BLACK LIVES MATTER

Patrisse Cullors, BLM's one-time executive director, paid the sum to Cullors Protection, a company owned by her brother, according to a tax filing.

During a reception honoring Asian Americans Pacific Islanders, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the Buffalo shooting and its impact.

The ad aims to reinforce the notion that Scott Jones, sheriff for the past 12 years, is tough on crime.

In an exclusive interview, Patrisse Cullors, the former leader of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, tells The Associated Press that neither she nor anyone else in leadership has misused millions of dollars in donations.

The furor facing Walt Disney Co. in Florida is a warning that capitalism won’t regain its legitimacy by alienating half the country.

The case is currently being investigated by the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that Kenneth Pilon faces hate crime charges for what it calls “willfully intimidating and attempting to intimidate citizens from engaging in lawful speech and protests in support of Black Lives Matter.”

Kenneth Pilon, 61, allegedly left nooses with handwritten notes attached in Michigan stores and parking lots.

Companies across the nation pledged support for Black Lives Matter and various social justice initiatives following the death of George Floyd.

The Black Lives Matter organization did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on 2020's murder spike among Black Americans and experts pointing to BLM and defund the police movements for contributing.

Black Lives Matter has been under constant media scrutiny since its founding almost a decade ago.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams ripped the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the deadly subway shooting […] The post NYC Mayor questions BLM over recent gun violence: ‘Where are those who stated Black Lives Matter? The victims were Black’ appeared first on TheGrio.

Patrisse Cullors, a BLM founder, said she found it “triggering” — emotionally compromising — when she hears things involving financial documents.

Black Lives Matter is refusing to apologize for using donor funds to buy a multi-million dollar mansion, instead opting to double down on the purchase in a Twitter thread.

Black Lives Matter's reported purchase of a $6 million California mansion with charitable donations is sparking calls for the Department of Justice to investigate the politically powerful nonprofit.

A white North Carolina woman is the subject of a criminal investigation after stealing a “Black Lives Matter” sign out of another person’s front yard. […]

The artwork that once served as a memorial to the movement is being displayed in a new online exhibit at the Library of Congress. So far, 33 pieces are posted.

Pamela Moses was convicted of voter fraud in Tennessee and sentenced to six years in prison, even though officials who signed off on her being eligible to vote acknowledged that they made an error in saying her rights had been restored.

The week of action started on Monday in several schools from Washington state to Massachusetts, bringing to classrooms the activist-based curriculum that preaches controversial ideas.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) moved millions of dollars to a charity in Canada run by the wife of co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors to purchase a mansion that used to be the headquarters of the Communist Party of Canada, according to public records reviewed by the New York Post.

It's now been more than a year since the so-called "racial reckoning" that marked the summer of 2020. The country, some said confidently, was having the biggest racial reckoning since the civil rights movement. But since then, the Code Switch team has been wondering...what was actually being reckoned with? And by whom? And what would the backlash be?

Award winning author and playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes writes that while she "learned" English, her mother "earned English."

Four anti-racism demonstrators have been cleared of criminal damage in the toppling of a statue of a 17th-century slave trader during a Black Lives Matter protest in southwestern England.

The former football coach, Kurt Beathard, was terminated from his position at ISU after removing a Black Lives Matter poster from his office door and replacing it with a new poster with his wording that read: “All Lives Matter to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Now he is suing for First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint discrimination.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a bill on Tuesday to award Kyle Rittenhouse the Congressional Gold Medal for "protecting the community of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot on August 25, 2020."The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor Congress can award an individual or institution. It is highly unlikely the bill will go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled House and Senate, and it has no co-...

It’s a video that, for those who have viewed it, many will likely never forget. A 25-year-old Black man jogging through a Georgia neighborhood and a pickup truck chasing behind him. Although some shots were out of view, the video shows the truck cutting off the jogger, the truck’s occupants brandishing guns, a struggle, multiple shotgun blasts at point-blank range and a young life cut short.

