City officials in Palmdale, California are officially backing the call for an independant investigation and autopsy to be done in the death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man who was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale earlier this week. His body was found hanging at Poncitlan square next to City Hall in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday, June 10th. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department ruled the death a suicide; however, his family and many others who've heard the story are not convinced that this was self-inflicted, and are calling for a new investigation into his death, believing it to be a lynching.

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After initially standing by the ruling, Palmdale city officials have since released a new statement, expressing their support for the call for an independant investigation. The statement was shared by the City of Palmdale on Saturday, June 13th.

`The streets are still demanding justice. Not just for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, but for the African-American community that still face systemic oppression in 2020. According to The Hill, the California assembly has officially passed a proposal to establish a task force to study reparations for the African-American community.

Shirley Weber, a congresswoman, wrote the bill that would look deeper into California’s history of assisting in slavery, even after abolition in 1850. The bill passed with a 56-5 vote as the matter has been a primary focus for California’s Legislative Black Caucus. The meetings will begin no later than June 2021.

“The discriminatory practices of the past echo into the everyday lives of today’s Californians,” Weber said. Though the bill was passed through the California Assembly on Thursday, the next move is getting it passed through Senate then signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

UCLA School of Law civil rights professor and attorney Lisa Holder explained that the panel, which is said to include eight people with expertise in racial justice reform, to properly breakdown why reparations are justified after 155 years since slavery was abolished. 

“The response really has to be framed around the issue of continuing racial injustice that started back in 1619 when Africans were stolen from Africa and brought here as enslaved people,” Holder said. “Then you don’t get into this messy, unintelligible notion of who is directly linked to a slave.”

The world is outraged after the death of Robert Fuller, a 23-year-old man whose body was found hanging from a tree next to city hall in Palmdale, California.

His body was discovered early this morning and Lt. Brandon Dean of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau is noting that the circumstances surrounding his passing point to suicide. The public isn't that easily convinced though.

All across social media, people are calling for an independent autopsy to be performed as a large number of folks believe this to be a lynching. 

The city of Temecula, California has found itself without an official mayor after a scandal broke out in the California city. According to reports, an email surfaced that showed former Temecula City Mayor James Stewart writing that he didn't “believe there's ever been a good person of color killed by a police officer." In these emotionally-heightened times, the controversy was met with backlash from the public who called for his resignation. He complied and stepped down from his position in the Southern Californian city, but not before he stated that it was all a misunderstanding due to a "typo."

Sean Monterrosa, a 22-year-old California man, was shot and killed by police in yet another fatal occurrence with the cops.

Early Tuesday morning, Monterrosa was fatally shot as he kneeled in front of Vallejo police, surrendering after he was suspected of breaking into and looting a Walgreens supermarket. 

Chief Shawny Williams says that the young man was shot as he was surrendering when the officer noticed what allegedly appeared to be a gun inside of his sweatshirt. The object ended up being a hammer.

Dontae Parks, a 29-year-old man, and his 2-year-old son went viral after a photo showed them at a peaceful protest in California as a police officer pointed a gun at the toddler. The picture has been circulated a lot on social media and now, Parks is speaking out and is calling for the cop to get his badge taken away.

“The officer in the photo — he should not be a cop at all,” says Parks to The Sun, referring the image of the officer pointing a gun near his 2-year-old son on his shoulders at the Long Beach protests. 

The man also claims that, in addition to being threatened with a rubber bullet gun, they were also told they would be sprayed with tear gas.

“What’s the matter with you? You are a monster! You are really going to gas this child? What about your child?” asked one woman at the protests, yelling at officers.

Parks’ son was wearing a Batman costume and held a “Black Lives Matter” sign as his father carried him.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

“I feel it’s uncalled for – I don’t think they should be firing any type of weapons especially in a crowd where there is a peaceful protest and there’s a child nearby,” said Parks. “I was speaking to the cops. There were a couple of them who told me they thought I should go home or ‘Get out of here’ but I said there’s no need for me to go home, I’m here for the protest.”

Thankfully, Dontae is able to speak about his experience.

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A number of videos have shocked the world throughout this social unrest period in America. Some show protestors being violently dispersed with tear gas. Others show people being singled out in largely peaceful protests. And others show police officers smashing car windows for absolutely no reason.

The people that are supposed to be protecting us are seemingly more concerned with protecting public property, not caring much for the lives of people of color along the way. In Riverside, California, a peaceful protest was declared by the sheriff's deputies and, as they marched on live television, one deputy was seen smashing the window of a parked car for literally no reason. The camera stealthily panned out and zoomed back in once he had finished.

Looters have been active in Los Angeles and other Californian cities, but this one can only be blamed on the police.

Watch the video below and keep an eye on the parked car on the left-hand side of the screen.

