breonna taylor by amy sherald https://t.co/krqwZ35IAG
—
Antwaun Sargent (@Sirsargent) August 24, 2020****
For more than 20 years, Amy Sherald has been putting the narratives of Black families and Black people to canvas. In 2016, she became the first woman and first African American to win the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, which led to her painting Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery in 2018. That oil-on-linen portrait was her first commissioned work—until Breonna Taylor. Taylor is an “American girl, she is a sister, a daughter, and a hard worker. Those are the kinds of people that I am drawn towards,” says Sherald, who is immunosuppressed and has been unable to participate in protests. She calls this portrait a contribution to the “moment and to activism—producing this image keeps Breonna alive forever.”
****
Sherald’s process typically begins with taking a picture of her subject. Painting Taylor, a person she had never met, who would never be able to sit for her, presented a unique challenge. Sherald took extraordinary care in reimagining Taylor, inflecting her portrait with symbols of the 26-year-old’s life. Sherald found a young woman with similar physical attributes, studied Taylor’s hairstyles and fashion choices, and drew inspiration from things she learned about the young woman—that she had been a frontline worker in the battle against COVID-19; that her boyfriend had been about to propose marriage; that she was self-possessed, brave, loving, loved.
More here
****
Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, Holding the Engagement Ring He Was About to Propose With to Bre, Louisv… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) August 24, 2020****
The Obama Diary 
BEAUTFIL tribute. Thank you, Nerdy. Thank you.
TOMORROW
Yes, Meta! So important to keep Breonna Taylor’s name front and center to demand justice. Glad the amazingly talented Amy Sherald has honored her in this way.Nerdy is the best curator of powerful images and messages I know.
Concur, 100 percent!
Good morning, TODville! Nerdy, thank you!
Yes. Let’s not forget this!!!
COMING UP…
Coming up within the next hour! MSNBC is covering.
The Real President speaks!!
YES WE CAN
Trump will having another very, very bad day.
We’ll see the orange blob all over twitter all week. Not that I’ll be reading any of ’em.
As Tip O’Neill once joked, “Vote early, and vote often.”
“Right-wing defends teenage Trump fan who killed 2 protesters”
“Michael German, former FBI agent and fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program on Trump’s rhetoric: “It energizes these fascist groups and encourages them to act in a way that risks life and limb, unfortunately. And it’s a problem that I think is going to continue.”
The murder of Anthony Huber who tried to chased down and tried stop the 17 year old domestic killer in Kenosha, is being celebrated by “huge swaths” of pro-Trump media.
“This administration has given breath to this movement.”
Michael German to Hayes:
“So much intelligence about these far-right militants that we knew back to the 1990s has apparently been lost. We knew that when far right groups went to have rallies in areas, they would target places they knew there was political opposition, to draw that opposition out so they could attack them. And law enforcement was very good then, about ensuring they didn’t have that opportunity. And to see since 2016 that law enforcement stands back and allows this kind of violence to occur. It allows them to recruit and organize and work on their tactics in a way that ultimately will harm law enforcement directly. I mean one of the important things to recognize about is since the protests following the George Floyd murder have occurred, two law enforcement officers have been killed by far-right militants. And that they don’t recognize this is a threat to them directly, is a complete failure of law enforcement intelligence.”
Hayes recalls how Pence tried to make it look as if BLM was responsible for one of the police officer deaths.
Hayes: “Some of the most notable acts of genuine violence, worst kinds of violence and mayhem, have been carried out by accelerationists, interlopers, or essentially self-declared fascists on the streets amidst these protests.”
German:
“Even the FBI recognizes that far right militants and white supremacists are the most lethal domestic terrorism threat, and they kill far more people than any other kind of violent terrorist movement.
So the fact that we have law enforcement still affiliating with these groups and not recognizing the dangers they pose, not just to themselves but to the communities they are supposed to serve and protect, is a significant problem that we need a national strategy to address.”
When will everyone stop expecting any decency from PP? Seriously.
Rod Rosenstein stopped a full investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia:
“Mueller wanted to do a full investigation.
The FBI wanted to do a full investigation,
but they were stopped by Trump’s DOJ political appointees.”