On this date in 1963, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Gov. John Connally is seriously wounded during a motorcade in Dallas. Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes America's 36th president. (Nov. 22)

Justin Blake, the uncle of Jacob Blake, led several dozen people on a march through the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in protest of the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse (Nov. 21)

Two of the 17 missionaries from the U.S. and Canada who were kidnapped last month in Haiti have been released, their church group said.

TO COMPLETE VIDI9T37RN_EN AND VIDI9T37HU_EN Israeli police commander Doron Turjeman hails the "sharp" reaction of the Jerusalem district police after a gunman opened fire in the Old City of Jerusalem, killing one person and wounding three others.

Democrats moved left, especially White Democrats, and Republicans moved almost not at all. The consequences are playing out every day in the country’s politics.

The family is planning a memorial service on the boy's birthday in February. A classmate is accused of committing the murder.

Authorities say three teenagers driven by racial hatred were behind hoax calls that brought major police responses to the home of one of the leading Black Lives Matter activists in Los Angeles.

Authorities say three teenagers driven by racial hatred were behind hoax calls that brought major police responses to the home of a leading Black Lives Matter activist in Los Angeles. The teenagers, aged 13 to 16, connected over the Discord chat platform and are suspects in more than 30 bomb threats and so-called “swatting” incidents across the country, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police did not identify Abdullah by name as a victim of the teens, but listed her block as the location of two of the swatting incidents.

As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, teachers and school staff across the country are facing exhaustion.

Six years after the attacks of 13 November 2015 in Paris. The sequence of the attacks in videographic. VIDEOGRAPHIC

Hundreds of Croatians protested on Thursday for the fourth day in Zagreb and other cities against obligatory certificates for the public sector as the country's Covid-19 cases hit a record high. Earlier this month the authorities introduced more restrictive measures to fight the record surge of coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic with some of Europe's lowest inoculation rates.

NEW YORK — Leaders of the city’s Black Lives Matter movement on Wednesday threatened “riots” and “bloodshed” in the streets if Mayor-elect Eric Adams reverses the abolition of the NYPD’s controversial anti-crime units. “If he thinks that they’re going to go back to the old ways of policing, then we are going to take to the streets again. There will be riots, there will be fire and there will ...

Quinton de Kock has returned to South Africa’s team for the T20 World Cup game against Sri Lanka in Sharjah.

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia -- one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss his decision to be the first major U.S. airline to implement a vaccine mandate for all employees. Plus, he talks about giving $1,000 bonuses to all employees during the pandemic and how the airline is preparing for holiday travel.

The House is voting on a short-term fix to extend the government's ability to borrow money. Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to figure out how to potentially cut trillions of dollars from the president's proposed social spending and climate package. CBS News' director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto and CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O'Keefe join "Red and Blue" anchor Elaine Quijano. Later, The Washington Post's national political reporter Eugene Scott and Business Insider's senior politics reporter Eliza Relman discuss the latest on Capitol Hill.

U. S. officials say the United States commitment to Taiwan is" rock solid" and remains aligned with Taiwan against the current threat posed by the People's Republic of China after a week of unprecedented tensions. (Oct. 12)

During a press conference on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was "very disappointed" the Build Back Better bill won't be for the $3.5 trillion that had been proposed.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed powerful missiles developed to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland, as he vowed to build an “invincible” military to cope with what he called persistent U.S. hostility, state media reported Tuesday.

It’s a risky move by President Biden that could come back to haunt him — and future presidents — in the hyperpartisan world of Washington politics.

Miami officials have decided to fire the city’s new police chief six months into his stormy tenure, after he was lambasted by city commissioners who he accused of meddling in the police department and internal affairs investigations.

Birds chirp near a river in the Ecuadorian jungle, five hours from the capital Quito, as Gregorio Mirabal expresses fear for the 500 tribes that often act as guardians of the Amazon rainforest and who face attacks, and even death, as a result.

Nadine Seiler, one of those who watched over a fence at what became Black Lives Matter Plaza, is working to find homes for more than 700 artifacts that once covered the structure near the White House.

The lawsuit alleges that NYPD officers used excessive force and assaulted a woman while arresting her without a warrant at a Black Lives Matter protest.

