Source: Tyler Packer / EyeEm / Getty
Big Facts
Texas police are now changing their story regarding why 15-year-old Jordan Edwards was fatally shot by an officer while riding in a moving vehicle in Dallas over the weekend. According to New York Daily News, Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber reportedly stated that “the vehicle was ‘moving forward as the officers approached,’ not in reverse at police ‘in an aggressive manner,’” as the department originally claimed. Edwards was shot in the head by a police officer while riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle upon leaving a house party on Saturday. Edwards is the youngest to be shot by a police officer and killed in 2017, reports The Washington Post. The officer responsible for the shooting has not yet been named.
Big Lies
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, for whatever reason, is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at Bethune-Cookman University’s commencement ceremony in May. “Much like Dr. Bethune, Founder of Bethune-Cookman University, Secretary DeVos deems the importance of opportunity and hope for students to receive an exceptional education experience,” the university states on their website. “Her mission to empower parents and students resonates with the history and legacy of Dr. Bethune.”
You may recall the backlash DeVos received in February following her tone-deaf remarks regarding civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune—during which she referred to HBCUs as “a challenge to the status quo,” but failed to acknowledge their deeper historical context as a response to the Jim Crow laws that prohibited Black students from attending white institutions.
On that note, we’re just gonna leave all this here:
Big News
American University’s public safety team is investigating after bananas marked with “AKA”—the abbreviation for the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha—were found hanging in the shapes of nooses throughout campus. According to NBC Washington, photos of the atrocity began circulating social media on Monday morning.
American University President Neil Kerwin issued a statement on Monday afternoon, calling the incident a “crude and racially insensitive act of bigotry.” “Know that American University remains committed to principles of diversity, inclusion, common courtesy, and human dignity, and acts of bigotry only strengthen our resolve,” he said. “Anyone who does not feel similarly does not belong here.” A meeting is scheduled to take place at 12 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss the incident.
For more content like this, be sure to follow CASSIUSLife.com.
