RACISM

On Monday morning, the runoff race in Harris County’s Precinct 4 heated up less than 24 hours before the opening of the polls with claims of racism.

At the center of the calls for termination are Nick Ozuna, Bellaire High School’s head baseball coach, as well as his assistant coach Robert Manuel. Both are accused of not correcting their players’ alleged racist taunts.

An Atascosita couple says they found Anti-Semitic, racist fliers passed out on every driveway in their neighborhood. Now, the couple is taking a stand, saying that hate will not be tolerated in their community.

A newly-elected Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District school board member has come under heavy scrutiny for making comments many felt were racist in nature. During a discussion about race and equity in the school district, Scott Henry made a comment about the district’s percentage of Black teachers and the statewide average, leaving many to feel like he was blaming low performance among students to Black teachers.

Their defiance of a vaccine mandate is a striking illustration of how politicized the pandemic has become.

Residents who live in the Spring Creek Forest neighborhood in northwest Harris County said they take pride in where they live.

The executive director of the Coaches vs.

The Houston women charged with assaulting an NYC restaurant hostess last week now say through their attorney that the fight started when the hostess called the women “the n-word.”

Two days after the sentencing of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, the U.N. Human Rights Council released a report, ordered last year in the wake of Floyd’s death, calling on countries to adopt a “transformative agenda” to fight systemic racism.

Khady Gueye is pleased she started a conversation about race in her hometown - despite online abuse.

You’ve probably seen them, or perhaps visited one, a traveling carnival, which is usually set up in the parking lot of a mall.

Dr. Stephen Klineberg, Ph.D., has been taking the pulse of the Houston area for 40 years through the Houston area survey that started at Rice University.

House Bill 3979 would be detrimental to Texas students.

Bill Whitaker reports on how discrimination has resulted in Black Americans being prone to more serious diseases. See the report, Sunday on 60 Mintues.

On Friday, in the same neighborhood as Monday's attack, a 65-year-old Asian American woman was accosted by a man waving an unknown object and shouting anti-Asian insults. He is not suspected in Monday's attack. Andrew Cuomo called Monday's attack “horrifying and repugnant" and he ordered a state police hate crimes task force to offer its assistance to the NYPD. The neighborhood where Monday's attack occurred, Hell's Kitchen, is predominantly white, with an Asian population of less than 20%, according to city demographic data. Shea called Monday's attack “disgusting," telling TV station NY1: “I don’t know who attacks a 65-year-old woman and leaves her on the street like that."

GALVESTON – A local mother of 11-year-old twins went on what she thought would be the perfect weekend getaway in Galveston, a place her parents used to take her often. However, the families’ trip took a serious turn when they found a racist message carved into the sand next to a Swastika symbol that was also dug in. Judith Quander is now adamant to help enlighten others about how hurtful and impactful those words can be. “Galveston is very special to me because my parents are an interracial couple and my parents were always looking (for a place) where can we go that’s safe, and Galveston was that place,” Quander said. Renting a beach house in west Galveston along the San Luis pass, the family spent all of Friday in the sun.

BAYTOWN, Texas – Texas Rep. Al Green joined the NAACP Houston Branch and several of Houston’s elected officials in convening a press conference to demand the racially, insensitively named “Negrohead Lake” be renamed “Lake Henry Doyle” Monday morning. The Baytown lake, which was formerly named “Ni**er Lake” before it was changed in 1962, has caused officials to stand firm against its name that has caused much offense over the years. Officials are asking lawmakers to move swiftly in the renaming of the lake as a way to come against racism and social inequality. Officials said the lake is one of 33 landmarks in Texas with similar offensive names. He ended up going to TSU, where he studied at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Bledsoe continued.

MURDOCK, Minn. – The city council of Murdock, Minnesota has anonymously voted to grant a permit that allows a Nordic heritage church identified as a white supremacist group to gather at an abandoned church. The vote came after Murdock’s city attorney advised town officials that rejecting the Asatru Folk Assembly’s request could violate its religious rights. Council members, who were meeting online because of the coronavirus pandemic, kept video cameras turned off and refused to identify who voted for or against the permit. Mayor Craig Kavanagh said the vote was 3-1 to approve the Conditional Use Permit as long as the group meets the conditions set on the permit. “There has been a lot of concern on this topic in the city of Murdock and rightfully so.

