Latest news with #AhmaudArbery
Washington Post
23-05-2025
- Washington Post
Black Lives Matter street murals stand as an enduring reminder of protests against racism
In 2020, after a summer of protests rocked U.S. cities, the words 'Black Lives Matter' went from the rallying cry of racial justice demonstrators to words lining the very roads along which they marched. After the deaths of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery , towns and cities nationwide commissioned artists to paint BLM street murals in solidarity with the reckoning on police brutality and racism prompted by the unprecedented, multiracial mass rallies.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ahmaud Arbery Foundation launches campaign to honor his legacy ahead of 31st birthday
The Brief The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation is launching a new campaign to honor Arbery's life, coinciding with what would have been his 31st birthday. Arbery's mother is encouraging donations of $31 to support scholarships, youth leadership camps, and mental health programs. The three men convicted of Arbery's murder have requested a new trial. ATLANTA - The foundation formed in memory of Ahmaud Arbery is launching a new campaign to honor his life, just weeks before what would have been his 31st birthday. Arbery's case captured national attention after he was shot and killed while running through a Brunswick neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. His mother later founded the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, which works to raise money for causes that reflect his legacy and is dedicated to keeping Arbery's memory alive. The backstory Arbery was 25 years old when he was killed. Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael chased and shot Arbery, while their former neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, joined the pursuit and recorded the encounter. All three men were sentenced to life in prison. Dig deeper Ahead of May 8, the day Arbery would have turned 31, his mother is encouraging supporters to donate $31 to fund scholarships, youth leadership camps, and mental health programs focused on investing in young people's futures. She hopes for every board member to be able to give away up to $31,000 in $31 increments. What they're saying "I tell people all the time that Ahmaud was killed in the year 2020 during the COVID pandemic when we were all shut indoors, and people were paying attention. But now, it's five years later, and everything is almost back to normal. But we cannot forget what happened," said Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones. What's next The three men convicted in his death have since requested a new trial. What you can do You can learn more about the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and its fundraisers on its website. SEE ALSO: Ahmaud Arbery murder 5 years later: Atlanta runners gather in his memory Trial over for former Georgia prosecutor in Ahmaud Arberry case Georgia men who killed Ahmaud Arbery asking court for new trial Runners preparing for 2nd annual Run with Maud in Atlanta Ahmaud Arbery's killers asking court to overturn hate crime convictions The Source FOX 5's Kim Leoffler spoke with Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery, for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were also used.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ahmaud Arbery's Mother Says Removal of D.C.'s BLM Mural Is Bad Omen
A Black mother who lost her son before the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement says the removal of BLM Plaza in our nation's capital is a sign the country is in a bad place. Ahmaud Arbery's mom, Wanda Cooper Jones, tells TMZ ... the removal of the BLM mural in Washington, D.C. "feels like a bad omen" and she says it serves as "a reminder of how fragile progress can be." Wanda says BLM was never about murals, monuments, or symbolic gestures ... it's always been about accountability, justice and meaningful change -- but she doesn't like the change being made here. As we reported ... Jamie Foxx says Black American social efforts are taking a step back as a result of President Trump pressuring D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to remove the mural under threat of losing federal funding. Arbery was murdered in February 2020 while out for a run in Georgia ... and video of his murder at the hands of 3 white men sparked widespread outrage. BLM really took off after George Floyd was murdered by a white cop months later, sparking summer protests nationwide ... but Arbery's case remains a big part of the movement ... as does Breonna Taylor's death. The Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown killings also prompted the early beginnings of the BLM cause. Lee Merritt, an attorney who has worked with the families of Arbery, Floyd and Taylor, tells TMZ ... "Justice isn't measured in murals -- it's measured in laws, accountability, and protecting Black lives." On that front, Merritt says ... "Accountability came when the men who murdered Ahmaud were sentenced to life. Reform came with the passage of the Ahmaud Arbery Hate Crimes Act. And policy change came when Georgia repealed the vigilante defense they used to justify their actions."