If you're looking for ways to get involved on Black Out Tuesday, please consider visiting our list of resources. You can also read our first-hand account of the Los Angeles protests, written by Karlton Jahmal. 

There was something different about watching Geroge Floyd get murdered. We have seen countless videos of police killing unarmed Black Americans on the internet these past few years, but this one hit differently. Do you remember Philando Castile, who was murdered in his car while his girlfriend recorded from the passenger seat? How about Walter Scott, who was shot in the back as he ran from a cop who pulled him over for a tail light infringement? Do you recall Stephon Clark, who was shot at his grandma’s home in Sacramento?

The list of videos goes on and on. But watching Mr. Floyd die was different. Maybe it was the circumstances that made it feel distinctive. We are always told that police “feared” for their life. But former officer Derek Chauvin wasn’t scared. No. In fact, he was calm, cool, and collected as he peered down at Mr. Floyd croaking for help. 

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable,”

– John F. Kennedy

A militant protester expresses his emotions in front of a police vehicle damaged earlier in the day. Credit HNHH 

How unbothered are you by the thought of repercussion that you would murder someone in broad daylight, on a public street, with multiple witnesses? I’m afraid to smoke a joint on my lunch break and get caught, much less kill someone. What does it say about the system if a cop was so unconcerned with repercussions that he could remain calculated while slowly murdering an unarmed man? It says the system does not scare bad cops. They aren’t afraid of breaking the law, because many of them think they are the law. Even if they uphold the law, they also uphold systemic racism. 

I was on the front lines this past weekend in Los Angeles. The sign I held says it all: “If the courts won’t hold the police accountable, the citizens will hold the city accountable.” I keep hearing and seeing people say, “be more like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Be peaceful.” But those people glorify one man who remained strong in the face of absolute mayhem. Dr. King was beaten, hosed, imprisoned, and ultimately murdered. Dr. King is the pinnacle of peace and love but let’s not forget — it was militant activists that scared the White House so ridiculously that they had to acquiesce to a peaceful Black leader to help quell the unrest. There is no Dr. King without the other side of the coin. Even women got violent when they protested for their right to vote. Both diplomacy and force have been needed to secure the rights of the historically oppressed and systematically suppressed populations. Using only force or only diplomacy doesn’t work. There has always needed to be a balance. 

Protesters on Fairfax and 3rd in Los Angeles send a message. Credit HNHH

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was arguably the last piece of important legislation passed during the Civil Rights Era. It faced heavy opposition in congress upon its creation. It barely passed in the House, and was expected to be gutted and watered down by the Senate before going through the rounds and finally reaching the President, Lyndon B. Johnson. The day of the Senate vote, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It caused massive protests and riots around the nation. Over 100 cities caused nearly $50 million in damage, which is roughly $370 million in 2020, adjusted for inflation. President Johnson increased pressure on Congress to pass The Fair Housing Act. In fact, pressure mounted so heavily that Congress put their foot on the gas. In a matter of days, the bill was passed. Whenever someone tells you that only peaceful protests can be a catalyst for change, tell them that story. And there are many more where that came from.  

 “It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard,”

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Looters are abhorrent. They’re opportunistic and self-centered. Rioters are a different story altogether. For many, there’s only so many times you can get prodded by police batons, hit with tear gas, and run from a barrage of rubber bullets before you start to get physical. In the words of Dave Chappelle, there is only a finite amount of horrible things somebody can go through before they lose their cool and their minds. For many also dealing with the fallout of COVID-19, the atrocities that occurred with Mr. Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Amhuad Arbery were the tipping points.

That’s right. These protests and riots aren’t just about Mr. Floyd. He was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This is for Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, and countless others. This is the cry of a population that pleaded and pleaded for the public to hear Colin Kaepernick’s message. Millions who stood by and watched a peaceful and very famous activist lose his job because of kneeling. I caution you to heed diplomacy next time it appears. A Dr. King or a Colin Kaepernick come along once in a generation. Will you listen next time? Things do not need to escalate to this point, and we should work together to make sure it never does. I bet you anything most of America would elect to go back to peaceful kneeling, but like the year serendipitously reminds us: hindsight is always 20/20.

“I know being a cop is hard. I know that shit’s dangerous. But some jobs can’t have bad apples. Some jobs, everybody gotta be good. Like … pilots. American Airlines can’t be like, ‘Most of our pilots like to land. We just got a few bad apples that like to crash into mountains.'”