“The special counsel who finished the investigation, Robert S. Mueller III,
secured three dozen indictments and convictions of some top Trump advisers, and he produced a report that outlined Russia’s wide-ranging operations to help get Mr. Trump elected and the president’s efforts to impede the inquiry. But law enforcement officials never fully investigated Mr. Trump’s own relationship with Russia,
even though some career F.B.I. counterintelligence investigators thought his ties posed such a national security threat that they took the extraordinary step of opening an inquiry into them. Within days, the former deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein curtailed the investigation without telling the bureau, all but ensuring it would go nowhere.”
(https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-russia-justice-department.html)
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!
Statement by ACLU calling for immediate resignation of Kenosha Police Chief
and Kenosha County Sheriff for failed response to attempted murder of Jacob Blake:
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-calls-immediate-resignation-kenosha-police-chief-and-kenosha-county-sheriff
William Sulton, President of the Board of Directors for Wisconsin’s American Civil Liberties Union speaking to Rachel Maddow:
Maddow: “I wonder if I could just starting by asking you if you think there are things that the national media is getting wrong. If this ongoing situation in Kenosha, the reaction to Mr. Blake’s shooting, the protests since then, this apparent vigilante double murder that happened at one of the protests: Are there things that we’re getting wrong from a national perspective that you can see better from close up and say?”
Sulton:
“Well you know Rachel my grandfather was from Kenosha. I never thought that the entire world would know where Kenosha Wisconsin is. And unfortunately, what we’re seeing happen in Kenosha is endemic to what’s happening in Wisconsin and the media has (…).”
“Coddled.”
Maddow: “I know the Wisconsin ACLU has called for the Police Chief’s immediate resignation in Kenosha. There’s been a lot of outrage, observation and discussion about whether or not Kenosha police have in fact condoned and encouraged the kind of vigilantism that ultimately appears to have led to the killing of two protestors and the serious injury to another this week.”
Sulton:
“That is correct Rachel. The ACLU of Wisconsin is calling for the resignation of the Police Chief as well as the Sheriff, both of whom have responded very poorly to what has occurred. And it is clear from the evidence that we have thus far, that they have CODDLED the vigilantes that were responsible for the killing of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, and serious injury to another person. And we think it’s critical that Governor Evers remove the Sheriff and that the police commission in Kenosha remove the Chief of Police.”
Maddow: “In terms of ongoing protests, does the ACLU and do you and other observers in the area,
have concerns about the way that the ongoing protests have been policed? Especially in the wake of those shootings.”
Sulton:
“Yes Rachel. It is just unbelievable that peaceful protestors who are protesting against police violence are being met with police violence. On Monday we saw protestors shot with rubber bullets, one seriously injured and taken to the hospital. We’re seeing protestors being tear-gassed. We’re seeing protestors hit with impact munitions. This type of affront to the First Amendment right of these protestors is horrible and it must stop.”
I hope VPB challenges PP to ride a bicycle or even walk down a ramp. Or drink a glass of water.
There was a voter- interviewed on CNN, undecided in 2016 – voted for PP, now has concerns about VPB’s mental acuity. Brianna Keilor asked why the voter is not questioning PP’s acuity and the response was that there has been no change in PP. I say bullcrap. She is not ‘undecided … is clearly PP supporter.
They (whoever they are) need ads after ads showing PP’s talking with mispronounced and slurring words and wobbly-ness next to VPB.
Just my opinion.
Get ready!! We need to do this!!!
Share this:) EVERYWHERE!!
Let’s hope there are people within FBI doing the right thing for the country….Maybe most of them
Joy Reid:
“Last night Donald Trump used the White House, The People’s House at 1600 Black Lives Matter Plaza as a political prop…now Trump’s political use of office is part of the show. As the former director of the Nixon Presidential Library,Timothy Naftali, told “TIme”: “Trump does what Nixon did, but openly and more.”
John Dean, former Nixon White House Counsel,
and author of the new book “Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers” speaks to Joy Reid:
Reid: “And I am very eager to get your reflections on what you saw over the last four days,
and particularly the use of the White House last night by Donald Trump.”
Dean”
“Joy, it was awful.
What I witnessed last night really was a travesty to a great historical site. What he’d done is really just trash the White House politically. So I was very distressed. I tweeted about it. It was clearly a violation of the Hatch Act. Not for the president who isn’t covered by that law. But by everybody on his Administration who helped put that thing together, who works on the federal part of the Executive Branch. They are all Hatch Act violators.”
