Much of the ‘racial reckoning' efforts after Floyd's murder never emerged
It's been five years since George Floyd's murder by Minnesota police officers — nine minutes and 29 seconds captured on video and broadcast around the globe, an inflection point in America's centuries-old struggle with racism.
Floyd's death ushered in what many called a 'racial reckoning.' Much of the national conversation on race curved toward police reform, health equity and the racial wealth gap.
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Washington Post
40 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Pulse massacre survivors revisit the nightclub before it's razed for a permanent memorial
ORLANDO, Fla. — Survivors and family members of the 49 victims killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre nine years ago got their first chance Wednesday to walk through the long-shuttered, LGBTQ+-friendly Florida venue before it is razed and replaced with a permanent memorial to what was once the worst U.S. mass shooting in modern times. In small groups over four days, survivors and family members of those killed can spend half an hour inside the space where Omar Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed after a three-hour standoff with police. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Pulse shooting's death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The city of Orlando purchased the Pulse property in 2023 for $2 million and plans to build a $12 million permanent memorial that will open in 2027. Those efforts follow a multiyear, botched attempt by a private foundation run by the club's former owner. The existing structure will be razed later this year. Christine Leinonen, whose son, Christopher 'Drew' Leinonen was killed in the mass shooting, was among the first groups to go inside the club on Wednesday. Leinonen, who has been a fierce critic of the police response, the investigation into the mass shooting and the nightclub's owner, said she wanted to see the space where her son died. 'It's not closure. It's pragmatic for me because I needed to see the space. I needed to see how big it was,' Leinonen said afterward. 'I would have regretted it if I didn't go through it.' The opportunity to go inside the nightclub comes on the ninth anniversary of the mass shooting. Outside, oversize photos of the victims, rainbow-colored flags and flowers have hung on fences in a makeshift memorial, and the site has attracted visitors from around the globe. But very few people other than investigators have been inside the structure. Around 250 survivors and family members of those killed responded to the city's invitation to walk through the nightclub this week. Families of the 49 people who were killed were able to visit the site with up to six people in their group, and survivors could bring one person with them. The club had been cleaned and lighting has been installed ahead of the walk-throughs. The people invited to visit were given the chance to ask FBI agents who investigated the massacre about what happened. They weren't allowed to take photos or video inside. On Wednesday, a security screen shielded the entrance to the club as the visitors got off a small bus and walked into a white tent at the venue's entrance. Some of those who had planned to come backed out at the last minute. Brandon Wolf, who hid in a bathroom as the gunman opened fire, said he wasn't going to visit, primarily because he now lives in Washington. He said he wanted to remember Pulse as it was before. 'I will say that the site of the tragedy is where I feel closest to the people who were stolen from me,' said Wolf, who is now national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ+ advocacy group. 'For survivors, the last time they were in that space was the worst night possible. It will be really hard to be in that space again.' Mental health counselors planned to be on hand to talk to those who walk through the building. Survivors and family members had hoped to have a permanent memorial in place by now. An earlier effort by a private foundation to build one floundered, and the organization disbanded in 2023. Barbara and Rosario Poma and business owner Michael Panaggio previously owned the property, and Barbara Poma was the executive director of the onePulse Foundation — the nonprofit that had been leading efforts to build a memorial and museum. She stepped down as executive director in 2022 and then left the organization in 2023 amid criticism that she wanted to sell instead of donate the property. There were also complaints about the lack of progress despite millions of dollars being raised. The original project, unveiled in 2019 by the onePulse Foundation, called for a museum and permanent memorial costing $45 million. That estimate eventually soared to $100 million. The city of Orlando has since outlined a more modest proposal and scrapped plans for a museum. 'The building may come down, and we may finally get a permanent memorial, but that doesn't change the fact that this community has been scarred for life,' Wolf said. 'There are people inside the community who still need and will continue to need support and resources.' ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @ .
CBS News
42 minutes ago
- CBS News
Wilmington developer names new affordable housing project after late nephew killed in drunken driving crash
Community members gathered in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of what will soon be 14 new affordable townhomes. The project will be located in the city's Northside community. "I grew up in the city of Wilmington. I was born here," Donald Thompson said. Thompson is the founder of Truth in Actions Inc., the company behind the project. "It feels great to give back to my home, my community, my city," he said. For Thompson, the project is deeply personal. Thompson is calling it Raw Story Drive, in honor of his late nephew, Rick Anthony Williams, who was hit and killed at age 22 by a drunken driver in 2017. "To me, it's a proud moment for the housing, but a sad moment," Thompson said. "To me, this is a consolation. I would rather have him here and to be able to be there for him ... like he was for me. ... This is a consolation, this is something I'm doing in lieu of. I would rather him be here." "Rick, he was really an angel on earth," said Coretta Williams, Rick's mother and Thompson's sister. Williams says her son had a giving spirit, and she called this project a great way to honor his life. "I think that it's awesome. I think that it shows forth what we all should be doing, and that's trying to help. Trying to give," she said. Wilmington City Council President Trippi Congo said the area needs more affordable housing and this project fills a critical gap. "Of course, they help financially, but I think it's so much bigger than that. They help breathe a new spirit, a new life into the city," he said. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Poll: Majority of Democrats give thumbs-down to their leaders in Congress
Most Democrats disapprove of how their party's lawmakers in Congress are handling their jobs, according to a new national poll. Fifty-three percent of Democrats questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday gave their party's congressional members a thumbs-down, while 41% approved of their performance. According to the poll, conducted June 5-8, just 21% of all voters approved of the way Democrats in Congress were handing their jobs, with seven in ten disapproving. The 21% approval is the same as in Quinnipiac's February national poll, matching "an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first asked this question of registered voters in March 2009." The survey indicates 79% of GOP voters approve of the way congressional Republicans are handling their job, with 13% disapproving. Among all voters, 32% approved of how GOP congressional members were performing their duties, while just over six in ten disapproved. Overall approval for Republicans in Congress has dropped eight points since Quinnipiac's February poll, with disapproval jumping nine points. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since November's elections, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party's base. Since President Donald Trump's return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president's sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. And their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but at Democrats they feel aren't vocal enough in their opposition to Trump. And that's fueled a plunge in the Democratic Party's favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several surveys the past couple of months. The new poll from Quinnipiac also indicates a decline in Trump's approval ratings among voters nationwide. Thirty-eight percent of those questioned in the survey said they approve of the way the president is handling his duties, down three points from Quinnipiac's early April poll. Fifty-four percent in the new poll gave Trump a thumbs-down for his handling of his job as president, down one point from the April survey. Trump's approval ratings were mostly above water as he returned to the White House in late January, but his numbers soon slid underwater in many national surveys and remain in negative territory nearly five months into his second administration.
