as banks were willing to put together 44 billion dollars just for him to purchase Twitter.
Opportunities like this don’t really exist for those with plans to start a business. Loan options are difficult to obtain for some, even if there is dream and a plan to make the money grow, banks will still deny a loan that could possibly make the next million/billion dollar idea. Interestingly enough, as the man with a $260 billion+ network, its nothing for a bank to magically pull together 44 billion for him to use.
“Black Twitter ran the value up on all this social media shit,” - Comedian Karlous Miller tweeted.
When you take a look at a lot of the platforms, the discuss on the culture that brings attention to it and builds it up always arises. When platforms ditch their original plan for what Black Culture creates, it is constantly questioned, “Why don’t we have our own or create our own?” Facebook, originally started out as a tool for college student now a social media platform that incorporates ecommerce, advertisements and more. Clubhouse originally started as an app for venture capitalist to hold conference meetings now a tool for voice conversations and discussions on just about anything. The feature now a thing for Twitter with the addition of Twitter Spaces. A lot of features find their way accross social media platforms once it is made popular by Black Culture. The now discontinued Vine, made popular by a lot of Black Creatives saw their work recreated and reproduced and media attention given to White creators who copied their work. The rise of TikTok now sees platforms moving to add similar features, Youtube Shorts, Instagram Reels and the discontinued Twitter feature fleets. The question arises again, when do Black Creators gain the level of revenue or residuals from building up a platform that letter gets sold for billions?
Publication declines SZA's request for Black photographer
And if there wasn’t another reason… this is why it is very important that we lift up Black Publications and build up our own spaces. SZA’s request to be shot by a Black photographer was turned down by a publication she refused to name.
And if there wasn’t another reason… this is why it is very important that we lift up Black Publications and build up our own spaces. SZA’s request to be shot by a Black photographer was turned down by a publication she refused to name.
“I requested a Black photographer for a cover n the mag told me no lol its 2021...and almost Juneteenth,” SZA posted on Twitter. “Respectfully, I can’t do it.” Not wanting to name the publication, SZA did go on to list a few publications who previously featured her on covers and gave Black photographers the chance to showcase their talents.
But we’ve heard this story before. We know this too well. It dates back as far as magazines have existed from the popular teen magazine refusing to feature Tia & Tamera Mowry with the success they had because they didn’t think they would sell; to Beyoncé having brought over the first Black Photographer (Tyler Mitchell) to shoot a Vogue cover. Its all smoke and mirrors. If Beyoncé wasn’t as big of a name and a need for Vogue would they have still gone with a Black Photographer? Not taking away from the achievements to have accomplished such a feature but when do we get to a point where we lift up Black publications and spaces that don’t blatantly exclude Black talent until its trendy?
This can also be attributed to the level of celebrity publications may assume someone to have — which seems they will bend to a cover stars request if they need them. At what point do go where we are accommodated. When do we go where its people who look like us and create for us? When do we have spaces created by people who look like us be the go to place where we don’t have to go into these spaces where we don’t our needs met.
It continues to go back to having to work twice as hard to obtain half in return. The fact that there seems to be little to no Black Creatives at these publications that can execute a project that would showcase Black Talent in the right light. It’s always the bringing in a Black Photographer or the Black makeup artist or the Black designer just for the purpose of the shoot instead of already being equipped with a diverse group of talent. Even this sentiment extends outside of just creative spaces. It’s the same in corporate spaces. It’s the same in professional fields with Doctors and hospitals. And the list goes on and on.
How are we in 2021, still having to hear and see these same stories? How are these publications still managing to skate by and be allowed to run spaces like these? When do we make these spaces more diverse or have a diverse space do what should be done?
Derek Chauvin found guilty for the murder of George Floyd
Following three weeks of testimonies, a jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota found Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd. The former officer is now convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin’s bail would also be revoked, as we await his sentencing, which will be in a couple of months.
Now that a guilty verdict has been reached, the fight for justice is not over. There is still a lot of work to do. There is still a responsibility for this America to start making changes so this doesn’t happen again. This verdict can not be the end all, be all. This cannot be the resolution to years of police brutality and misconduct. This cannot be the justification of action and changes happening.
We're really back at peaceful protests, tear gas and riot gear - not even a full year later.
In the wake of the events happening in Minnesota, not even a full year after the events that led to the murder of George Floyd; while ex-cop Derek Chauvin stands trial - we return to protests and police force back in riot gear and placing barricades around areas in Minnesota after Ex-cop Kim Potter, “accidentally” fired her gun killing Daunte Wright.
Pepper spray is used from behind the fenced perimeter of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Wednesday.
Nick Pfosi/Reuters
In the wake of the events happening in Minnesota, not even a full year after the events that led to the murder of George Floyd; while ex-cop Derek Chauvin stands trial - we return to protests and police force back in riot gear and placing barricades around areas in Minnesota after Ex-cop Kim Potter, “accidentally” fired her gun killing Daunte Wright. The former Brooklyn Center police officer faces second-degree manslaughter charges for the death of Daunte Wright.
