[ANDREW BROWN PORTION UPDATED]
GEORGE FLOYD’S NC FAMILY
UNVEILS MAY 25TH “DAY
OF ENLIGHTENMENT”
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
In under two weeks from now, May 25th will be the first anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd at the hands of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin.
But according to Floyd’s family last Saturday, May 25th will also be a “Day of Enlightenment” to commemorate the dark anniversary, honor George Floyd, and promote a hopeful change in societal attitude towards racism.
Last Saturday, the Floyd family from Fayetteville - where he was born 46 years prior to his death - gathered at the John P. “Top” Greene Community Center in Southeast Raleigh, along with Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin and District C City Councilman Corey Branch, to announce the inaugural kickoff of the special occasion, and also the establishment of the multicultural nonprofit George Floyd Memorial Center in Raleigh.
Their hope is that the center - estimated to cost between $10-$20 million - will be a source of inspiration and information for generations to come.
The center’s motto will be “Achieving Greatness Through Focused Service.”
"We want them to know that they can make a difference! You don't have to die to make a difference,” Thomas McLaurin, Floyd’s cousin, told those gathered Saturday. “We want them to live and make a difference, and see things [as] they could be in our community moving forward."
Even though George Floyd was a native of Fayetteville, his family plans to build the namesake center in the Capital City, and are in the process of fundraising towards the effort. The center, once completed, will contain an interactive museum, classrooms, and a leadership academy, as well as online educational programs, all geared towards helping young people find a positive path through life.
The Floyd center, with a projected construction and opening within the next two to three years, will also sponsor a scholarship fund to assist in that effort.
McLaurin says the family is hopeful that it can identify a site for the center close to Shaw University in downtown Raleigh and Southeast Raleigh, primarily because they have been in discussions with Shaw about collaborating on various projects.
The center is also a way to turn the tragedy of George Floyd’s death into a peaceful, and effective way to deal with the specter of racist police brutality that has plagued the nation for so long.
“We want to use the name George Floyd to make an influence,” McLaurin said, adding that the family wants to “change the world” by turning “from hurt to hope.”
Mayor Baldwin and Councillor Branch made clear that the city of Raleigh was onboard with the goals of the Floyd family and the proposed center. They brought an official proclamation making May 25th “A day of Enlightenment” in honor of George Floyd.
“”…[W]e’ll help draw attention to the long history of racism and discrimination in our world and provide an opportunity for people in our community to stand together and embrace a hope for the future,” Councillor Branch said.
Meanwhile, as the family of George Floyd gathered Saturday to announce their efforts to pay tribute to the fallen police brutality victim, the family of Andrew Brown Jr., joined by clergy and supporters, peacefully marched through the streets of Elizabeth City, demanding transparency in the investigation of the fatal April 21st shooting of Brown by Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies during the course of serving a warrant on Brown.
A local judge restricted what footage the family could see of police bodycam video of the slaying, saying that it will remain restricted while an SBI probe is underway.
Who the family and attorneys did see about 20 minutes of the police footage on Tuesday, they said Andrew Brown jr. was “ambushed” by sheriffs deputies while he was in the car he was ultimately shot to death in. They maintained that at no time was he a threat to any of the deputies present.
Attorney Chance Lynch, representing the family, told reporters Tuesday, “there were so many shots that we had difficulty in counting the number.” Lynch maintained that Brown never moved the vehicle until after the first shot from law enforcement.
Civil rights leaders Rev. Dr. William Barber and NC NAACP Pres. Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman have echoed Gov. Roy Cooper in calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the case.
The FBI is also conducting a federal civil right investigation.
On Monday, state Senate committee voted to rewrite North Carolina’s law governing release of police bodycam video, allowing families of police shooting victims to see it within five days.
Law enforcement would have the right to object.
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CROSSOVER WEEK SEES
BILLS OF KEY INTEREST
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Welcome to Crossover Week at the NC General Assembly.
According to WUNC North Carolina Public Radio, legislative “crossover”is when “…a bill must have passed at least one chamber of the Legislature by the end of the day today (May 13th) to stay alive for consideration this year in the other chamber.”
Of course, lawmakers in the past have found creative ways around this “rule.”
The following are highlights of House bills that might not make today’s crossover deadline, but are worth keeping an eye on going into next session.
HB 247 - Standards of Student Conduct
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO LOCAL STANDARDS OF STUDENT CONDUCT.
Where local school boards, “…in consultation with teachers, school-based administrators, parents, and local law enforcement agencies, shall adopt policies to govern the conduct of students and establish procedures to be followed by school officials in disciplining students.”
