Property Heirs Argue Confederate Statue Rights in New VA Court Move

Top photo: A 2010 picture of the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, which was removed from Health Sciences Park (formerly Nathan Bedford Forrest Park) in downtown Memphis last December. (Wikimedia). Bottom photo: BY CURRIER & IVES (NOT SIGNED) - THIS IMAGE IS AVAILABLE FROM THE UNITED STATES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS'S PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. VIA WIKI COMMONS

Dead Men's Property Heirs Argue Confederate Statue Rights in New VA Court Move

By Allison Anna Tait, Professor of Law, University of Richmond. First published on The Conversation

The latest chapter in the United States’ ongoing debate about Confederate monuments involves some unexpected opinions: those of long-dead land donors.

Responding to sustained, nationwide protests over police brutality, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on June 4 vowed to dismantle a prominent statue of the Virginia-born Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, the state capital.

That plan was put on pause just four days later when a state judge issued an injunction based on the petition of a man whose ancestor, Otway Allen, gave Virginia the land the the sculpture sits on.

In his petition to the court, William C. Gregory claimed that removal of the statue would violate the conditions of his great-grandfather’s 1890 land deed, which says Virginia “will hold said Statue and pedestal and Circle of ground perpetually sacred to the Monumental purpose … and that she will faithfully guard it and affectionately protect it.”

On June 19, a judge will decide whether to let the 10-day injunction expire, enabling Richmond to dismantle its Lee monument, or to obey the donor’s wishes – at least temporarily.

Richmond isn’t the only Virginia city where a centuries-old land deed is a legal hurdle in removing Confederate monuments many see as a symbol of white supremacy. Nearby Charlottesville has faced similar questions about the intentions of the philanthropist who donated its controversial Robert E. Lee statue.

FENTY R6.20-DROP1 Campaign Lensed by Lea Colombo Honors Rebellious Creative Aesthetic

FENTY R6.20-DROP1 Campaign Lensed by Lea Colombo Honors Rebellious Creative Aesthetic

Rihanna’s Fenty luxury brand brightens spirits today June 11, with “Release 6-20”, the first of three separate drops across June. Lensed by London-based, South Africa born photographer Lea Colombo, the campaign’s focus is models, artists and musicians who “embody the bright spark energy of the release.”

They include Amrit, Assa Baradji, Coucou Chloe, Daniel Gonzalez, Lilan Barru, and Mao Xiaoxing./ Art direction by Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet and Lolita Jacobs; casting direction from Samuel Ellis Scheinman. Video direction by Julien Pujol and Roberto Colombo. 

“In a time where fighting for global freedoms takes center stage, this release speaks to a generation that is a different kind of creative, and a different kind of rebellious,” says Fenty’s press release. The collection honors “decades of youth aesthetics and styles that emerged during periods of steep social change, each act of the month-long release celebrates a different facet of youth, expressed through varied style cues.”

The collection is long on psychedelic, tie-dye prints, baggy rave silhouettes, grunge hoodies and asymmetric dresses. The campaign will continue into July.

Serena Williams Steps Up For Vital Voices; Alexis Ohanian Sr. Resigns Reddit Board

Serena Williams Steps Up For Vital Voices; Alexis Ohanian Sr. Resigns Reddit Board

Tennis legend, black activist, fashion designer — and yes, now venture capitalist — Serena Williams became the global spokeswoman for Stuart Weitzman in early May. Photographer Ethan James Green captures Serena in campaign images that present her fierce power and beauty unbowed.

The power of the project for Serena lies in Stuart Weitzman’s alliance with the Vital Voices Global Partnership  Tapped to choose two women leaders to participate with her in the campaign, Williams tapped Ashlee Wisdom and Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno. Wisdom is the founder of  Health in Her Hue, a platform that connects black women to culturally competent health-care providers. Ke’alohilani Quiamno, founder of Future for Us, a civic organization that gives women of color the tools to succeed in the highest levels of corporate and social-sector careers.

Alexis Ohanian Sr. Resigns from Reddit Board

It’s Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian Sr.that made the big news today — June 8 — as word of his resignation from the board of directors of Reddit traveled through media channels. The co-founder of Reddit recommended that his spot be filled by a Black candidate amid activists’ calls for more representation of BlPOC in positions of power in global companies.

"I co-founded Reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging," Ohanian wrote across his social media channels, pulling from a blog post on his site. "It is long overdue to do the right thing. I'm doing this for me, for my family, and for my country." Along with the statement to the public, Ohanian embedded a video message from his Instagram account onto his blog entry, and in it he reiterates his original statement.

Paper Magazine Creates Master Links to Bail Funds, BLM Groups Across the US

Paper Magazine Creates Master Links to Bail Funds, BLM Groups Across the US

Paper Magazine is doing an outstanding job of tracking the waves of social unrest across America. They are not alone. Even IMG Models has a Black Lives Matter message on the front page. Alas, their link to the Change.org petition that I signed on Saturday is broken (does anybody check these things!!!).

It is hands down the biggest petition of 2020 and could become an all-time champion. On Tuesday 12:36 PM, 11,536,224 people have signed the petition: Justice for George Floyd. The point of the petition is to have the other three former officers involved in the homicide charged and hopefully, the current charges against fired officer Derek Chauvin increased from third-degree murder and manslaughter..

Two Different Autopsies

Dr. Allecia Wilson, one of the pathologists who conducted the independent autopsy, said Monday afternoon that Floyd died as a result of mechanical asphyxiation.  CBS News writes:

It Is Time for America to Confront Its Tortured Racial Past by Smithsonian's Lonnie G. Bunch III

By Lonnie G. Bunch III, SmithsonianMag.com

Like many Americans, watching multiple incidents of deadly violence against black people unfold before our eyes has left us feeling demoralized and distraught, aghast, and angry. Not only have we been forced to grapple with the impact of a global pandemic, we have been forced to confront the reality that, despite gains made in the past 50 years, we are still a nation riven by inequality and racial division. The state of our democracy feels fragile and precarious.

Once again, we struggle to make sense of the senseless. Once again, we bear witness to our country’s troubled history of racial violence, from Freddie Gray and Eric Garner to Sandra Bland and Trayvon Martin. Once again, we try to cope as best as we can, whether suffering in silence, participating in protests, or engaging in conversations that evoke all of our emotions. Once again, we try to explain to our children that which cannot be explained. Once again, we pray for justice and we pray for peace. Once again.

We express our deepest sympathy to the families and communities of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and the far too many preceding them whose needless deaths were brought about by unjustified violence. We hope that their pain and sorrow compel America to confront its tortured racial past, and that this moment becomes the impetus for our nation to address racism and social inequities in earnest.

Although it will be a monumental task, the past is replete with examples of ordinary people working together to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. History is a guide to a better future and demonstrates that we can become a better society—but only if we collectively demand it from each other and from the institutions responsible for administering justice.

Frederick Douglass famously said, “Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground…. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle.” At this pivotal moment when the eyes of the nation and the world are upon Minneapolis, will we join the struggle to seek justice and equality? Will we heed the call of courageous figures throughout history who spoke out against slavery, marched on for voting rights, and sat in for basic equality? Will we challenge the nation to live up to its founding ideals? In the memory of those taken from us and for the good of the country, I hope that we do.

To create an equal society, and to commit to making unbiased choices and being antiracist in all aspects of our lives, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture offers the online portal, "Tips for Talking About Race."

Lonnie G. Bunch III is the Smithsonian's 14th Secretary and the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He is the author of more than a dozen books on history, race and museum scholarship.