Thousands of people across the country rallied in solidarity to support black trans-rights, Sunday.  

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Black transgender activist Raquel Willis explained the movement to CNN in an interview: "This collective of folks is particularly powerful because it's modeling what is possible when you do have allies and folks who do care and also want to make sure that they're building something that speaks to the hearts of the actual people that they're representing," she said. "So often that doesn't happen." 

Willis led the crowd in New York City in a chant during the protest saying "I believe in my power," while the crowd echoed the words back. "I believe in your power. I believe in our power. I believe in black trans power."

Melania Brown, the sister of Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette-Polanco, a black transgender inmate at Rikers Island who died last year, spoke to the same crowd as well.

"Black trans lives matter," she said. "My sister's life mattered. All of the loved ones we have lost, all of these beautiful girls that we have lost. There lives matter. We have to protect them."

"We can't just talk about trans people when they're dying," Eliel Cruz, one of the co-organizers of the event, explained to CNN. "But what are we doing actively and intentionally to create space for them to be safe and well?"

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the Christopher Columbus statue in New York City should not be taken down, as it is a symbol of Italian American appreciation.

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Cuomo was asked about the statue, which is located at Columbus Circle, during a press conference, Thursday. A reporter asked Cuomo is if was "time for" the statue "to go."

"I understand the dialogue that has been going on for a number of years. The Christopher Columbus statue, in some ways, represents the Italian American legacy in this country. I understand the feelings about Christopher Columbus and some of his acts, which nobody would support," said Cuomo. "But the statue has come to represent and signify appreciation for the Italian American contribution to New York. For that reason, I support it."

Cuomo is of Italian descent.

Statues of historical figures with racist ideology across the globe have been taken down or vandalized by protesters in recent weeks. In Richmond, V.A., protesters threw a Columbus statue into the lake in the city’s Byrd Park. In Boston, a similar statue was decapitated. 

Similarly, the upcoming Columbus Day holiday has been renamed Indigenous People’s Day in several states, in response to the brutality of Columbus' actions.

Iconic director Spike Lee joined hundreds in New York City to protest police brutality, Sunday.

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Lee was seen on Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn, riding a bicycle and wearing Knicks’ orange and blue. “Fort Greene, Baby! Fort Greene! Gotta represent,” Lee yelled while cycling with other protesters.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker spoke about the rise in Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country with E!, Saturday.

“My heart is in a good place, though. Something I’ve seen on television, I wanted to see with my own eyes, and what has given me strength is my fellow white brothers and sisters out there. Strong! And they have joined their black and brown sisters, locked arms, step-in-step…”

“And what’s really even giving me more hype, the number of young white brothers and sisters [protesting.] That’s given me hope! We had the Panther movement, the anti-war movement, the women’s movement,” he added. “We haven’t seen this since the ’60s. So that gives me hope.”

Lee also released a short film, 3 Brothers, inspired by the recent death of George Floyd. The film blends together footage from his Do the Right Thing with real footage from the deaths of Eric Garner and George Floyd.

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New York City will begin the first phase of its reopening process Monday, June 8. Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed the date proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this week.

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“[These businesses] were chosen because you can create physical separation,” said Mayor de Blasio. “That’s a lot of employees coming back to work … we want to emphasize safety throughout. We say ‘restart’ — we do not mean rushing back to something we used to think of as normal. We do not mean flicking a switch and suddenly everything is where it was again. We have to make sure this virus is in check. We’ve come a long way, not going to blow it now.”

Gov. Cuomo said he planned to have the city open on June 8th, last week, contradicting de Blasio, who said a date had not been determined at that time.

“It is reopening to a new normal. It’s a safer normal. Reopening doesn’t mean going back to the past,” Cuomo explained. “People will be wearing masks. It’s just a new way of interacting, which we have to do.”

De Blasio says that New York City will be giving out 2 million free masks to employees returning to work during phase 1.

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Over the years, people of color have been sharing disturbing videos of white citizens calling the police on them. From the woman who phoned authorities because there were black people barbequing in the park to Amy Cooper who recently feigned distress after a black man told her to leash her dog, black people have found themselves targeted by their white neighbors who don’t like their authority challenged. Svitlana Flom, a white woman who owns the French restaurant Maison Vivienne in New York City, recently went viral after she telephoned authorities on a black woman who was sitting outside of her building.

Janae Garcia, who goes by the name of “_brownsugarbaby” on Instagram, shared her story with her followers over the weekend. “From 6:15pm – 7:31pm this woman, Svitlana Flom, artdefete felt the need to not only approach me but call the cops MULTIPLE TIMES ON ME!! She was too ‘Alarmed’ that I was sitting ‘comfortably’ in ‘her neighborhood!'” the woman penned in the caption to multiple videos she shared online.

Initially, Flom, who is pregnant, allegedly approached the woman because she believed she was “smoking in public.” By the third call to authorities, Flom told police that the woman was “’threatening her & her children !!’ While giving my description, she exaggerated her story & made it seem like I was the aggressor. ‘THIS AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN IS ATTACKING ME AND MY CHILDREN!’ She had tears that were off & on & she stated things like ‘She’s pulling the black card!'”