– Chris Rock

There was something about being on the front lines in Los Angeles this weekend that changed me forever. When I was pushed by police,  groups of white protestors would come to my defense. They would form barriers or lines around, and in front of, Black protestors. When we were hit with tear gas, there were dozens of people rushing up with gallons of milk to help us douse our faces. Medics and EMTs showed up on their day off to tend to those who got hit with rubber bullets or who could not overcome the powerful tear gas and fainted or fell ill. There were checkpoints with food and water on every block. It was a togetherness I had never felt before. It was four thousand people that all said, “enough is enough.” We all watched out for each other. I didn’t see ANTIFA. I didn’t see “thugs.” What I saw was thousands of souls connected by a singular motive. Bound by the American Dream, which is the freedom to pursue happiness, these protestors were fighting against injustice. 

Should we push for violence? No. But there must be action. “No Justice, No Peace” means there must be accountability. These judges, these district attorneys, the power of the police unions, and the fear good cops have of being reprimanded have allowed police to feel like they are above the law. They say, “It’s horrible Black men are being killed by police, but the rioting needs to stop.” Instead, try “It’s horrible riots are happening, but Black men being murdered by police needs to stop.” You don’t blame the symptoms for the disease. 

What is the answer then? Stop killing unarmed and innocent civilians. There is no other acceptable answer. There are several steps we can take to make this possible. First, police in America need better training. On average, the police academy in America lasts about 6 months. In many counties in Europe –Germany for example– they train for two and a half years. American police are severely undertrained.

Second, cops need to know they are hurting their fellow co-workers. There must be financial punishments put in place for cops that commit egregious crimes like what we witnessed with Mr. Floyd. Police are often split into divisions, groups, or squads. When one officer in a squad, or division, commits an outrageous crime, everyone in that group should be docked pay or lose a percentage of their pension. That way, cops know that if they mess up, they will be directly hurting their co-workers. Making co-workers more accountable for each other is a proven way to establish accountability in the workplace.

Third, police should be required to partake in community service in a neighborhood before they are allowed to patrol there. Pay them for their time and mandate at least 40 hours of community service. The cops should be meeting the people in their community, and vice-versa. This will reduce fear and stop destruction on both sides.

Last but not least, corrupt police need to be jailed. There needs to be a counter-culture in police departments, which the good cops must reinforce. There are good cops who are scared to speak up because their superiors are complicit or involved. They could lose their job, or worse, put their family’s lives in danger. This is the hardest part of the plan, but there needs to be a culture in police departments that explicitly works to combat the shroud of corruption and cover-ups. Remember, the official police statement for Mr. Floyd said he resisted arrest, and police happened to notice he was suffering from “medical distress.” If we never got the video of his death, the official story would be that Mr. Floyd resisted an arrest and died of medical distress while doing so. These cover-ups can no longer be accepted by the good cops. 

Protesters face off against the police on a nearby roof shooting rubber bullets and cops advancing on foot. Credit HNHH

This is America, arguably the greatest constitutional republic in all of history. We set an example for the world. Protests have spread to Europe and beyond, where our cries for equality have been taken up by empathetic onlookers who have never stepped foot in our country. When we as Americans demand equality, the rest of the free world watches. What will we show them? What side of history will you be on? Whether or not we have your support, we do have your attention. And that’s a start. 

Budding artist Pop Smoke was just getting his feet wet in the music industry when his life was cut short. Back in February, while staying as a Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles, authorities believe Pop Smoke was murdered in a home invasion robbery. As the months have dragged on, there hasn’t been any new updates regarding his case, but hip hop has certainly felt the effects of the tragic incident.

Carmen Mandato / Stringer / Getty Images

Many rap artists already have fierce security measures set in place to ensure their protection and the protection of their loved ones, but Pop’s death still shook everyone to the core. Boosie Badazz chatted with VladTV about the 20-year-old rapper’s death and how it forced him to change his ways. “[It] makes you tighten up security, sh*t like that,” Boosie said. “Anytime a rapper dies. In Cali, you gotta have your guns out. That’s where everybody get robbed at. That’s where everybody get jacked at. That’s where the home invasions going on.”

Boosie Badazz added that any rapper visiting California needs to be prepared for anything. “You basically gotta have your hand on the gun in the jacket. Them n*ggas ain’t playing out there,” he continued. “It’s wicked out there. N*ggas in the industry know what I’m talking about… You gotta be ready to smoke them n*ggas ’cause they ain’t playing. They ’bout they business out there.” Hopefully, we’ll hear more about the investigation into Pop Smoke‘s death in the months to come. Watch Boosie Badazz talk about the late rapper below.

The news was picked up by almost every major news outlet this week after Elon Musk and Grimes welcomed their newborn baby boy into the world. The couple shared some baby pictures the other day before revealing that they had given him a very unique name. The couple ended up settling on X Æ A-12, which nobody is quite sure how to pronounce. 

People have theorized that the name is pronounced "Ash Archangel" after Grimes revealed that they were influenced by the name of their favorite aircraft.

Unfortunately, they received some bad news shortly after the announcement though, learning that they cannot legally name their little boy X Æ A-12.