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Protesters throng Iowa capitol to decry bill to roll back trans rights protections
Amid a heavy police presence and hundreds of vocal protesters, Iowa lawmakers on Thursday considered an unprecedented bill that would strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity, a move opponents say could expose transgender people to discrimination in numerous areas of life. Both the house and senate were expected to vote on the legislation on Thursday, the same day the Georgia house backed away from removing gender protections from the state's hate crimes law, which was passed in 2020 after the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Iowa's bill, first introduced last week, raced through the legislative process, despite opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates who rallied at the Capitol on Monday and Tuesday. On Thursday, opponents of the bill filed into the capitol rotunda with signs and rainbow flags to rally before, during and after a 90-minute public hearing, shouting, 'No hate in our state!' There was a heavy police presence, with state troopers stationed around the rotunda and hearing room. Of the 167 people who signed up to testify at the public hearing before a house committee, all but 24 were opposed to the bill. Each time a person who had spoken opened the hearing room door to leave, the roar of protesters outside filled the room, forcing repeated pauses. To avoid delays, state troopers blocked off the hallway outside the room, creating a 'natural buffer', said the department of public safety commissioner, Stephan Bayens. The move was intended to allow the public hearing to proceed while also protecting first amendment rights to demonstrate, Bayens said. In Iowa, gender identity was added to the civil rights code in 2007 when Democrats controlled the legislature. If removed, Iowa would be the first state to undo explicit non-discrimination protections based on gender identity, said Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project. In Georgia, the changes to the hate crimes law were proposed in a bill that would restrict sports participation for transgender students. That is something the state's high school athletic association now does by policy but that Republican leaders insist needs to be in law and also apply to colleges and universities. A Georgia house committee rewrote the bill at the last minute on Wednesday to leave the word 'gender' in the state's hate crimes law after Democrats warned removing the word could end extra penalties for crimes motivated by bias against transgender people. Iowa's bill would remove gender identity as a protected class and explicitly define female and male, as well as gender, which would be considered a synonym for sex and 'shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role'. Supporters of the change say the current code incorrectly codified the idea that people can transition to another gender and granted transgender women access to spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that should be protected for people who were assigned female at birth. Iowa Republicans say their changes are intended to reinforce the state's ban on sports participation and public bathroom access for transgender students. If approved, the bill would go to the Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, who signed those policies into law. A spokesperson for Reynolds declined to comment on whether she would sign the bill. V Fixmer-Oraiz, a county supervisor in eastern Johnson county, was the first to testify against the bill. A trans Iowan, they said they had faced their 'fair share of discrimination' already and worried that the bill would expose trans Iowans to even more. 'Is it not the role of government to affirm rather than to deny law-abiding citizens their inalienable rights?' Fixmer-Oraiz said. 'The people of Iowa deserve better.' Among those speaking in support of the bill was Shellie Flockhart of Dallas Center, who said she was in favor as a woman and a mother, a 'defender of women's rights' and someone 'who believes in the truth of God's creation'. 'Identity does not change biology,' Flockhart said. About half of US states include gender identity in their civil rights code to protect against discrimination in housing and public places, such as stores or restaurants, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights thinktank. Some additional states do not explicitly protect against such discrimination but it is included in legal interpretations of statutes. Iowa's supreme court has expressly rejected the argument that discrimination based on sex includes discrimination based on gender identity. Several Republican-led legislatures are also pushing to enact more laws this year creating legal definitions of male and female based on the reproductive organs at birth following an executive order from Donald Trump. Trump also signed orders laying the groundwork for banning transgender people from military service and keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and women's sports competitions, among other things. Most of the policies are being challenged in court.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia House keeps hate crimes protection as it seeks to restrict transgender sports participation
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's state House has backed away from changes to the state's hate crimes law that could have removed protections for crimes against transgender people, even as it moves forward with efforts to put into law restrictions against sports participation for transgender students. Representatives voted 102-54 for House Bill 267 on Thursday, but only after House leaders on Wednesday stripped out part of the bill that would have changed the hate crimes law that passed in 2020 after the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Three Democrats voted for the bill — Lynn Heffner of Augusta, Tangie Herring of Macon and Dexter Sharper of Valdosta — while a number of other Democrats sat out the vote. The measure moves to the Senate, which has passed its own separate legislation. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Georgia's high school athletic association right now bans transgender students from girls' sports participation by policy, but Republican leaders insist the ban needs to be enshrined in law and applied to colleges and universities as well. Laws restricting sports participation for transgender students have passed in 25 other states. Republican leaders in both the House and Senate have made outlawing transgender girls from girls sports a priority this year as President Donald Trump pursues restrictions at the federal level. 'Female athletes deserve fair competition and that means the chance to maintain the women's divisions distinct from men's categories," said Republican Rep. Josh Bonner of Fayetteville, the bill's sponsor. The House bill, heavily influenced by a Christian conservative group called Frontline Policy, replaces most references to 'gender' in state law with the word 'sex.' Democratic Rep. Karla Drenner of Avondale Estates called the bill a 'calculated, dangerous, deeply discriminatory piece of legislation that goes far beyond the realm of athletics.' 'Let's call this the erasure of transgender Georgians act today," said Drenner, who was the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the legislature when she was elected in 2000. It would have originally removed gender from the hate crimes law, which protects against crimes motivated by bias against someone's sex or gender. Democrats warned that could make it hard to prosecute hate crimes against transgender people, with House Democratic Caucus Leader Tanya Miller saying it could result in 'open season' on transgender Georgians. Bonner said Wednesday that he was making the changes out of an 'overabundance of caution and concern' after a lawyer for the General Assembly said the change 'would not likely be deemed meaningless by a reviewing court.' 'Nothing changes in that regard from the original bill that passed several years ago,' Bonner said Wednesday. Georgia's hate crimes law passed in dramatic fashion months after Ahmaud Arbery was killed by two white men while jogging near Brunswick. The state had gone without a hate crimes law for years after a court struck down a previous version.