An Oregon school board that acted last month to ban educators from displaying Black Lives Matter and gay pride symbols has broadened the policy to prohibit district employees from displaying all types of political symbols. The move by the Newberg School Board last month to keep staff from displaying BLM or gay pride flags prompted strong criticism and threats to boycott the town of about 25,000 people southwest of Portland and its businesses. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported the board rescinded that rule Tuesday night and enacted a more sweeping policy banning any kind of political symbols, including those that support BLM or LGBTQ issues.

Wednesday, Sept. 29 will be a BIG day for Starbucks as it celebrates its 50th anniversary as well as National Coffee Day.

A Black Lives Matter protester was captured on video shouting anti-gay remarks at a Guardian Angel during a Monday protest prompted by the arrest of three black women at a Manhattan restaurant.

After Black Lives Matter protests exploded around the world - Ghana's Tourism Minister encouraged African Americans to move to her country, saying you don't have to "stay where you are not wanted." The calls followed a 2019 campaign that encouraged descendants of African diaspora to return to the nation where four centuries earlier their ancestors were forced into slavery. CBS correspondent Debora Patta meets one African American who was so fed up with the trauma of racism that she moved across the world to make Ghana her home.

After a skirmish involving NYC's vaccine mandate and African-American patrons erupted at Carmine's restaurant in the Upper West Side last week, Black Lives Matter of Greater New York and related organizations converged in front of the establishment Monday to protest.

An elementary school teacher in Oregon showed up to school in blackface and claimed to be representing Rosa Parks to protest COVID-19 vaccines.

A white man who called multiple neighbors racist slurs has been charged with harassment and disorderly conduct.

While many Americans have a vast array of knowledge about Juneteenth, others don’t know as much about the holiday and the history behind it.

A St. Louis couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators last year have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.

Did you realize that Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States?

An activist who has played a leading role in anti-racism demonstrations in Britain is in critical condition after being shot in London.

The guilty verdict in the trial over George Floyd's death was not just celebrated in America.

Houstonians from all over the city are reacting to the guilty verdict of the Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty on all charges Tuesday afternoon.

A former president of the organization that hosts the Golden Globes has been dropped from the group’s board after calling Black Lives Matter a “racist hate movement” in an email.

A body of experts that advises the United Nations on human rights concerns has slammed a widely criticized British government-backed report that concluded there was no systemic racism in the country.

The commission behind a report that concluded that Britain does not have a systemic problem with racism has defended itself against critics, some of whom have argued that it downplayed the country’s historic role in slavery.

Black Lives Matter is seen along East Green Street where is passes under South Aurora Street, Monday, March 22, 2021, in Ithaca, N.Y. The nationwide reexamination of policing after the killing of George Floyd has led the Ivy League town in New York to consider an ambitious and contentious plan to remake its force. A proposal would replace the 63-officer Ithaca Police Department with a new Department of Community Solutions and Public Safety. The Ithaca Common Council unanimously approved a series of reform recommendations Wednesday night that included reconstituting the city police force to add unarmed officers to handle nonviolent calls like petty thefts. AdArmed officers of the 63-officer force would be able to keep their positions, and supporters of the plan said the new unarmed officers would be able to engage more with communities distrustful of police.

(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, FILE)LONDON – The most senior Black adviser to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned, the government said Thursday, the day after a report on racial disparities concluded that Britain does not have a systemic problem with racism. But Simon Woolley, a former government equalities adviser and a member of the U.K. House of Lords, said Kasumu’s exit was connected to the “grubby” and “divisive” report. The Conservative government launched the inquiry into racial disparities in the wake of anti-racism protests last year. The panel of experts concluded that while “outright racism” exists in Britain, the country is not “institutionally racist” or “rigged” against ethnic minorities. “There are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address,” he said.