The school board policies “shall include or provide for the development of a Code of Student Conduct that notifies students of behavior expected of them, conduct that may subject them to discipline, and the range of disciplinary measures that may be used by officials.
HB 536 - Law Enforcement Duty to Intervene
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A DUTY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO INTERVENE IN AND REPORT EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE.
In the aftermath of the police murder of North Carolina native George Floyd, where three Minneapolis police officers did nothing to stop a fourth officer, Derek Chauvin, from pressing his knee to the neck of Floyd for 9 minutes 29 seconds, effectively killing him, this proposed amendment to NC General Statute 15A-401 reads:
Duty to Intervene and Report Excessive Use of Force - A law enforcement officer, while in the line of duty, who observes another law enforcement officer use force against another person that the observing officer reasonably believes exceeds the amount of force authorized by [this law], and who possesses a reasonable opportunity to intervene, shall if it is safe to do so, attempt to intervene to prevent the use of excessive force. Additionally, the observing officer shall, within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 72 hours thereafter, report what the officer reasonably believes to be an unauthorized use of force to a superior law enforcement officer within the agency of the observing officer , even if the observing officer did not have a reasonable opportunity to intervene.
HB 608 - Dignity for Women Who are Incarcerated
AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE DIGNITY OF WOMEN WHO ARE INCARCERATED.
A proposed law to protect the rights of the female incarcerated.
Prison personnel shall not apply leg restraints; handcuffs or other wrist restraints; restraints connected to other incarcerated persons or waist shackles to “…a pregnant female [prisoner] during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, during labor and delivery, and during the six-week postpartum recovery period (unless an important individualized circumstance exists). “In this case, only wrist handcuffs held in front of the female [prisoner’s] body may be used and only when she is ambulatory.”
The proposed law also prohibits anyone other that a “certified health care professional …[to] conduct body cavity searches of a female [prisoner] who is pregnant or in postpartum recovery period…” unless there is probable cause to believe the female [prisoner] “…is concealing contraband that presents a threat of him to to the female [prisoner], the fetus, for another person.”
HB 805 - Prevent Rioting and Civil Disorder
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR RIOTING OR INCITING RIOTING THAT RESULTS IN DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, SERIOUS BODILY INJURY, OR DEATH AND ASSAULTING EMERGENCY PERSONNEL DURING A RIOT OR STATE OF EMERGENCY; TO ALLOW RECOVERY OF TREBLE DAMAGES FO PROPERTY DAMAGE OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY RIOTING OR LOOTING; ND TO REQUIRE PRETRIAL RELEASE CONDITIONS FOR RIOTING AND LOOTING OFFENSES TO BE DETERMINED BY A JUDGE.
Under this proposed law, “A riot is a public disturbance involving an assemblage of three or more persons which by disorderly and violent conduct , or the imminent threat of disorderly and violent conduct, results in injury or damage to persons or property or creates a clear and present danger of injury or damage to person or property.”
Any person who willfully engages in a riot is guilty of a Class I misdemeanor, or a Class H felony if the person possesses any dangerous weapon or substance.
Any person who willfully engages in a riot is guilty of a Class F felony if in the course of and as a result of the riot there is property damage in excess of fifteen hundred dollars ($1500) or serious felony bodily injury, and of a Class E felony, if in the course of, and as a result of the riot, there is a death.
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 05-13-21
NC’S PRICE GOUGING LAW ACTIVATED AFTER GAS SHORTAGE
[CHARLOTTE] In the Queen City, an estimated 71% of gas stations have run out of fuel. In Raleigh, 60%. All over the state, and indeed the Southeast, “Out of Gas” signs are being posted in the aftermath of the Colonial Pipeline Russian ransomware attack earlier the week. Consumers and businesses are lining up to get as much gasoline as possible, but legally, that prohibits gas stations from raising the price of gas beyond reason. Officials hope the pipeline will be up and running by the end of the week.
VACCINE DEMAND DOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA
[GREENSBORO] The demand for COVID-19 vaccine in North Carolina has dropped in the past week by 78%, officials say. More than half of the state’s adult population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The goal is to reach herd immunity, which would be 70-85% of the population immunized. The sooner that happens, the sooner places can reopen back to normal capacity, and face masks in public can be removed.
NC REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS MOVE TO OUTLAW CRITICAL RACE THEORY
[RALEIGH] Following the lead of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Republican lawmakers in the state House have fast-tracked a bill that, if adopted, will “give students a positive view of American history” and not deal with its racist past. Rep. James Gaillard (D-Nash), who is Black, has called the measure, “a bill of hatred…a bill of privilege…a bill of fragility.”
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