HOUSTON – A Houston Fire Department firefighter is under investigation after being accused of posting racist and bigoted memes on social media. Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña said the department’s Professional Standards Office will investigate the content posted on social media to determine if any violations were committed. In a statement, Peña said posts like these “erode the public’s trust and confidence” in the department“These posts are deeply disturbing and have no place in the Houston Fire Department,” Peña said. “Any current employee involved with bigoted activity will be held accountable.”The accused firefighter has not been named. Peña’s full written statement follows:"These posts are deeply disturbing and have no place in the Houston Fire Department.

HOUSTON – Former NFL player and activist Colin Kaepernick is calling for an end to police and prison institutions in a series of published essays, CNN reported. The essays are part of his series called “Abolition for the People: The Movement for the Future Without Policing and Prisons” published by Kaepernick’s own publishing company and Medium’s publication Level. The essays will focus on several hot topics, including abolishing the police and the prison system. In later essays, essays will also tackle the “elimination of White Supremacy and the execution of Blacks and people of color," CNN reported. The latest essay published Tuesday focuses on “living in a world without ICE," written by two members of the United We Dream movement.

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.

NEW HAMPSHIRE – A white male University of New Hampshire chemistry professor is accused of posing as an immigrant woman of color on Twitter to make racist and sexist comments and attack users who supported racial justice and other progressive causes. The university has not named the professor whom it said was being investigated related to allegations on social media. The account accused Harris of trying to prevent debate because she was white. For that reason, many familiar with the case argue the university has to take a tough line against the professor. “I wish to give him an opportunity to repair the damage and move forward, difficult as that may be,” he added.

DEER PARK, Texas – The Deer Park Police Department said they are angry after an officer found racist and offensive language spray-painted in a ditch Saturday. Officers said they were dispatched to the 1300 block of E. Pasadena Boulevard after receiving a report of vandalism. When officers arrived at the scene, one of them discovered the graffiti spray-painted on a concrete ditch line belonging to Harris County Flood Control. The graffiti had BLM in a circle with a strike-through line followed by, “WHITE MEN UNITE KEEP N------ OUT OF DEER PARK.”Officers said Deer Park Parks and Recreation department responded and painted over the offending graffiti. “The City of Deer Park and the Deer Park Police Department does not tolerate hate speech/action, racism or discrimination of any kind,” DPPD said in a Facebook post.

Center for Race and Justice proposed for Prairie View A & M University (KPRC)THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CENTER FOR RACE AND JUSTICE:1-PVAMU President Dr. Ruth Simmons came up with the idea in the wake of the racial unrest after the George Floyd killing. 2-Goal will be to address issues of race and to expose students to cutting edge research and activists whove lived a life of uplifting their communities. 3-One million dollar personal contribution was made by Charles Butt, Chairman of H-E-B to kick start the funding for the center to be named after Dr. Ruth Simmons. Ruth Simmons, Ph.D., President of Prairie View A & M University, says the idea behind the center is to address issues and work to find solutions to race related problems that continue to exist in this country. With funding underway and curriculum being developed she says all thats needed now is approval from the Texas A & M University System board of regents.

(CNN) -- Quaker Oats is retiring the more than 130-year-old Aunt Jemima brand and logo, acknowledging its origins are based on a racial stereotype. The brand's origin and logo is based off the song "Old Aunt Jemima" from a minstrel show performer and reportedly sung by slaves. Richardson said the Aunt Jemima logo is based on a "'mammy,' a devoted and submissive servant who eagerly nurtured the children of her white master and mistress while neglecting her own." Today, Aunt Jemima describes itself as brand that stands for "warmth, nourishment and trust qualities you'll find in loving moms from diverse backgrounds who want the very best for their families." The Aunt Jemima brand was purchased by Quaker Oats in 1926.

