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National
NAACP: Bomb Attacks Targeted Black Families That Attend The Same Church
Draylen Mason was killed on last Monday and Anthony Stephan House was killed on March 2nd after opening a package that contained pipe bombs.
Brazilians Protest After Popular Activist/Councilwoman Was Murdered
Marielle Franco was murdered last Wednesday after her car was hit by a hail of bullets.
AUSTIN, TX — The two Tex- ans killed by package bombs in Austin, Texas were members of prominent African-American families and knew each other, the local NAACP president said Wednesday.
“They have a long history and attend Wesley United Methodist Church,” Nelson Linder said of the two victims, Anthony Stephan House, 39, and Draylen Mason, 17.
House was killed on March 2nd and Mason on Monday, March 12th.
The teen's grandfather is Norman Mason, a prominent dentist in east Austin. He was friends with Freddie Dixon, stepfather of 39-year-old An- thony House.
In a third bombing on last Monday, investigators believe that a Hispanic woman, Esper- anza Herrera, 75, picked up an explosive package that was in- tended for somebody else. She remained hospitalized in critical condition on Wednesday.
“The intended target was an- other person who might be con- nected to the House and Mason families,” said Linder, who declined to identify the tar- geted person or discuss a possi- ble motive.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley has already called the three blasts, which happened in
different parts of east Austin, “re- lated incidents.”
According to reports, Mason, 17, had the “chops” to study music in college and one day play the bass or piano profes- sionally, his instructors said. The teen, in fact, was well on his way to making that dream a reality, having been accepted to the Uni- versity of Texas, Butler School of Music.
But the reality is, Mason will never do any of it because he was killed and his mother was wounded when a package bomb exploded as they opened it in their kitchen.
The Roots Cancelled Due To Bomb Threats
The Roots cancelled their “Roots and Friends” show at the South by Southwest confer- ence in Austin on Saturday night due to a “security concern” that multiple reports say was a bomb threat.
“Due to a security concern, we have made the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s Bud Light x The Roots SXSW Jam,” show sponsor Bud Light/Anheuser- Busch said in a statement. “After working proactively with SXSW, the Austin Police Department, and other authorities, Bud Light believes this is the best course of action to ensure the safety of our guests, staff, and artists, and ap- preciate your understanding.”
BRAZIL —-On Wednesday, in the middle of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a massively important civil rights leader was shot and killed in a brutal drive-by assas- sination. Her name was Marielle Franco. Franco was just 38 years old.
A whole nation erupted in protests, as tens of thousands took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro and other cities across Brazil to mourn the death of one of the most popular council- women whose political crusade was for the rights of the poor and against police brutality.
The identity of the 2 assassins
who murdered Marielle and her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, is unknown. However, early indications are that the po- lice might have been involved.
What is known for sure is that Marielle was a threat to a very disturbing status quo in Brazil.
Investigators reportedly de- termined that the bullet casings found at the crime scene had been purchased by the Federal Police in 2006. Bullets from the same lot were used in a series of brutal attacks that killed at least 17 and wounded seven in São Paulo on one night in 2015. Two
police officers and one municipal guard were convicted for the massacre.
Local authorities told re- porters two men in a car fired nine bullets at Franco’s vehicle. Moments before her untimely death, she participated in a panel discussion she live-streamed on her Facebook page called, “Black Women Moving Structures.”
Franco was a fierce cham- pion of the disenfranchised in Brazil’s poorest slums, and staunchly advocated against po- lice brutality and gang violence, which runs rampant throughout said favelas.
Tennessee Legislators Target Natural Hair Stylists With Fines
A white man walked into a Las Vegas casino in blackface and proceeded to rob it in Janu- ary. Cameron James Kennedy, 26, was charged with armed robbery in federal court on March 9th.
According to Las Vegas po- lice, he used makeup to appear black, however, the cashier knew something was off about his complexion. During the robbery, Kennedy showed the cashier his handgun, and told the cashier, “I want all your hun- dreds and don’t mess around. He
Cameron Kennedy is facing 20 years if convicted.
later fled in a taxi with more than $23,000.
Kennedy was already under investigation for prior bank rob-
bery charges. He allegedly cut off his GPS device three hours prior to executing the robbery. He was arrested after an anonymous caller suspected he was the rob- ber. After an investigation of his phone records, police found that the Las Vegas man was near the location where the taxi had dropped the robber off.
Before his arrest, Kennedy had a great time with the stolen funds. Kennedy is now facing up to 20 years in prison if found guilty and is due back in court for his hearing March 26.
TENNESSEE —- Tennessee resident, Fatou Diouf, is being charged with a steep fee of $16,000 in fines for hiring unli- censed workers at a shop for which she’s licensed. And she’s only one of many Tennessee res- idents to be hit with these outra- geous fees. The argument is that these braiders must all become licensed, whether for natural hair styling or braiding; working pro- fessionally as a hair stylist re- quires a license.
Tennessee requires “natural hair stylists” to complete at least 300 hours of coursework, an amount of time that they can’t sacrifice or spare alongside the $1,500 to $5,000 of tuition.
In partnership with the Insti- tute for Justice and the Beacon Center, Fatou is working to get a bill passed that would get rid of the state’s requirement for natu- ral hair stylists to be licensed if they already have the skill.
According to a testimony by deputy commissioner Brian McCormack, there have only
Natural hair stylists in Ten- nessee are being targeted with fines and fees.
been two health and safety com- plaints against natural hair styl- ists since 2010.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance along- side state lawmakers are already standing behind the bill. The House Business and Utilities Subcommittee, for which Mc- Cormack works, described the policy as “burdensome.” And hopefully, legislators will follow.
Fatou, who owns a shop with a license, believes that she was targeted as her shop has no of- fenses. With fines, she’s cur- rently paying $830 a month to the state, Forbes reports.
It’s The Law: Alabama Sheriff Pockets $750K From Jail Food Fund
White Man Robs Casino In ‘Blackface’; Facing Federal Charges
GADSDEN, AL —Etowah County, Alabama Sheriff Todd Entrekin is getting a lot of heat and publicity over how he prof- its from the inmates food fund in his jail.
Entrekin pocketed $750,000 from the inmates food fund in three years. It's a fact that hap- pens to be legal for him to do so. Entrekin points to a state law that makes the sheriff financially responsible for feeding the in- mates in his jail. It dates back some 80 years.
Entrekin says he inherited an inmate food program that was in the red, and when he chose to make it a business, he turned it around.
Sheriff Todd Entrekin says he doesn’t make the laws.
News reports also point out that Entrekin and his wife, Karen, a former Etowah County sheriff's investigator who is now a federal probation officer, own some $1.7 million dollars in real estate, including a condo re-
cently bought in Baldwin County worth $750,000.
Entrekin didn't deny any of that when asked.
When we asked if the law re- quired him to keep the excess money--not just allowed, but re- quired -- Entrekin said there was no way he wouldn't keep the money, especially since he is re- quired to disclose it as personal income and pay taxes on it.
Without the extra boost in in- come from the provision fund, Entrekin earns a little more than $93,000 a year. In an emailed statement to NPR, En- trekin said the reports in the Birmingham Nes are “attacks” from the liberal media.
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