Reid: “Well you know Ivanka Trump who works for the White House went ahead and festooned herself in front of the White House. There were all those cabinet members that were sitting in front. I mean everyone violated the Hatch Act last night. And there is a Daily Beast story that says the aides, they laugh about the Hatch Act. They think it’s hilarious that the rest of us get so exercised about it. What do you make of their complete – they just dismiss laws as a joke that they don’t have to go along with.”
Dean:
“Well, they’ve gotten away with it Joy.
And that’s one of the reasons they don’t have any respect for it.
The Republicans in the Senate are letting them have all the leash they want, do whatever they want. The Attorney General himself is not about to bring anybody up short on anything. So this is a sort of an unrestricted presidency. That’s part of my trouble with it. That’s part of the reasons I’ve started writing about it because it’s deeply, deeply troubling what could happen if this man gets re-elected.”
Reid: “Tell me a little bit about your book “Conservatives Without Conscience”.Tell me about what you writing about now and what you fear when it comes to the Trumps.”
Dean:
“Joy, “Conservatives Without Conscience” was the first time I looked at how authoritarians had moved into the ranks of the Republican Party. Initially just the leadership. Now it’s the rank and file. And when I noticed during the primary that nobody was paying attention really to Trump’s authoritarianism, and particularly that of his followers. You can’t be really a very effective authoritarian or a demagogue if you don’t have a lot of followers. Well he’s got a lot of followers. And they are being ignored. Who they are. Why they are the way they are. Why they tolerate his norm-busting undemocratic behavior. So that is what this book is about. It just addresses it head on because you can’t defeat them if you don’t understand them. And the short story of that is they’re not easy to defeat.”
Reid:
“That image of the White House with all those people all crammed together, no masks on, crowded in largely untested for coronavirus….
(Jim Acosta: ““A senior White House official brushed off these concerns about the lack of social distancing at the President’s speech tonight…this quote might blow you away, “Everybody is going to catch this thing eventually.””)
It sounds as though they’re willing to catch it because they think that they’’ll herd immunity.
Do you get the sense that this is in a sense a Doomsday Cult where the people who follow Trump are like, they’re OK with catching it? They want to catch Coronavirus.”
Dean
“Joy there are some EndTimes-er people.
EndTimes people in his ranks who think this IS the apocalypse, and it could well be the end.
So they can do anything they want and feel they’re doing pretty well by it. I don’t share that. Most people don’t share that. And what they’re doing in creating a super spreader event like this is really insanity. It shows a total lack of responsibility. Hopefully, voters will come out in droves. And appreciate this isn’t the way our country should operate. This isn’t the kind of leadership they want. And they are going to something about it. Send a message.”
Good Afternoon, TODbots🌹🙏💪🤲💪🙏🙌🙌
Thank You, NW🤗😍🤗🌹🌹🙌💪🙌
James Blake Senior: “I want the officers fired Joy. I want the officers fired.
He committed attempted murder on my son.
He attempted to murder my son….
shot my son seven times in the back
while he was pulling on his shirt
to keep him close for the shots.”
JACOB BLAKE SENIOR
(transription of their interview is further down on thread)
Yes. All of this.
Jacob Blake Senior speaks about his son to Joy Reid:
Reid: “How are his spirits and what is his prognosis for recovery?”
Jacob Blake Sr:
“They haven’t even given a solid prognosis at this particular time Joy. He is heavily sedated, so he’s in an out of consciousness. And you know he’s hanging on Joy. He’s hanging on so tough that they can’t write him off.”
Reid:
“You know you talked about a white system and a black system in your powerful speech today,
and let’s talk about that white system versus the black system. We know that the teenager, the vigilante who shot two people, killed two people, was treated with kid gloves. I think anyone would agree (Blake Senior interjects, “Bottle of water and a high five”) he walked around and was able to walk freely.
We understand that at a certain point your son who is the victim of a shooting, shot in the back seven times. Was he HANDCUFFED TO THE BED that he was in, in the hospital?”
Jacob Blake Sr:
“Probably one of the most irritating things of my first visit with my son was that I was checking out the area, and when I looked at his feet (they had him in a flat bed because they said it is better for his circulation), he was paralyzed from the waist down with no feeling in his legs. But this cold steel was laying on my son’s right foot. He was shackled to the bed and that irritated me. I think more than anything of that day would make me smile was my son acknowledging me, and weeping with me, we wept together.”
Reid:
“Did anyone explain to you why a paralyzed man – who is the victim here – was shackled to the bed?
Jacob Blake Sr:
“Well there was no need for explanation because I knew they were going to be-smudge my son.
