He's always been a radical voice for black culture, but Ice Cube has turned things up a notch on social media in recent weeks. The former N.W.A. rapper burst onto the music scene with a controversial classic that spoke of defying authority, but there are Ice Cube fans who see him as the family-friendly actor and not as a political voice. His recent tweets have caused a bit of backlash as Ice Cube has been accused of sharing anti-Semitic images, but no matter what people had to say about his viewpoints, he remains steadfast. 

Michael Loccisano / Staff / Getty Images

On Friday (June 12), a news story out of Florida began to circulate online. The articles and images of protests have dwindled in recent days, but rest assured they are still taking place nationwide. However, things took a turn in Tampa Bay when hundreds of looters reportedly stormed a local Walmart and made off with $100K worth of items. A video clip of the incident from store security cameras hit news stations, and the videos were shared on social media. 

Ice Cube wanted to make sure that no one involved found themselves in trouble, so when he saw that CBS News tweeted the clip of the looters, he offered up a solution. "No arrest and I’ll cover the $100k. Deal?" We're curious as to whether or not he'll be able to pull this one off, but the gesture speaks volumes. Check out the tweet below.

Jake Paul was seen on video during a looting on Saturday night in Scottsdale, Arizona. Because of his involvement in the vandalism, he has formally been charged.

"We filmed everything we saw in an effort to share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through," said Paul about why he was there. "We were strictly documenting, not engaging."

Despite his claims, his presence was enough for the police to formally charge him with two misdemeanor offenses.

According to KTAR News, Scottsdale police has charged Jake Paul with trespassing and unlawful assembly after he was spotted on the premises of a closed shopping mall during a looting.

It was a violent night in St. Louis, which resulted in four police officers being shot, fifty-five businesses being burglarized or damaged, and one respected police chief being killed.

David Dorn, a 77-year-old retired police captain, was shot and killed by looters after they broke into a pawn shop in St. Louis. He was found dead on the sidewalk in front of Lee’s Pawn & Jewelry at approximately 2:30 AM on Tuesday morning. Thus far, no arrests have been made.

A longtime colleague has described Dorn as “a gregarious and outspoken leader who mentored youths and insisted on strict ethical conduct among his employees.”

The shooting and looting was reportedly broadcast on Facebook Live as it happened but the video has been taken down. 

Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images — Construction is being done outside Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry where David Dorn, a 77-year-old retired police captain who was murdered during overnight rioting

Dorn was a friend of the pawn shop’s owner and he frequently went to go check the store when the alarm went off, says his wife St. Louis police Sgt. Ann Marie Dorn.

Dorn served on the police force in St. Louis for thirty-eight years before retiring in 2008.

The Ethical Society of Police, which represents black officers in St. Louis, like Dorn, said that he was “the type of brother that would’ve given his life to save them if he had to.” 

Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images — Flowers and messages are left at a memorial for David Dorn, a 77-year-old retired police captain who was murdered during overnight rioting outside Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry

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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. 

In one of the craziest things to ever play out on live television, several good samaritan shop owners in Van Nuys were placed in handcuffs and detained, simply for protecting their own shop and preventing looters from breaking into a nearby business.

Christina Gonzalez, an on-site reporter for Fox11, captured the scene as it happened. She stood outside and watched as the shop owners argued with looters, who were trying to break into a gold shop down the street. The liquor store owners protecting their business were holding weapons. When they noticed the police driving down the street, they flagged them down but the cops appeared to drive by without stopping. Finally, they returned to the scene and, almost instantly, they placed the good samaritans (people of color) in handcuffs.

One woman who was protecting the store has been described as a community leader who was trying to restore peace. The woman, who was screaming for help, was obviously not the root of the issue. However, she was put in handcuffs as the looters were given the opportunity to run away.

As we observe Blackout Tuesday by shifting the focus of our editorial content today, please continue to fight for the rights of POCs in America by protesting, donating, and doing what you can. Watch the unreal video below.

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Lori Harvey is speaking out on behalf of her two friends after their consignment shop was looted and damaged during the Atlanta protests following the killing of George Floyd. The shop’s co-owner issued the following statement:

“I’m in disbelief. Im sick to my stomach. I still can’t understand what the point in doing this to US was but I PROMISE this will not be the end of @sacdelux_.”

The two owners of the shop are women of color. Lori Harvey, a friend of the owners, made her own remarks about Sac De Lux being damaged.

“Atlanta y’all took it too far last night smh,” she wrote in a since-deleted Instagram Story. “My heart is so broken for my friends @nikkisworld and @niceybabyy. I know how hard you guys worked to build SacDelux from the ground up (2 young BLACK women) and I can’t even imagine the pain of watching it get destroyed like that for absolutely no reason. I’m so sorry this happened to you guys. The looting of @sacdelux_ was absolutely senseless and disgusting. I’m just glad you guys didn’t get hurt in the process…”

Lootings have taken place across the country, with Tyler, The Creator‘s GOLF shop also being damaged in Los Angeles’ Fairfax District. He issued a statement saying that his focus remains on the racial inequality in the world.

Dennis Rodman was always an extremely vocal player both on and off the court during his playing days. He has also proven himself to be engaged politically although not in the ways you might expect. Of course, we mean his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Regardless, Rodman has a large platform, and last night, he spoke up about all of the protests going on throughout the United States.

In a video posted to Instagram called "Rest In Power George Floyd," Rodman spoke about the looting and rioting that is going on. While he wants justice for Floyd, he seems to be appalled by those causing destruction and said “we’re human beings, not f–king animals.”

View this post on Instagram

Please America let’s stop the rioting and all come together as one. Y’all stay safe!! Much ❤️

A post shared by DENNIS RODMAN (@dennisrodman) on May 31, 2020 at 4:11pm PDT

“I think someone needs to come out and say, ‘Hey, guys, why are we looting? Why are we stealing? Why are we creating more issues, more problems?” Rodman said. “This is a bad, bad situation. But the fact that you’re gonna protest, protest in the right way. You don’t have to go and burn down things, steal things, burn things and stuff like that.”

Rodman's sentiments are ones that are shared by many although it is important to note that many of the people protesting are trying to stop the rioters. Numerous Twitter videos have shown Black Lives Matter supporters standing in front of businesses so that masked vandals don't break any windows.

As protests continue to rage throughout the country, we urge all of you to stay safe.

Ever since the police killing of George Floyd, there have been various protests all throughout the country. For the most part, these protests have been peaceful but as soon as the police show up, they tend to escalate things and it all gets out of hand. Not to mention, some people, who aren’t even engaging in the actual protests, are looting and vandalizing stores as a way to profit off of everything that is going on.

That is exactly what happened in Chicago last night as a strip mall located on 54th and Wentworth was completely looted. As you can see in the video below provided by a local CBS affiliate, a Foot Locker was broken into and it seems like nothing is left in the store. Many masked looters emerged from the store with boxes of shoes in their hands and made off with the merchandise.

The surrounding stores were also looted pretty heavily and you can see all of the carnage in front of the stores. These acts are certainly disturbing although you can’t help but feel like this anger has been building up for years.

Numerous stores throughout the country have experienced this same fate over the last few days and it remains to be seen what the fallout will be.

Stay tuned for updates as we will be sure to bring them to you.

[Via]

The-Dream was met with plenty of criticism after he urged protestors not to destroy property owned by Black folks in Atlanta. On Saturday (May 30th), after witnessing some of the looting and damage done in Atlanta as a result of the protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's murder, The-Dream took to Twitter to send a message to all the protestors in ATL, reminding them who owns most of those businesses.