(AP Photo/Noah K. Murray, File)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Atlantic City says it will redo a Black Lives Matter tribute on a street because the original painting of those words across the entire road confused motorists who didn't know where to drive on it. Instead, the words “Black Lives Matter” will be painted onto the repaved road in a manner that does not obscure lane divider markings, Mayor Marty Small said Thursday. “The words ”Black Lives Matter" will still be on the street." The road painting was a compromise that averted a potential confrontation between activists who wanted to paint the words “Black Lives Matter” on the famous Boardwalk, and city officials who would not allow it. City Council member LaToya Dunston accused the city of wasting taxpayer dollars by painting the road without knowing the rules governing it.

Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri, facing, hugs her mother, Muna Tareh-Sahouri, after being found not-guilty at the conclusion of her trial at the Drake University Legal Clinic, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP, Pool)IOWA CITY, Iowa – An Iowa jury on Wednesday acquitted a journalist who was pepper-sprayed and arrested by police while covering a protest, in a case that critics have derided as an attack on press freedoms and an abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Robnett, 24, said he was sprayed and handcuffed after telling the officer that Sahouri was a Register journalist. Sahouri was the first working U.S. journalist to face a criminal trial since 2018, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Another Register reporter, Katie Akin, was near Sahouri and quickly informed police that they were journalists.

KPRC 2′s Re’Chelle Turner spoke to Dr. Robert Bullard, who is known as the “father of environmental justice”. Dr. Robert Bullard is a distinguished professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at TSU. His goal is to make sure everyone has the right to live, work and play in a clean environment. Dr. Bullard said the environmental justice movement also relates to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the death of Houston Native George Floyd. Dr. Bullard said just this month, TSU received a $1.25 million grant from the Houston Endowment to start the Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice.

“George Floyd…say his name George Floyd,” said George Floyd’s niece Bianca Williams. It’s been nine months since Houston native George Floyd was killed. On Saturday, his alma mater Jack Yates High School and several others honored his life in a special way. Lee also presented the Floyd family with the George Floyd Justice and Policing Bill. George Floyd may be gone, but his death sparked a movement and his name will always be remembered.

HOUSTON – A Jack Yates High School graduate is bringing a massive mural to Houston’s Third Ward community. The Black Lives Matter-inspired street painting is located across from the school on West Alabama Street. Floyd was also a Jack Yates High School graduate. He continued: “I’m doing this because I feel like this will send out a great message to us in this community and also a message to people who don’t think Black Lives Matter. There will be a parade with students from Texas Southern University and Jack Yates High School.

Protests erupted in Seattle and across the country after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. The latest findings are separate from three other investigations into Seattle officers by the Office of Police Accountability. In the latest reports, investigators found that officers and one commander violated department policies while responding to demonstrations in Seattle. As she walked toward a group of people, the officer threw the blast ball and it hit her in the chest. Investigations found that the officer violated department policy by throwing the blast ball overhand toward a person who was unarmed and not throwing projectiles at officers.

HOUSTON – Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister, activist and prominent leader in the civil rights movement. Dr. Rudy Rasmus, Pastor of St. John’s Downtown, shares an in-depth look at King’s book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? “If you read the text in this book, it sounds like we are reading it this week, but in actuality Dr. King wrote this in 1967 at that very critical moment in civil right history,” said Rasmus. Rasmus explains that King wrote the novel while secluded in Ocho Rios, Jamaica with his wife, Coretta Scott King. To connect with Dr. Rudy Rasmus, visit the Rudy Rasmus website.

Far-right social media users for weeks openly hinted in widely shared posts that chaos would erupt at the U.S. Capitol while Congress convened to certify the election results. — Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) January 6, 2021These guys are engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police after storming the US Capitol. The Guard was mobilized Wednesday afternoon to support local police following the storming of the Capitol. Members of the National Guard and the Washington D.C. police keep a small group of demonstrators away from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Getty Images)The Defense Department has activated approximately 6,200 members of the National Guard to support the Capitol Police through the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2020, file photo, Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Ore. Police in the nations capital on Jan. 4, 2021, arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, who is accused of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington in December 2020. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)WASHINGTON – A judge has banned the leader of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, from the nation’s capital after he was accused of vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church and found with high-capacity firearm magazines when he was arrested. Tarrio was arrested Monday by the Metropolitan Police Department and accused of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington last month. A large Black Lives Matter sign was ripped from Asbury United Methodist Church property, torn and set aflame in December. Tarrio was seen with the sign in video of the incident posted on YouTube, according to a police report.

