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Mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner Join NNPA, Others in Opposing NYC Menthol Ban

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “A ban will introduce or re-introduce many hard to employ young Black New Yorkers to the criminal justice system,” the mothers wrote. “We do not want to take parents, sons, and daughters out of households for small infractions that carry financial obligations.”

Published

7 years ago

October 17, 2019

Oakland Post

A menthol ban would create criminal enterprises, and it would not help curb smoking, opponents of the measure told NNPA Newswire. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

New York City’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and e-flavored cigarettes and vapes has many critics calling for officials to reconsider.

Opponents of the ban fear that it would give police another reason to profile African Americans.

“We urge you to carefully consider any bill that seeks to ban menthol cigarettes,” Gwendolyn Carr, the mother of Eric Garner; and Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, wrote in a letter to New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

“We are concerned,” the women wrote in the October 15 letter and released by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN).

“The majority – 80 percent – of Black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. When you ban a product sold mostly in Black communities, you must consider the reality of what will happen to that very same over-represented community in the criminal justice system,” the mothers wrote.

Just as much as anyone, Carr, and Fulton are aware of the deadly consequences of racial profiling.

Carr’s son Garner, a Black man, was accused of selling single cigarettes outside a store on Staten Island.

New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo tackled and choked Garner as the 43-year-old Black man gasped, “I can’t breathe.”

Garner died a short time later.

Fulton’s son, Trayvon, was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida, by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who had racially profiled the 17-year-old.

Carr and Fulton stated that they don’t encourage, support, or promote smoking.

However, they said the bill as it stands would create a new market for loose cigarettes.

They contend the law would introduce another version of the infamous stop-and-frisk policing in Black financially challenged communities.

“A ban will introduce or re-introduce many hard to employ young Black New Yorkers to the criminal justice system,” the mothers wrote. “We do not want to take parents, sons, and daughters out of households for small infractions that carry financial obligations.”

The ban is certain to lead to more adversarial contact between law enforcement and the African American community, said Major Neill Franklin, the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – or LEAP.

“Here we are moving forward before we do a proper assessing of the potential outcome from this type of [law],” Franklin said.

The policy is especially bad in the Big Apple, where “we still with stop and frisk with people of color,” said Franklin, a more than 34-year law enforcement veteran of the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Department.

“So, here we are proposing another policy that will put the police front and center in enforcing that policy, and it’s going to be enforced in communities of color.

“Our poor and Black communities and this doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Further, a menthol ban would create criminal enterprises, and it would not help curb smoking, opponents of the measure told NNPA Newswire.

They argue that many would turn to either buying from smugglers or using flavored vaping products, which New York City Council also seeks to prohibit.

“First and foremost, this has a disparate impact on communities of color. If allowed to go through, the policy would do more to damage police relations than it would help,” said Jiles Ship, president of the North New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization of Blacks Law Enforcement Executives – or NOBLE.

“It will also be an additional drain on resources that can be better utilized and this could create a pretext for law enforcement interaction that can eventually lead to encounters that results in the arrests of individuals who would feel that their civil rights are violated – and, I’m curious as to whether that aspect has been challenged or examined,” Ship said.

Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin L. Crump has said a ban on menthol cigarettes would be another “tool for law enforcement to target African Americans.”

NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. praised Carr and Fulton for their “courageous letter.”

Chavis also decried the proposed menthol ban.

“This joint public courageous statement from the mothers of Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin is critical to Black America given the current climate of fatal interactions between law enforcement officials and other persons acting under the color of law. This policy is detrimental to Black Americans intergenerationally across the nation,” Chavis stated.

“Racial profiling should be illegal in any form or policy. Now, the consequence of ‘smoking menthol cigarettes while Black’ will be another pretense.

“And, it will be an ‘unintended consequence’ of bad public policy that will result in negative interactions between law enforcement and Black America.”

Chavis continued:

“The NNPA opposes the proposed menthol ban in New York City because it is racially-targeted against Black Americans who culturally and socially prefer menthol cigarettes over against non-menthol cigarettes. This is not about promoting smoking.

“This is about preventing another racially-motivated ban similar to the infamous and devastating NYC ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ policy. Thus, the NNPA joins with NOBLE, and with NAN and the mothers of Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin in calling on the New York City council to oppose this bad racist public policy proposal accordingly.

“Racism in all forms must be opposed.”

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Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park

ATLANTA VOICE — A mural depicting late journalist Jovita Moore, painted on the exterior wall of a building now occupied by Bellwood Coffee in Grant Park, was painted over in April. Moore passed away in 2021 after decades of working in Atlanta television news. Bellwood Coffee owners stated in May they were unaware of Moore’s identity or significance to the community before painting over the mural.
The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

At the corner of Boulevard, SE. and Rosalia St., SE., directly across the street from an abandoned home and a Methodist Church, is Bellwood Coffee. One of hundreds of coffee shops in Atlanta, this place of business would not be worth a solitary discussion if not for the way its exterior walls are currently painted. There was once a mural depicting the late Jovita Moore, a beloved journalist who worked in Atlanta for decades. Moore, who passed away in 2021, mentored many of the people you see on television newscasts today. Though her legacy will never be forgotten, it was the mural of her image that was erased.

In April, members of the Grant Park community voiced their disgust at the mural, which graced a side wall of the building now occupied by Bellwood Coffee’s Grant Park location, before it was painted over. In its place are the words “Bellwood Coffee; Cocktails, Biscuits, Dry Goods, Air Conditioning. *Heat Too”. In May, the business owners responded to the community pushback on social media by acknowledging they did not know who Moore was before painting over her image. And later admitted that they did not attempt to find out what she meant to the community.

