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Revived Lawsuits Allege Michael Jackson’s Sexual Abuse

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Robson and Safechuck alleged the abuse occurred when they were minors and under Jackson’s care. Lower courts previously denied the men’s attempts to sue Jackson, but a recent change to California law provided them another opportunity to seek redress.
The post Revived Lawsuits Allege Michael Jackson’s Sexual Abuse first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

@StacyBrownMedia

A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal resuscitated the lawsuits of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two men who have maintained that the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, sexually abused them during their youth. The appeals court’s decision will allow the men to sue Jackson’s companies for what they said was their role in the superstar’s repeated abuse of them. In the gut-wrenching documentary “Leaving Neverland, which aired on HBO in 2019, Robson and Safechuck detailed their interactions with Jackson. Central to the appeal court’s decision was the notion that the corporations owned by Jackson, namely MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., had a responsibility to protect Robson and Safechuck from Jackson.

Robson and Safechuck alleged the abuse occurred when they were minors and under Jackson’s care. Lower courts previously denied the men’s attempts to sue Jackson, but a recent change to California law provided them another opportunity to seek redress. The court determined that the companies’ sole ownership by the person under investigation did not exempt them from their obligation to protect minors from harm. “It would be perverse to find no duty based on the corporate defendant having only one shareholder. And so, we reverse the judgments entered for the corporations,” the justices wrote. Justice John Shepard Wiley Jr. concurred that the corporations were entirely under Jackson’s control, making them solely responsible for civil liability.

Wiley emphasized that Jackson had a duty of care towards Robson and Safechuck. “So did Jackson’s marionettes, because Jackson’s fingers held every string,” he said, adding, “These corporations could have taken cost-effective steps to reduce the risk of harm.” “Every American deserves to have their day in court and Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck are no exception,” investigative journalist Diane Dimond stated.

“I believe these two young men should have their complaints heard by an impartial court and not be simply dismissed and slandered by a legion of fanatics who know none of the facts about their cases.” Dimond counted as the first journalist to highlight accusations against Jackson. She later chronicled the singer’s life in the book, “Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case.”  She noted that Jackson called Safechuck and Robson “his special friends,” and both worked for Jackson and his entertainment company.

“If the Catholic Church was held legally responsible for sex crimes committed by their priests, if Michigan State University was held responsible for the sex crimes of their employee Dr. Larry Nassar, doesn’t it follow that Jackson’s MJJ Productions company be held responsible as well?” Dimond stated. She affirmed that “having been seeped in the Michael Jackson story for decades I can unequivocally say the Robson and Safechuck complaints don’t come in a vacuum. There have been multiple similar allegations of child sexual abuse by Michael Jackson in the past. Some the public has heard of and some they haven’t. The world has already seen some of Robson and Safechuck’s evidence as presented in the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland.” Now it’s time for the court of law to see all the evidence and decide what is justice in this case.

In his claim, Robson, now a choreographer and director, says Jackson abused him when he was 7 to 14.  When he was 5, Robson met Jackson at a dance competition.  After that, he danced in his music videos and was included on an album. The lawsuit insists that the abuse started in 1990, when Jackson asked Robson and his family to stay at his Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley in California.  The suit asserts that Robson and Jackson slept in the same bed and touched each other’s private parts.  Over the next seven years, they did sexual things like masturbation and oral sex, and employees of MJJ Productions saw the abuse, and they made sure that Jackson was alone with Robson and other children. Safechuck claims he was among many kids who fell for the companies’ “child sexual abuse procurement and facilitation organization.”

According to his lawsuit, a then-8-year-old Safechuck met Jackson while working on a Pepsi ad in late 1986 or early 1987. After that, Safechuck started dancing for Jackson. Before he died in 2009, Jackson settled at least three claims of child sex abuse for millions of dollars. However, a jury in Santa Maria, Calif. 2005 found the star not guilty of 14 counts of child sex abuse, conspiracy, and other charges following a trial in which another young boy accused him of abuse. Jackson had always maintained his innocence. “We are pleased but not surprised that the appellate court overturned the previous rulings,” Safechuck and Robson’s attorney Vince Finaldi stated. “The previous wrong rulings were against California law and would have set a dangerous precedent that endangered children throughout the state and country. We eagerly look forward to a trial on the merits.”

The post Revived Lawsuits Allege Michael Jackson’s Sexual Abuse first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Chavis and Bryant Lead Charge as Target Boycott Grows

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises.

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By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Calling for continued economic action and community solidarity, Dr. Jamal H. Bryant launched the second phase of the national boycott against retail giant Target this week at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises. “They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,” Bryant told the packed sanctuary. “Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.” The town hall marked the conclusion of Bryant’s 40-day “Target fast,” initiated on March 3 after Target pulled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments. Among those was a public pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025—a pledge Bryant said was made voluntarily in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.“No company would dare do to the Jewish or Asian communities what they’ve done to us,” Bryant said. “They think they can get away with it. But not this time.”

