Racial Injustice, ADVISORY
In Nashville, Tennessee, about two dozen Black men, most wearing suits, quietly stood arm in arm in front of the city’s criminal courts. Thousands of people gathered at a religious rally in downtown Atlanta, where speakers and attendees called for an end to racism. In St. Petersburg, Florida, city officials and community members celebrated with the unveiling of a block-long, colorful mural that said “Black Lives Matter.” A traditional day of celebration has turned into one of protest, as Americans mark Juneteenth on Friday. The holiday long commemorated the emancipation of enslaved African Americans but has burst into the national conversation this year after nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racism.
The AP plans the following coverage. For up-to-the minute information, visit AP Newsroom’s coverage hub Note that all times are Eastern.
SENT/DEVELOPING:
AMERICA PROTESTS: A traditional day of celebration turned into one of protest Friday, as Americans marked Juneteenth, a holiday that long commemorated the emancipation of enslaved African Americans but that burst into the national conversation this year after widespread demonstrations against police brutality and racism. SENT; developing from protests throughout the U.S. With AMERICA PROTESTS-THE LATEST
AP POLL-AMERICA PROTESTS: Ahead of the Juneteenth holiday weekend’s expected demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality, a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds a majority of Americans say they approve of recent protests around the country, and many think they will bring positive change. SENT: 1000 words, photos.
JUNETEENTH-COMPANIES: A unprecedented number of U.S. companies are giving employees off for Juneteenth this year. The trend has been inspired in large part by the Black Lives Matters protests and has raised hopes that the day commemorating the end of slavery could someday become a true national celebration. SENT: 850 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-KENTUCKY: Louisville’s mayor says one of three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor will be fired. Mayor Greg Fisher said Friday that interim Louisville police Chief Robert Schroeder has started termination proceedings for Officer Brett Hankison. Two other officers remain on administrative reassignment while the shooting is investigated. SENT; developing.
HATE CRIMES-GEORGIA: A new proposal to give Georgia a law penalizing hate crimes is being held back for revisions after it was sharply criticized. Advocates say the plan from Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is too broad that it would penalize crimes against nearly everyone. SENT: 800 words, photos.
POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS-RACIAL BIAS: A Maryland police chief resigned this week within hours of a court filing that portrayed his department, one of the state’s largest, as an agency poisoned by a racist culture. SENT: 770 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTEST-NETHERLANDS STATUE: The 17th century has gone down in Dutch history as the Golden Age, when unprecedented trading wealth helped fund the likes of artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. But the grim flip side of the prosperity — fortunes generated by seafaring traders, slavery and iron-fisted colonial rulers — is being brought into sharp focus amid global protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd. SENT: 770 words, photos.
CENSUS-2020: Halfway through the extended effort to count every U.S. resident, civil rights leaders worry that minority communities are falling behind in responding to the 2020 census. SENT: 630 words, photos.
POLICE KILLING-ATLANTA: Atlanta police officers have called out sick to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot a man in the back. SENT: 1110 words, photos.
HUMAN RIGHTS-RACISM: The United Nations’ top human rights body has voted unanimously to commission a report on systemic racism and discrimination against Africans and people of African descent. SENT: 860 words, photos.
JUNETEENTH-FAITH COMMUNITIES: Normally religious communities mark Juneteenth with worship services, fellowship, service projects, parades and picnics. This year social distancing because of COVID-19 and unrest ignited by Floyd’s death beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer are changing where and how they will observe the day. SENT: 700 words, photos.
BRITAIN-SLAVERY: The Bank of England has apologized for the links some of its past governors had with slavery, as a global anti-racism movement sparked by the death of George Floyd forces many British institutions to confront uncomfortable truths about their pasts. SENT: 750 words, photo.
TWINS-GRIFFITH STATUE: The Minnesota Twins have removed a statue of former owner Calvin Griffith at Target Field, citing racist remarks he made in 1978. SENT: 690 words, photos.
ALSO:
AMERICA PROTESTS-JUNETEENTH-NEW YORK: New York City’s mayor says Juneteenth will be become an official holiday for city workers and schoolchildren next year, and the city will form a new commission to examine its history of racial discrimination. SENT: 520 words, photos.
IOWA-BLACK MAN ATTACKED: Two white men have been arrested in an assault so severe that the 22-year-old black victim believed he was about to be killed. SENT: 470 words.
WEST POINT-CONFEDERATE NAMES: The U.S. Military Academy is being asked again to rename buildings honoring Confederate officers like Robert E. Lee by the Democratic congressman who represents the area. SENT: 280 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-LOUISIANA PLANTATIONS: A Louisiana tourist commission has accelerated its plan to abandon a 19-year-old slogan touting “New Orleans Plantation Country.” SENT: 130 words.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT-BODY CAMERAS: The Justice Department’s inspector general has begun an audit into the department’s policies on body cameras. SENT: 230 words.
FORMOSA PLASTICS-SLAVE CEMETERY: Community and environmental groups have won court approval for a Juneteenth ceremony at a Louisiana site archaeologists have described as probably a cemetery for enslaved Africans when the land was a plantation. SENT: 370 words.
KNEE TO NECK-FLORIDA: A civil rights lawyer is drawing direct comparisons to the death of George Floyd as he prepares to sue a Florida police department over the death of a white man. Attorney Benjamin Crump 36-year-old Timothy Coffman died after collapsing with a police officer’s knee on his neck. SENT: 480 words, photos.
MICHIGAN MAYOR-RACIST COMMENT: The mayor of a Michigan college town is apologizing after saying she would support the appointment of a human relations commissioner only because she would be “crucified” if she voted against a black person. SENT: 250 words.
ENGLAND-ANTHEM REVIEW: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come out in favor of England rugby fans singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” at a time when the historical context of the song is being reviewed. SENT: 220 words.
CONFEDERATE MONUMENT-GEORGIA: A Confederate monument has been removed by crane from a town square near Atlanta amid cheers from the watching crowd. SENT: 470 words, photos.
FEDERAL OFFICER KILLED-MEMORIAL: Family and friends gathering to honor a federal law enforcement officer fatally shot while guarding a U.S. courthouse in Oakland will be joined Friday by the acting chief of Homeland Security, who traveled from Washington to honor “a fallen hero,” his office said. Authorities say an airman with ties to the so-called boogaloo right-wing extremist movement has been charged in the killing. SENT: 430 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-ARETHA FRANKLIN: A never-before-heard solo version of 2006′s riveting and powerful “Never Gonna Break My Faith” has been released. Sony Music announced the release of the song about faith and race on Juneteenth, the holiday to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. SENT: 380 words, photos.
GRAPHICS/INTERACTIVES:
-Minneapolis police use of force among black people (bar chart)
-Minneapolis police uses of force on black people higher than all other races (chart)
PHOTOS:
AP photos planned from various US locations of Juneteenth protests, including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, San Francisco.
VIDEO:
AP video planned from various US locations.