KATY, Texas The Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office said a teen who spray-painted as many as 16 vehicles in the Hickory Creek neighborhood with racist, vulgar language and images has been charged. Deputies said the N-word was spray-painted on vehicles and driveways, along with the words be gone. On June 13, Dominic Reale, 18, was charged with felony graffiti and could face additional hate crime-related charges. Investigators said on June 3 starting at 5:45 a.m., the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office received more than a dozen calls in the 6900-7000 blocks of Pembrough Lane and Glen Rosa Drive, in the Katy area of Fort Bend County. When deputies arrived at the scene, they said they found the vehicles spray-painted with racial slurs and graphic drawings. Deputies said he was already in the Fort Bend County Jail for an unrelated assault charge.

HOUSTON – A Houston business owner claims she is receiving death threats and is in fear for her life after a hacker posted racist messages about African Americans on her business Instagram page. Several racist messages were posted on Hatch’s business Instagram stories Thursday afternoon. "Here at Infinity we do not support African Americans. She also said the allegations in the posts are untrue because she said she has employed African Americans on a regular basis. The Houston Police Department is investigating and officers are patrolling and making checks on the business after Hatch began receiving death threats.

HOUSTON The Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office is looking for a man who spray-painted as many as 30 vehicles in the Hickory Creek neighborhood with vulgar language and images. Daisja Franklin, a black woman, moved into the neighborhood last month. Other cars were spray-painted with male genitalia, vulgar words and scribbling. It was kinda, pretty scary at first.For something like that to be written on their car was like, horrific, neighbor Tabitha Wilson said. Investigators woke up Franklin, Wilson, and dozens of others.

SAN MARCOS, Texas Texas State University officials confirmed Wednesday that an employee no longer works at the university after she allegedly called Black Lives Matter protesters a bunch of monkeys." In her comments, Brassell posted racial slurs and threatened to spread COVID-19 if she attends a demonstration, The University Star, Texas States school newspaper, reported. This woman who works at #txst feels comfortable enough to throw out racial slurs and threaten to spread COVID on fb. This woman who works at [Texas State] feels comfortable enough to throw out racial slurs and threaten to spread COVID on Facebook, she wrote. Texas State does not condone these posts and do not reflect Texas States values, the university said in a statement Wednesday.

Netflix‘13th’Directed by Ava DuVernay (she’ll come up again in this list), the documentary shows you how America changed after the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, but also kickstarted the prison boom in America. ‘Moonlight’This Oscar-winning picture tells the story of a young black gay man living in Miami. chronicles the Central Park Five, a group of young black teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of a crime they didn’t commit. The documentary tells the story of the days of protests, unrest and riots that followed. It’s a great film that shows how two different groups of people can react to fatal police shootings.

Color of Change is the largest online racial injustice organization. It’s a great place to donate to help fight racial injustices. If there is any organization that has been fighting for social justice and change for years and years, it’s the ACLU. Not only does it fight for racial justice, it fights for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and so much more. This is pretty simple: The petition is asking for justice for George Floyd’s death.

As anger and heartbreak have swept across America over the killing of yet another black man at the hands of police, CNN and "Sesame Street" are refocusing their second town hall to address racism. A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families" will air on Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m. They will be joined by "Sesame Street" characters -- including Elmo, Abby Cadabby and Rosita -- and other experts answering questions submitted by families. The first CNN “Sesame Street” town hall in April addressed the coronavirus pandemic that has already seen many families sheltering at home, grappling with trying to explain the dangers of COVID-19 to their children. How to watch: The town hall will air on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español.

One Dollar Zone said it immediately pulled controversial black rag dolls from store shelves after customers voiced concerns about them. (Credit: From Facebook/assemblywoman angela v. mcknight)(CNN) - Black rag dolls that instruct someone to abuse them were removed from the shelves of multiple One Dollar Zone stores after they drew criticism for being racist. New Jersey legislator Angela McKnight said she visited a One Dollar Zone store in Bayonne and found the toy "offensive and disturbing on so many levels." One Dollar Zone President Ricky Shah said the company immediately pulled the dolls from store shelves after customers voiced concerns about them. One Dollar Zone operates about 30 stores in the Northeast, including in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.