The evening featured voices from national movements, including civil rights icon and National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who reinforced the need for sustained consciousness and collective media engagement. The NNPA is the trade association of the 250 African American newspapers and media companies known as The Black Press of America. “On the front page of all of our papers this week will be the announcement that the boycott continues all over the United States,” said Chavis. “I would hope that everyone would subscribe to a Black newspaper, a Black-owned newspaper, subscribe to an economic development program — because the consciousness that we need has to be constantly fed.” Chavis warned against the bombardment of negativity and urged the community to stay engaged beyond single events. “You can come to an event and get that consciousness and then lose it tomorrow,” he said. “We’re bombarded with all of the disgust and hopelessness. But I believe that starting tonight, going forward, we should be more conscious about how we help one another.”

He added, “We can attain and gain a lot more ground even during this period if we turn to each other rather than turning on each other.” Other speakers included Tamika Mallory, Dr. David Johns, Dr. Rashad Richey, educator Dr. Karri Bryant, and U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby. Each speaker echoed Bryant’s demand that economic protests be paired with reinvestment in Black businesses and communities. “We are the moral consciousness of this country,” Bryant said. “When we move, the whole nation moves.” Sixteen-year-old William Moore Jr., the youngest attendee, captured the crowd with a challenge to reach younger generations through social media and direct engagement. “If we want to grow this movement, we have to push this narrative in a way that connects,” he said.

Dr. Johns stressed reclaiming cultural identity and resisting systems designed to keep communities uninformed and divided. “We don’t need validation from corporations. We need to teach our children who they are and support each other with love,” he said. Busby directed attendees to platforms like ByBlack.us, a digital directory of over 150,000 Black-owned businesses, encouraging them to shift their dollars from corporations like Target to Black enterprises. Bryant closed by urging the audience to register at targetfast.org, which will soon be renamed to reflect the expanding boycott movement. “They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,” Bryant said. “And now, we move.”

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The Department of Education is Collecting Delinquent Student Loan Debt

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt.

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By April Ryan

Trump Targets Wages for Forgiven Student Debt

The Department of Education, which the Trump administration is working to abolish, will now serve as the collection agency for delinquent student loan debt for 5.3 million people who the administration says are delinquent and owe at least a year’s worth of student loan payments. “It is a liability to taxpayers,” says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at Tuesday’s White House Press briefing. She also emphasized the student loan federal government portfolio is “worth nearly $1.6 trillion.” The Trump administration says borrowers must repay their loans, and those in “default will face involuntary collections.” Next month, the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt. Leavitt says “we can not “kick the can down the road” any longer.”

Much of this delinquent debt is said to have resulted from the grace period the Biden administration gave for student loan repayment. The grace period initially was set for 12 months but extended into three years, ending September 30, 2024. The Trump administration will begin collecting the delinquent payments starting May 5. Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Talladega College, told Black Press USA, “We can have that conversation about people paying their loans as long as we talk about the broader income inequality. Put everything on the table, put it on the table, and we can have a conversation.” Kimbrough asserts, “The big picture is that Black people have a fraction of wealth of white so you’re… already starting with a gap and then when you look at higher education, for example, no one talks about Black G.I.’s that didn’t get the G.I. Bill. A lot of people go to school and build wealth for their family…Black people have a fraction of wealth, so you already start with a wide gap.”

According to the Education Data Initiative, https://educationdata.org/average-time-to-repay-student-loans It takes the average borrower 20 years to pay their student loan debt. It also highlights how some professional graduates take over 45 years to repay student loans. A high-profile example of the timeline of student loan repayment is the former president and former First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, who paid off their student loans by 2005 while in their 40s. On a related note, then-president Joe Biden spent much time haggling with progressives and Democratic leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill about whether and how student loan forgiveness would even happen.

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VIDEO: The Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. at United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

https://youtu.be/Uy_BMKVtRVQ Excellencies:       With all protocol noted and respected, I am speaking today on behalf of the Black Press of America and on behalf of the Press of People of African Descent throughout the world.  I thank the Proctor Conference that helped to ensure our presence here at the Fourth Session of the […]

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Excellencies:

      With all protocol noted and respected, I am speaking today on behalf of the Black Press of America and on behalf of the Press of People of African Descent throughout the world.  I thank the Proctor Conference that helped to ensure our presence here at the Fourth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
      The focus on AI and digital equity is urgent within the real time realities today where there continues to be what is referred to as the so called mainstream national and international media companies that systematically undergird racism and imperialism against the interests of People of African Descent.
         We therefore call on this distinguished gathering of leaders and experts to challenge member states to cite and to prevent the institutionalization of racism in all forms of media including social media, AI and any form of digital bias and algorithmic discrimination.
            We cannot trust nor entertains the notion that  former and contemporary enslavers will now use AI and digital transformation to respect our humanity and fundamental rights.
              Lastly we recommend that a priority should be given to the convening of an international collective of multimedia organizations  and digital associations that are owned and developed by Africans and People of African Descent.
Basta the crimes against our humanity!
Basta Racism!
Basta Imperialism!
A Luta Continua!
Victory is certain!
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