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2020, file photo, Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Ore. Police in the nations capital on Jan. 4, 2021, arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, who is accused of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington in December 2020. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)WASHINGTON – Police in the nation’s capital on Monday arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, who is accused of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington last month. By nightfall, vandals tore down a Black Lives Matter banner and sign from two historic Black churches in downtown Washington and set the banner ablaze. Tarrio told The Washington Post he had participated in the burning of the Black Lives Matter banner and said he would plead guilty to destruction of property and pay the church the cost of the banner. Another video showed men removing a Black Lives Matter sign at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church.

The NBA painted “Black Lives Matter” on the courts inside their Orlando, Florida, “bubble" and social justice messages were emblazoned on the backs of jerseys. Paul met with NBA players, and they decided awareness wasn’t enough anymore. “Black Lives Matter” also was featured prominently on the league’s courts. Wallace, the only full-time Black driver at the NASCAR national level, first began speaking out against racial injustice in America in the spring. His car featured a “Black Lives Matter” paint scheme.

Demonstrations for racial justice and against police violence began in Texas and across the country after the killing of Houston native George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. But as November’s general election approached, Republican politicians began to rally behind police, decrying protesters and campaigning on law and order. June 4Events — and their own words — put Texas Republicans in an election year bindTexas Democrats convened last week. But it was the state's Republicans giving them the most hope about the coming November elections. June 8With elections coming, Texas Republican leaders join the thin blue lineFreezing local taxes in Texas cities that cut police funding sounds better than it works.

The site of Middle Collegiate Church, which was devastated by a fire earlier in the month, is seen in New York on Dec. 14, 2020. The facade and the New York Liberty Bell are the only parts of the 128-year-old church that remain. Middle Collegiate had previously occupied two other locations in Manhattan beginning in 1729. Middle Collegiate has also welcomed 25 new parishioners since the fire, she said. “The church is made up of the congregation and what the people in the congregation believe and do,” said Slacik, who married her wife at the church.

Midtown Houston has partnered with UP Art Studio to create relevant, unconventional mini murals in the district. HOUSTON – Midtown Houston and UP Art Studio commissioned local artists to create mini murals that focused on the global pandemic and social justice issues. They have more than 300 mini murals currently on display. It also includes representation of children from different backgrounds to capture what a truly inclusive community might look like. “I thought it was important that the artists selected use this opportunity to create work that was relevant and important to them,” said Cynthia Alvarado, Operations Manager at the Midtown Management District.

FILE - In this July 11, 2020 file photo, Alycia Pascual-Pena, left, and Marley Ralph kneel while holding a Black Lives Matter banner during a protest in memory of Breonna Taylor, in Los Angeles. The document, labeled “restricted to law enforcement only,” is one of the few publicly available materials on its website. The law enforcement association, known by its nickname ILEETA, says in a mission statement that it's “committed to the reduction of law enforcement risk” and saving lives through high-quality training. The paper claims that those who participated in months of protests earlier this year in Portland and Seattle were “useful idiots” designed to give cover to the “hard-core, terrorist trained troops” that would follow. Goff, whose group works with departments to make policing “less racist and deadly,” said the document showed why it's important for critics to engage directly with local law enforcement to seek changes.

Back the Blue police supporters, left, stand next to Black Lives Matter protesters calling for defunding the police, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein)

“Black Lives Matter saved us, because we had nobody,” said Jones. Now, BLM’s influence faces a test, as voters in Tuesday’s election consider candidates who endorsed or denounced the BLM movement amid a national reckoning on race. Enter Black Lives Matter. Across social media platforms, the Black Lives Matter movement boasts a following of millions. “Black Lives Matter,” as a slogan, elicited “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” responses from foes.

