CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021

The National Black Cultural Information Trust Launches the Protect Black History Initiative

The new ProtectBlackHistory.org initiative will distribute Black history materials and other resources in communities facing hostility toward teaching Black history in local school systems.

Black History Month News

This bill addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements. The bill enhances existing enforcement mechanisms to remedy violations by law enforcement. Among other things, it does the following: lowers the criminal intent standard—from willful to knowing or reckless—to convict a law enforcement officer for misconduct in a federal prosecution, limits qualified immunity as a defense to liability in a private civil action against a law enforcement officer, and grants administrative subpoena power to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in pattern-or-practice investigations. It establishes a framework to prevent and remedy racial profiling by law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. It also limits the unnecessary use of force and restricts the use of no-knock warrants, chokeholds, and carotid holds.

The bill creates a national registry—the National Police Misconduct Registry—to compile data on complaints and records of police misconduct. It also establishes new reporting requirements, including on the use of force, officer misconduct, and routine policing practices (e.g., stops and searches). Finally, it directs DOJ to create uniform accreditation standards for law enforcement agencies and requires law enforcement officers to complete training on racial profiling, implicit bias, and the duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force.

Tyre Nichols Almost Made it Home

The killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police has sparked increased demands for police reform nationwide.

By Peter White

On January 27, Memphis police released about an hour of the 20 hours of surveillance and body-cam footage they collected of Tyre Nichols’ fatal encounter with members of the Scorpion Squad, a special 40-member violent crime task force.

The video shows police kicking Nichols in the head and beating him for three minutes. He was pepper sprayed and struck with a baton as he pleaded for them to stop.

That same night, about 200 protesters marched onto the Interstate 55 bridge shutting down all four lanes for about three hours. A smaller group held a candlelight vigil in a Memphis park while others gathered in churches to honor the 28-year old father, FedEx worker, avid skateboarder and photographer. Demonstrations were also held in Washington D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and several other cities.

Call for police reform grow louder “We want a disbandment of every special task force,” said Amber Sherman, a local Black Lives Matter organizer. She told the New York Times that the police have long used such units “to over-criminalize low-income, poor Black neighborhoods and to terrorize citizens. We want that ended,” she said.

Community activists also called for an end to pretextual traffic stops, where police stop motorists for minor infractions

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. has launched the Protect Black History Initiative. This program, available at ProtectBlackHistory. org, will provide Black history resources and materials to local communities and organizations in need of support. Communities across the country are faced with hostility toward the teaching of Black history in school. While books are removed from school bookshelves, we're distributing books and other resources in local communities.

National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. (PRNewsfoto/National Black Cultural Information Trust)

The new ProtectBlackHistory. org initiative will distribute Black history materials to local communities where needed.

Local community groups, organizations, and religious institutions can enroll online to participate. NBCI Trust, Inc. is partnering with local Blackowned bookstores and other organizations to distribute materials. Current partners like a broken tail light and then search cars for drugs and weapons. The strategy, called “hot spot policing,” focuses on urban areas where crime is most likely to occur.

Memphis grassroots groups want the city to pass a data transparency ordinance to hold police accountable for misconduct and excessive use of force. They also called for the end of unmarked cars and plainsclothes officers patrolling Memphis neighborhoods. They want all city personnel on the scene the night Nichols was beaten, identified and their records released. Lastly, they want Memphis PD to stop traffic enforcement altogether.

Two of their demands, disbanding the Scorpion Squad and charging the officers who beat Tyre Nichols, have already been met. Another officer and three EMTs who did nothing to help Nichols after he was beaten have also been fired.

Protesters in Memphis, meanwhile, have continued demonstrating.

Remembering Tyre on page 4 include DARE Books and Kizzy's Books & More, two Florida-based Black-owned bookstores. The Protect Black History Initiative is a project of the National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. Our mission is to provide information, resources, and tools that uplift the collective freedom of Black communities while also correcting cultural misinformation. The Protect Black History Initiative will include free online Black history seminars, panel discussions, and children's storytimes.

Last Saturday a group gathered in front of the courthouse and then marched past the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center. They stopped at an intersection and blocked traffic for a couple of hours.

Through the Protect Black History Initiative, we strive to continue the legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and other great ancestors that came before us by working to make Black History resources and materials accessible in local communities across the country. Dr. Woodson once stated, "Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history." We are determined to protect Black history for future generations, so they can continue to be inspired by the achievements of their ancestors to reach new heights.

"We have to do more than lament. We have to organize. Pushing back on the dangerous anti-Black erasure of our history is imperative. We hope that through the Protect Black History Initiative, we help fill the gaps where needed," said Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, founder of the National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc.

NBCI Trust encourages other organizations, businesses, and individuals to partner or donate to expand the program's reach. For more information on how to become involved, email outreach@nbcit.org. To enroll or contribute to the Protect Black History Initiative, visit ProtectBlackHistory.org.

The National Black Cultural Information Trust is a PanAfrican initiative that shares cultural information, stories, and resources that uplift the collective freedom of Black communities while correcting cultural misinformation.

Black Ob-Gyn M.D.s to address the unnecessary deaths of Black Women in 2023

Black Maternal Mortality Rate in 2021 was 68.9 deaths per 100,000 (approximately 2,480 women)

Black Maternal Mortality

Rate in 2021 was 68.9 deaths per 100,000 (approximately 2,480 women)

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the overall U.S. maternal mortality rate (MMR) on the rise, the data behind the African American community paints an even more devastating picture, where the CDC and October 2022 GAO report that the Black Maternal Mortality Rate in 2021 was 68.9 deaths per 100,000 (approximately 2,480 women) compared to 26.1 per 100,000 (about 940 women).

WHYS™ (We Hear You, Sister!) is a growing online database and community of 124+ passionate ob-gyn physicians who practice across 29 states in the US, where 88% are boardcertified. “Countless black lives could be saved if women of color knew where to find an ob-gyn that could better understand their challenges.

The crisis extends past the data, where a direct relationship between these unnecessary deaths and racial concordance has been identified. Black patients often complain that their concerns are not heard nor respected when being seen by a doctor outside of their race, creating a divide between the doctor patient relationship, ultimately preventing the best possible care.

To affect change, Dr. Linda Burke and an online group of 748+ Black ob-gyn female physicians rallied, but attempts to obtain seats on professional decision-making committees proved futile leading Dr. Burke to create WHYS™ (We Hear You, Sister!), a resource that would address the challenges patients face in connecting with a doctor that they could relate to and bring a more positive outcome to some of the doctor patient exchanges.

WHYS™ (We Hear You,

Sister!) is a growing online database and community of 124+ passionate ob-gyn physicians who practice across 29 states in the US, where 88% are boardcertified. "Countless black lives could be saved if women of color knew where to find an ob-gyn that could better understand their challenges," states Dr. Burke who has been moved by many stories shared by her colleagues about the uphill battle. "The ability to use my network to build this resource in an attempt to make a difference in the lives of others drives me daily, and my greatest hope is that WHYS™ grows to be a trusted community for all in need," shares Dr. Burke. WHYS™ officially launches in February 2023 in celebration of Black History Month and Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler's birthday.

To learn more about Dr. Linda Burke and the WHYS movement, contact Dr. Linda Burke, MD MS, FACOG

DoctorLindaOnline@gmail. com