Black Churches Confront Target; Connolly Funeral; Ida Wells May 27, 1892; Richmond Water Advisory

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‘We’re Not Going Back’ Black Churches Confront Target

“To see mega-companies now walk away from diversity, equity, and inclusion is a stark contrast from where we were five years ago.”

On the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Rev. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant led a national prayer protest targeting Target’s rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Dozens of churches joined in what Bryant called a “spiritual act of uprising,” staging nine-minute and 40-second demonstrations outside Target stores in honor of the time Floyd was pinned to the ground by police.

“Five years ago, the CEO of Target said George Floyd could have been one of his employees and, with no pressure, made a pledge of $2 billion,” Bryant said during the protest in Conyers, Georgia. “To see mega-companies now walk away from diversity, equity, and inclusion is a stark contrast from where we were five years ago.”

Laretta Wright, a protester at the demonstration, urged accountability. “If you’ve made a promise or a commitment to the people, that’s all we ask—that you follow through,” Wright demanded. “Don’t fall back and tell us to go back because we ain’t going back. We’re going forward.” Read entire Black Press USA

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Ida Wells: On This Day in 1892

On May 27, 1892, a white mob in Memphis, Tennessee, destroyed the office of Ida B. Wells's newspaper, The Free Speech, and threatened her with harm if she returned to the city. No known copies of the paper exist today.

Wells, a Black investigative journalist, had been documenting lynching in the South in her newspaper. This act of violence forced her to relocate to New York City and continue her fight against racial injustice. She used her writing and speaking tours to raise awareness about the horrors of lynching and advocate for federal intervention.

Many of the underlying dynamics of lynching persist today in the form of assumed guilt without proper investigation—a pattern evident in the cases taken up by the Innocence Project.

Connolly Funeral Takes Place at Heritage Fellowship Church

To the music of Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and the in-person singing of local soloist Kim Gordon, the funeral of Gerry Connolly took place at Heritage Fellowship Church in Reston, Virginia.

Virginia Reps. Bobby Scott, Don Beyer, Jennifer McClellan, Eugene Vindman, Suhas Subramanyam and Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Greg Meeks (D-NY), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA).

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, First Baptist Vienna Pastor Dr. Vernon C. Walton, Chair for Prince William Board of County Supervisors Deshundra Jefferson, Dumfries Mayor Derrick Wood, candidate for Lt. Governor Aaron Rouse, candidate for Congress and Senator Stella Pekarsky, Prince William County Supervisor Victor Angry; candidate for Governor and former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, Delegates Candi King and her husband Josh King and Senator Jennifer Boysko. Delegates Irene Shin, Rozia Henson, Michelle Maldonado and Alfonso Lopez were also in attendance.

Richmond: Another Water Advisory Issued After January Crisis

Less than six months after a devastating water crisis left Richmond residents scrambling for safe drinking water, city officials have issued a new boil water advisory— this time impacting a broad stretch of neighborhoods across the city.

“People can use the water. They just need to boil it before they drink it,” said Mayor Danny Avula during a zoom press conference today. The city will not institute a plan to give away bottled water… yet.

The advisory, issued late Tuesday morning in coordination with the Virginia Department of Health, applies to areas served by the Ginter Park Tank. Affected neighborhoods include Byrd Park, Brookland Park, Carver, Carytown, Chamberlayne, the Fan and Jackson Ward.

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