Is there a racial divide when it comes to voting wait times at precincts? In 2016, white voters waited an average of 10 minutes, according to a survey of voters conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In comparison, Black voters waited an average of 16 minutes and Latino voters were in line an average of 13 minutes, according to the survey. During the 2018 election, Black voters waited an average of 11.5 minutes, Latino voters an average of 11.7 minutes and white voters an average of 8.8 minutes, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. In precincts with 90% or more non-white voters, the average wait time was 32.4 minutes and the median was 13.3 minutes.

A Starbucks barista is being praised for maintaining composure during an incident in which a customer who repeatedly refused to wear a mask and then shouted “(expletive) Black Lives Matter,” Fox News reports. Beckom asked the woman to properly wear the mask, which had “Trump 2020” printed on it, over her face. Disregarding the woman’s remarks, Beckom reminds her to once again wear a mask inside Starbucks. The woman argues that wearing a mask is not a law, saying “I can show you the penal code and everything. I’m not going to wear a mask.”She then leaves the store, only to return and shout “(expletive) Black Lives Matter,” again.

The federal lawsuit alleges the U.S. government violated federal environmental law by deploying “an unprecedented amount of dangerous chemical weapons” without assessing their environmental impacts beforehand, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality noted that “the repeated deployment of tear gas in downtown Portland has led to elevated levels of certain contaminants” in stormwater drains. But state officials said air-quality monitors aren’t located nearby and don’t measure tear gas exposure. Medical experts say there are few studies on health effects of tear gas. A European Union agency says it “is very toxic to aquatic life.”Figuring out precisely what tear gas components are in the environment is also a challenge.

HOUSTON – Yelp announced that it will now alert consumers of businesses that are accused of racist behavior in efforts to fight against racism and ensure the safety of its community following the rise in the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the company. - Yelp says it will only escalate to a Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert when there’s resounding evidence of egregious, racist actions from a business owner or employee, such as using overtly racist slurs or symbols. We know these values are important to our users and now more than ever, consumers are increasingly conscious of the types of businesses they patronize and support. In fact, we’ve seen that reviews mentioning Black-owned businesses were up more than 617% this summer compared to last summer. While searches for Black-owned businesses surged on Yelp, the company said so did the volume of reviews “warning users of racist behavior at businesses.”In response to the increased complaints, Yelp introduced the now place Consumer Alert on business pages to caution people about businesses that may be associated with overtly racist actions.

As part of our Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston. Question: Are voters banned from wearing clothing with political slogans at the polls or t-shirts with the “Black Lives Matter" message? Under Texas law, the conduct of voting by personal appearance upholds an electioneering ban at polling places. The law states "a person may not electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, political party” within 100 feet of a voting site during early voting or on Election Day. An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor, according to the State of Texas election code.

A 24-year-old white man has been charged with ethnic intimidation and other counts for firing shots into the Hall's home just north of Detroit after the family put a Black Lives Matter sign in their front window. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)WARREN, Mich. – A white man accused of firing shots into the home of a Black suburban Detroit family who put a Black Lives Matter sign in their front window asked for forgiveness during a court hearing Thursday. Frederick told Judge Michael Chupa that he wanted Eddie and Candace Hall to forgive him, though he didn't specify what he did to make him seek their forgiveness. Outside, they discovered the swastika and found that someone had written “terrorist Black Lives Matter,” “not welcome” and a phrase containing an expletive on their pickup truck. A neighbor’s home surveillance video showed a masked and hooded man carrying what appears to be a handgun outside the Halls' home.

HOUSTON – A Houston church community is praying that thieves and vandals stop making them a target. For the second time in two months, someone has destroyed or stolen a Black Lives Matter banner from the front of Resurrection MCC Church on West 11th Street near the Heights. This isn’t the first time someone tampered with a Black Lives Matter sign at Resurrection MCC. “I cannot believe that I just drove by your church and you have the sign of Black Lives Matter,” the voice said. “It matters enough to our congregation and it matters enough to our world right now to say: Black Lives Matter,” said Threash.

