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National News
Facebook And Airbnb
Ram Truck’s Super Bowl Ad Using
Add Some Color To Its
Dr. King’s Speech Did Not Go Over
Boards Of Directors
Well; But Okayed By King’s Son
Kenneth Chenault, the outgoing chief executive of American Express, is joining the board of directors at Face- book and Airbnb.
Chenault is making his- tory as he is the first Black American to be a board mem- ber of both large companies.
The social media giant, Facebook, adds Chenault to its board of directors in Janu- ary. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news.
The announcement was made shortly after the Con- gressional Black Caucus criti- cized the company for not being diverse enough.
A week after Facebook's announcement, Airbnb also brought Chenault to its board.
Chenault will be the first independent board of direc-
Ram tried to use a Martin Luther King Jr. speech to sell trucks in a Super Bowlad- vertisement on Sunday.
The minute-long ad features a clip of King’s “Drum Major Instinct” sermon, which he de- livered 50 years ago on Feb. 4, 1968. The audio plays over dramatic shots of athletes training, soldiers reuniting with families and kids learning in classrooms.
“If you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. If you want to be great, wonderful,” King’s voice says. “But recog- nize that he who is greatest among you shall be your ser- vant. That’s a new definition of greatness.”
Just after the words “a new definition of greatness,” a Ram truck comes coursing through mud and water in loving slo- mo, and it becomes clear what this video is actually about.
The ad ends with a still that reads, “Built to serve: Ram.”
People were not very happy with the company’s attempt to profit off of one of history’s greatest social justice advo- cates, and NBC and the NFL
Dodge Ram commercial
Black Lives Matter Protest During Super Bowl
The Movement For Black Lives and other groups protested during the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, MN on Sunday. The city’s group has been instrumental in shutting down the highway and mall during critical times in the city after the murder of Philando, Castille by a police officer.
Emotional ‘Sandra Bland’ Exhibit Now Showing At Houston Museum
Sandra Bland died while in police custody in Texas.
Kenneth Chenault, outgoing CEO of American Express is named to both Facebook and Airbnb boards.
tor as Airbnb, the second most valuable start-up in the U. S., plans to seek an initial public offering.
Adding Chenault as in- dependent director would provide an outside supervi- sion of the company.
also profited because the ad cost $5 Million to air.
“So that means the King children allowed Dr. King’s voice to be used to sell me a Dodge truck,” author Michael Arceneaux tweeted.
Bernice King, Martin Luther King’s youngest daughter, replied simply: “No,” according to Black Voices.
A tweet from the King Cen- ter read: "Neither @TheKing- Center nor @BerniceKing is the entity that approves the use of #MLK's words or imagery for use in merchandise, enter- tainment (movies, music, art- work, etc) or advertisement,
including tonight's @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial.”
Although the center carries on King's teachings, a sepa- rate entity controls King's speeches and image — Intellec- tual Properties Management Inc. Eric D. Tidwell, manag- ing director of the organiza- tion, which is run by King's son, Dexter, said in a state- ment early Monday: "We found that the overall message of the ad embodied Dr. King's philosophy that true greatness is achieved by serv- ing others. Thus we decided to be a part of Ram's 'Built To Serve' Super Bowl program.”
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Leaders representing the Movement for Black Lives; Black Lives Matter Net- work, BYP100, St. Louis Action Council and the BlackOUT Collective, shut down several critical transit lines in Min- neapolis, chanting, carrying banners, and wearing t-shirts saying “You can’t play with Black lives!”
Activists are using this mo- ment to stand with athletes who have protested through- out the past two football sea- sons calling attention to the murder of Black people by po- lice and to the City of Min- neapolis’ banning city residents from using public transit without a Super Bowl ticket, primarily affecting peo- ple of color who rely on it to get to and from work.
Protesters wore t-shirts and carried other banners saying “You shut us out, we shut you
down!” to protest the ban and standing in solidarity with un- documented immigrant work- ers as they face possible deportations with ICE swarm- ing U. S. Bank Stadium.
The chapter leaders came from LA, Birmingham, Min- neapolis; Movement for Black Lives representatives + allies, and targeted the green and blue lines transit system.
The statement released:
The Super Bowl is not a na- tional security event. It is a na- tional security crisis. The NFL and the City of Minneapolis have failed to provide critical resources to vulnerable com- munities and have increased potential harm to residents through intensified surveil- lance of people of color and im- migrants, a ban on access to public transportation without a Super Bowl ticket, and in- creased violence on Black trans women and sex workers.
On Saturday, the Houston Museum of African Ameri- can Culture opened an ex- hibit dedicated to the life and death of Sandra Bland.
The 28-year old was pulled over for a minor traffic viola- tion, arrested, and found dead in her Waller County, Texas jail cell three days after in July 2015. Although her death was ruled a suicide, ac- tivists and others criticized the jail’s handling of Bland.
On opening night, visitors were able to walk through the exhibit featuring smiling im- ages from Bland’s life be- fore sitting in a makeshift car to watch footage from the traffic stop that ultimately
led to her death.
For her mother, Geneva
Reed-Veal, sitting in that car was the hardest part of the exhibit.
“It felt like when that offi- cer was walking, he was walking towards you,” she told local station KTRK.
Reed-Veal added that she felt like her daughter was telling her story even after her death.
“People seeing this exhibit should say to themselves hold on, I’m going to think a little differently about the way I do things—with my in- teractions with everyone but more so police officers,” she said.
The artists who worked on the exhibit clearly did their homework. Many of the pieces give a glimpse into the type of woman Bland was at the time of her death.
“I’m discovering we were very similar. She was a woman who took over 50 selfies, she had very healthy self-esteem, was in a sorority, educated, young had a future ahead of her,” said Lee Car- rier, the designer behind the central mural in the exhibit.
Visitors have also been blown away by the emotion of the exhibit.
Visitors will be able to see the exhibit from now until Feb. 28.
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