The home of the former officer has been barricaded by large concrete and fencing and is under police supervision. Protest have erupted and protesters have been met with force; including police in riot gear as well as being shot with tear gas.
A person gets their eyes washed out after the police released chemical irritants on protesters on Wednesday.
Leah Millis/Reuters
The head of Minnesota’s largest police union, Brian Peters believes Daunte Wright was partly responsible for his own death. “Daunte Wright, if he would have just complied. He was told he was under arrest. They were arresting him on a warrant for weapons. He set off a chain of events that unfortunately led to his death.”
“I’m not excusing it,” Peters continued. “But what we’re seeing in policing these days is that non-compliance by the public.” - It’s statements that’s been said before. It’s statements that come off contradictory when we don’t see the same actions taken with non-African Americans. Even in recent events, we don’t see these actions taken when police officers are directly threatened by white people. A 61-year-old white man dragged and assaulted an officer but was not shot or tased in the process. The incident occurred in Minnesota, days after Daunte Wright was fatally shot by officers in the same state.
The shooting sparked protests across the state of Minnesota and prompted Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon and Potter to resign from their positions. Potter was later arrested and released from Hennepin County Jail on $100,000 bail. She now faces charges of second-degree manslaughter in connection with Wright’s death. If convicted, she can serve up to 10 years in prison and may be required to pay a $20,000 fine.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune/AP
And with another name, another situation, it seems we are back where we were just a year ago, even back where were 50-60 years ago; with the same situation yielding the same results or different results lessened in comparison to results to the same situation when in comes to police officers. How many more unarmed black men and women have to be killed? How many more peaceful protests have to occur? How many more excuses have to be made for things to be changed?
Daunte Wright's mother says “justice isn't even a word to me” in response to the charges brought against Potter. Justice doesn’t bring her son back. - Would justice "bring our son home to us, knocking on the door with his big smile coming in the house, sitting down eating dinner with us, going out to lunch, playing with his one-year-old, almost-two-year-old son, giving them a kiss before he walks out the door,"
Chyna Whitaker, holding her son Daunte Wright Jr.,
Protesters gathered in Brooklyn Center on Wednesday night. or the second night in a row, no reports of looting or fires set in Brooklyn Center were made, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said.
Police "accidentally" fired gun instead of taser, killing Daunte Wright
Brooklyn Center chief Tim Gannon: "As I watch the video & listen to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser but instead shot [Daunte] Wright with a single bullet. This appears to me... that this was an accidental discharge"
It was reported by Wright’s mother, police pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror. 20-year-old Daunte Wright was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center police on Sunday (April 11) afternoon, which prompted protests at the scene. According to police, the officers then realized Wright had outstanding warrants and attempted to take him into custody. When he got back into his car, one officer shot him. Wright then drove several blocks before crashing into another car and passing away.
The Minnesota National Guard was deployed after protesters marched to the Brooklyn Center Police Department to demand justice for Wright’s death. Police have confirmed that body camera footage from the shooting exists, but it has not yet been released to the public.
Brooklyn Center is about nine miles away from Minneapolis, where Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd is currently taking place.
Amanda Gorman Inspires with Inauguration Poem
Amanda Gorman, 22 recited her poem "The Hill We Climb" after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as president and vice president, at the 59th presidential inauguration, becoming the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. History. “I wanted it to be a message of hope and unity. And I think that Wednesday for me really just underscored how much that was needed,” Gorman told CBS of her poem. “But to not turn a blind eye to the cracks that really need to be filled.”
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it”
Read a transcript of her remarks below:
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
National youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman recites her inaugural poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 20. Patrick Semansky/Pool/AP
Two Officers Involved in Breonna Taylor's case have been terminated
Two Louisville officers connected to the Breonna Taylor’s fatal shooting have officially been fired. Both Detective Myles Cosgrove and Detective Joshua Jaynes were relieved of their duties on Jan. 5th. Cosgrove was terminated for failing to activate his body camera during the incident. Jaynes was not present when at the scene on the night Taylor died, but he sought the warrant that authorized the raid. Despite the firings, both detectives can challenge the dismissal.
As previously reported, Taylor was shot and killed back in March by officers who entered her apartment to serve a no-knock search warrant in a drug case. Neither of the officers were charged for her death, but Brett Hankison was indicted on three wanton endangerment charges for blindly firing 10 shots into Taylor’s home and and recklessly endangering Taylor’s neighbors. He was fired by the Lousiville Metro Police Department back in June.
Raphael Warnock becomes Georgia’s first Black senator
Reuters
Rev. Raphael Warnock made history on Wednesday, January 6th as multiple outlets projected his victory as Georgia’s first Black senator. Warnock spoke on CNN’s “New Day.” “I am an iteration and an example of the American dream. When I think about the arc of our history, what Georgia did last night is its own message in the midst of a moment in which so many people are trying to divide our country — at a time we can least afford to be divided.” The senator-elect and senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church ran against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in Tuesday’s Senate runoff election.
Warnock is also the first Georgia Democrat to be elected to the Senate in 20 years. Many credited the state’s party shift and record-breaking voter turnout to the years-long efforts of Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and Georgia activists.