In the video, you can see Svitlana Flom waving down officers before turning around to Janae and asking her to come over so police could confront her. “I couldn’t understand why she was so mad ! Like ummmm first of alllll I pay alllll mine over here Miss Lady !! ? How you come over here just feeling sooooo privileged & soooo comfortable enough to tell me I should leave ?! You’re buggin !! NOT THIS ONE!! She wanted to be a victim soooo bad!! NOT ONE PERSON CAME TO HER AID!! MULTIPLE PPL witnessed the ordeal & just wanted to make sure I was ok!”

Flom later told Page Six that Janae edited the clips to make it seem as if she was being racist, and wanted Janae to post the entire 45-minute video. “She twisted the entire thing like she’s some poor girl sitting alone on a bench and I’m white trash, harassing her for no reason.” After the videos went viral, people stormed Yelp and social media platforms to comment on Flom’s restaurant, leaving reviews that the owner is a racist. Swipe through the videos below.

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Protests have erupted all across the country in light of the murder of George Floyd and countless other people of color at the hands of the police. These protests have gotten violent although the escalation always seems to be induced by the cops and not the actus protesters themselves. In New York City, this is especially true as the police are constantly being caught on video getting rough with the people who are peacefully protesting.

According to reporter Lisa Evers, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has now revealed that the city will be doing an independent investigation into the way the police are treating protesters, although this review will also go both ways. It seems as though New York also wants to look at how protesters have been treating the police.

As of right now, it remains to be seen how these protests will continue to play out. Yesterday was the fifth night of protesting and the government doesn’t seem all that interested in restoring people’s faith. Simply put, people are angry and until some tangible change is created, these protests could go on for quite some time.

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

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is allowing sports teams in the state to resume training camps, taking the first step towards sports resuming as a whole.

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"Starting today, all the New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps,'' the governor said in a news conference, Sunday.

Sports facilities have been on pause for over two months, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

New data released by the NYPD on Friday revealed that of the 374 summonses handed out from March 16th to May 5th for social distancing violations, 193 of people issued summonses were black and 111 were Hispanic. This means that over 80 percent of people issued summonses for social distancing violations in New York City were people of color, something local advocates had predicted when the enforcement started six weeks ago.  

The release of this data follows a string of viral videos depicting violent altercations between the NYPD and the public. The summonses were issued for activities that the NYPD believed to be violations of emergency procedures and acts that were likely to spread disease, such as social gatherings. The data shows that 206 of the summonses were issued in Brooklyn, 121 of them issued at 12 social gatherings. 99 summonses were issued in the Bronx, 42 of them issued at five social gatherings. 

Regarding the disparity in the ticketed violations, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference on Friday, “When I saw those numbers I found them to be an indicator that something’s wrong and we need to fix it. And we will fix it.” Mayor de Blasio also emphasized that these figures represent a small number of interactions between the public and police, and that most interactions did not result in arrests or summonses. 

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Video surfaced, Sunday, of an NYPD officer punching a bystander while giving out a ticket for breaking social-distancing rules. The incident in the East Village led to three arrests and an internal investigation.

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Mayor Bill de Blasio reacted to video of the incident on Twitter writing, "Saw the video from the Lower East Side and was really disturbed by it. The officer involved has been placed on modified duty and an investigation has begun. The behavior I saw in that video is simply not acceptable."

“It started out as a social distancing enforcement,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea during a press briefing, Sunday. “I am aware of the video that’s out there.

“I would just reiterate that we had tens of thousands of interactions with people all across the city yesterday, most of them without having to issue any type of enforcement activity, whether it’s a summons or arrest."

The same day, the NYPD also handed out over 40 tickets for violating social distancing guidelines. “I would just reiterate that we had tens of thousands of interactions with people all across the city yesterday, most of them without having to issue any type of enforcement activity, whether it’s a summons or arrest,” Shea said.

New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea says the police handed out dozens of citations, Saturday, for residents violating social distancing guidelines. 

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“In parks specifically yesterday, we issued 43 summonses,” Shea said Sunday in a press briefing with Mayor Bill de Blasio.“I would just reiterate that we had tens of thousands of interactions with people all across the city yesterday, most of them without having to issue any type of enforcement activity, whether it’s a summons or arrest. New Yorkers are exhibiting extreme patience for the last few months. We’re going to ask for a little more of it.”

“The vast majority of New Yorkers are following the rules,” added de Blasio.

“It’s like something out of 1984,” one NYC resident told the NY Post, referencing George Orwell’s 1984. “What is this, a military state now?”

“I started to really pay attention and I saw dozens of police vans everywhere,” another NYC resident said. “It’s an overwhelming feeling. I understand they are keeping us safe, but do we really want to become China, where they’re recording you when you come out of your building?”

The sun was out and temperatures reached the 70s in NYC this weekend.

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