Black Lives Matter protesters march, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Louisville. Breonna Taylor's family demanded Friday that Kentucky authorities release all body camera footage, police files and the transcripts of the grand jury hearings that led to no charges against police officers who killed the Black woman during a March drug raid at her apartment. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The lone Kentucky detective facing charges related to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor pleaded not guilty Monday. The decision not to charge the officers set off protests in Louisville and across the country. On Monday, Louisville's mayor lifted the curfew put in place after people refused to end their nighttime protests. Her response comes after Democratic state Rep. Attica Scott was charged with the felony last week while participating in Louisville protests for racial justice. Many marched along Louisville’s streets chanting “Breonna Taylor, say her name,” and “no justice, no peace."

One of the cookie-decorating kits she offers has a Black Lives Matter theme. Other examples of homespun BLM merchandise include wine stoppers and even garden gnomes — objects more often associated with white suburbia. The yellow-and-black-clad gnome — a nod to the colors used on a Black Lives Matter website — wears a “BLM” hat. “Hopefully, someone who sees it is not offended.”He has since gotten a few orders for either Black Lives Matter gnomes or African American gnomes. Kate Mayer, 37, of Cincinnati, decided to offer a Black Lives Matter wine bottle stopper among her dozens of handmade wine stoppers.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Police maintained barricades and plans for a nighttime curfew as Louisville prepared Saturday for a fourth night of protests after a grand jury declined to charge the officers who shot Breonna Taylor. Protests Friday night were peaceful but police arrested 22 people for curfew violations. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer urged continued peaceful protests in a news conference Saturday evening. On Wednesday, Kentucky Attorney General Cameron announced a grand jury indicted one officer on wanton endangerment charges, saying he fired gunshots into a neighboring home that didn’t strike anyone. Since when does freedom and civil rights have a curfew?”___Associated Press writer Claire Galofaro contributed to this report from Louisville.

Over the summer, two Texas teachers faced disciplinary action from their schools, one for wearing a mask and the other for displaying a Black Lives Matter sign, among other signs, in her virtual classroom. Meanwhile in Ohio, a Taco Bell worker was fired for refusing to take off his Black Lives Matter mask; the same happened to a convenience store worker in New Jersey. Ma’kiya Congious, 19, lost her job at the fast-food chain shortly after her supervisor told her to remove her Black Lives Matter mask, when a white customer complained, said her attorney Jason Smith. In the complaint, Congious said she was let go by the fast-food restaurant because of her race and for having the words “Black Lives Matter” on her mask. I hope she sues,” said Ashton P. Woods, founder of the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter, in a statement.

HOUSTON – A group of local community leaders proposed a Houston Police Independent Citizens Investigative Board to create transparency between the community and the Houston Police Department. The board would be comprised of community members from multiple organizations and the law schools at Texas Southern University and the University of Houston. The citizens' investigative board would work to ban the use of no-knock warrants. According to the proposal, the board would be funded by the City of Houston budget not to exceed $3 million a year. Turner also appointed a Policing Reforms Task Force to review Houston Police Department policies and practices.

Greg Abbott issued a string of new legislative proposals to raise penalties and create new crimes for offenses committed at protests. Abbott’s proposals would create felony-level offenses for causing injury or destroying property during what is deemed to be a “riot.” Blocking hospital entrances and using lasers to target police would also be felony offenses, Abbott said. Striking an officer with something like a water bottle would lead to a mandatory minimum of six months in jail. Many protesters in Texas have been arrested on suspicion of such offenses since protests erupted in May after the death of George Floyd. DeSantis' proposal also created new crimes and enhanced penalties like Abbott’s proposal, including a mandatory six months in jail for striking an officer.

Police move after a Louisville Police officer was shot, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. A grand jury has indicted one officer on criminal charges six months after Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police in Kentucky. He says the officers were shot after investigating reports of gunfire at an intersection where there was a large crowd. Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by white officers who entered her home during a narcotics investigation. State Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that while the officers had a no-knock warrant, the investigation showed they announced themselves before entering. ___This story has been updated to clarify that, according to the investigation, officers did not execute the warrant as a no-knock warrant, not that they didn’t use a no-knock warrant.