And this was part of their plan. You know once they didn’t succeed killing him, ‘well now we’ve got to
be-smudge him’. So they came up with some old warrants that were misdemeanor warrants. That gave them the right to have custody of his body as long as they wanted.”
Reid: “First of all he is paralyzed, so shackling him makes no sense, he’s not going anywhere.”
Jacob Blake Sr:
“Well it made no sense Joy for the seven shots in back. That made no sense.
None of this makes sense to me!”
Reid: “I’m sure! Is he charged with a crime?”
Jacob Blake Sr:
“He was charged with misdemeanor…but they wouldn’t give him a bond at first. They would not give him a bond. So we couldn’t pay. It was going to $250 to $500. But they wouldn’t let us pay it because they wouldn’t set a charge.”
Reid:
“So what do you want to see happen with regard to these officers?
Jacob Blake Sr:
“I want the officers fired Joy! I want the officers fired. Because he committed attempted murder on my son. He attempted to murder my son. If he’d shot two shots, or one shot, you could’ve said well ok maybe he made a mistake. But to shoot my son seven times in the back, while he was pulling his shirt to him close for the shots.
We all saw him. Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes.”
Could get slimey
HEAR IT.
Mr. Jacob Blake,
after de-escalating a conflict,
gets back into his vehicle
with his 3 children.
Whereupon,
a police officer pulls Jacob as close as possible to himself by pulling on his shirt,
and then shoots him seven (7) times
in the back.
Later in the Hospital:
Jacob
Is in and out of consciousness,
paralyzed from the waist down,
his right foot
shackled to the hospital bed.
WHAT A FUCKING OUTRAGE.
WE WANT JUSTICE
AND END TO THE COVER-UPS AND EXCUSES FOR OFFICERS
RESTITUTION
APOLOGIES
A KIND RE-IMAGINED PEACE KEEPING AGENCY
AN END
TO THIS POLICE SYSTEM
THE MURDEROUS WHITE JUSTICE SYSTEM GONE…GONE..WAY…GONE.
I am sorry Jacob, Breonna, George, Ahmaud, and all who should be here with us now.
Least surprising thing I’ve read all day.
This should be a scandal but I’m not hearing about it at all except here.
Exactly
Thread 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
Heckled by a Nasty Trumper…Joe Biden said to him…Don’t Jump!😂😭🤣🎤💥💯‼
If Truly genuine, then RollTide.
Nice!
Awww! RBG, hang tight, our most esteemed human. My heart & soul is w/ you. 💞
Joy Reid (Reid Out) is on fire tonight! 😎
I was going to say the same Gazelle.
Joy was FANTASTIC.
She was …. can’t find the right imoji! She laid it down! 😎 Yup, sunglasses are optional! 😂
I could name many more!
Yeah. He’s on RM now… he’s know this for YEARS and kept his mouth shut to sell a book.
Congrats to our Joe!!
Would just like to thank VP Biden for his stunningly brilliant and pointed speech today!!
Also would like to think he’ll be dropping in around the country hither and thither, however that is done.
—By Hell is he good!!!
Vote accordingly
Good thread, from a good guy.
Goodnight TOD.
News from around our globe.
CNN: ‘Hotel Rwanda’ film hero Paul Rusesabagina arrested.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/africa/rwanda-genocide-paul-rusesabagina-arrest/index.html
More from around our globe:
The Guardian: Berlin minister ‘deeply regretful’ over far-right Reichstag standoff.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/31/berlin-minister-regretful-reichstag-covid-standoff-far-right-covid
Judge calls out “Poppycock”👀
The Associated Press: Judge blocks asylum screening by border protection agents.
https://apnews.com/029f23c6178ee5546c9c746acb9663dc
RIP Coach Thompson, rest in power:
ESPN: Legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. dies at age 78.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/29777594/legendary-georgetown-coach-john-thompson-jr-dies-age-78
https://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/statements/2020/joint-statement-towards-a-consensus-on-safe-schooling-in-the-who-european-region-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
NOW: Dr. Jill Biden attends back-to-school event in Wilmington, Delaware – https://abcnews.go.com/live/video/special-live-07
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Good for Shannon!!!
Morning everyone. A snapshot in time, but hope this stays like this..or gets better
The corruption is stunning
New post.
https://obamadiary.wordpress.com/2020/09/01/black-people-are-tired-of-hearing-im-sorry/