On May 21, the Bellwood Coffee Instagram account had a post about being “in close contact with Jovita’s family and are actively working on next steps in this process.” Two months later, the mural has not been replaced, repainted, or repositioned on the property. Nothing has been done. Black history is often erased, most recently by the current Presidential administration, but oftentimes on a smaller, quieter scale. The mural was originally painted by muralist Tommy Bronx, who had been in contact with the business owners about repainting it. As of July 6, Tommy Bronx had responded to a direct message via his Instagram account from The Atlanta Voice about any updates on his plans to repaint the mural.

“We’re currently working on it. You should see some movement in the weeks to come,” he wrote in a response.

On Monday, July 6, the business had several patrons inside and was running smoothly with three employees manning the counter. The Atlanta Voice dropped by Bellwood Coffee to get a look at the exterior wall where the mural once stood as a memorial to a journalist and mother who lost her life to brain cancer at the young age of 54. Moore’s image added some color to the block. The grey wall in its place does not.

A direct message was sent to the Bellwood Coffee Instagram account, and there hasn’t been a response as of 7 p.m. on Monday.

The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Voice.

The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator

ATLANTA DAILY WORLD — A New York man faces felony hate crime charges for allegedly posting a threat against New York State Senator Lea Webb. James A. Crosby, 49, of Binghamton, was arrested by New York State Police after investigators determined he posted a threatening comment on a social media news post about a Juneteenth celebration.
The post ‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

A New York man is facing felony hate crime charges after allegedly posting that he’d be “proud to hang” New York State Senator Lea Webb from a tree in response to a news story about a Juneteenth celebration.

James A. Crosby, 49, of Binghamton, was arrested June 23 by New York State Police after investigators determined he posted a threatening comment on a WBNG 12 News Facebook post. “I’d be proud to hang her from a tree,” Crosby wrote, according to WBNG.

Crosby was charged with making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, a class C felony, per the New York State Police. He is currently being held at Broome County Jail.

During the subsequent investigation, state police found Crosby was in illegal possession of firearms despite being prohibited from owning them due to a prior felony conviction. Investigators recovered a rifle, a large-capacity ammunition feeding device, and a firearm suppressor — all prohibited under New York state law, per the NYSP.

Crosby was charged with four additional counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, all class D felonies.

Webb, who represents New York’s 52nd Senate District, had been a featured speaker at a Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony at Binghamton City Hall, where the celebration included prayers and the singing of the Black national anthem.

Police said Crosby’s comment was posted in response to a WBNG news story covering the event.

The day before his arrest, Crosby posted a Facebook apology claiming the comment “was not intended to be racial in any way” and was made in reference to what he described as a “criminal,” citing criticism of Webb over her use of nonprofit legal aid in a foreclosure case — a matter state watchdogs said created an appearance of a conflict of interest, per the Ithaca Voice. He was arrested the following day.

Webb issued a public statement June 25 condemning the threat.

“It was extremely disappointing and hurtful to see the now-deleted threat and attacks on my life in response to a story about Juneteenth, a national holiday that recognizes the ending of slavery in America,” she said. “Feedback and thoughts on policy are one thing, but to make a public call for lethal violence is absolutely unacceptable and dangerous. We must recognize our shared humanity and reject violence in all forms.”

She thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and law enforcement for their “swift response.”

Following Crosby’s comments, social media users called for a boycott of his contracting business, Crosby Home Improvements.

The Binghamton City Democratic Committee also called for an investigation into the incident before his arrest.

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The post ‘Proud to hang her from a tree’: Man arrested for threatening Black Senator appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Daily World.

The post ‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations

NEW YORK CARIB NEWS — Outgoing CARICOM Chairman Terrance Drew called on regional leaders to build a stronger and more effective Caribbean Community that benefits future generations. Speaking at the 51st Regular Meeting, Drew urged modernization of governance structures and improved implementation of Community decisions to make CARICOM safer and more prosperous.
The post CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

Speaking Sunday at the opening of the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Saint Lucia, Dr. Terrance Drew said the region must modernize its governance structures, improve the implementation of Community decisions, and ensure CARICOM becomes safer, more prosperous, and more relevant to the lives of its citizens.

The meeting, being held under the theme “CARICOM: From Resilience to Renewal in a Changing World,” coincides with the Community’s 53rd anniversary. During the ceremony, Dr. Drew formally handed over the rotating CARICOM chairmanship to Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre.

Reflecting on his six-month tenure as chairman, Drew praised fellow regional leaders for maintaining their commitment to democracy, good governance, unity, and the rule of law despite mounting global economic and geopolitical challenges.

“Throughout these challenges, CARICOM chose engagement over isolation. Together, we reaffirmed our commitment to a fair and rules-based international trading system and ensured that the interests of small developing states continued to be heard.”
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He highlighted progress made in strengthening the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, including deeper trade cooperation, expanded labour mobility, and efforts to lay the foundation for long-term economic growth. Drew also noted the Community’s growing partnerships beyond the Caribbean, particularly with the African Union, while stressing that every international partnership should advance the interests of all parties involved.

The outgoing chairman also expressed appreciation to Dr. Carla Barnett and the CARICOM Secretariat for their professionalism and unwavering support during his tenure.

“Whenever I called, you answered. Whenever support was required, you and your team responded with diligence, competence, and excellence.”

Dr. Drew urged the Secretariat to continue preserving its impartiality while faithfully implementing decisions made by Heads of Government, saying that balance has helped strengthen the regional integration movement.

The conference continues in Saint Lucia with regional leaders expected to deliberate on key issues including regional security, climate resilience, trade, economic integration, food security, Haiti, reparations, and strengthening the CSME.

Based on reporting by New York Carib News.

The post CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations appeared first on BlackPressUSA.