Her firing took place after Mick Dadlani, owner of the sports bar, brushed off Ms. Hardin upon meeting her. Within an hour of their first encounter, Ms. Hardin discovered she was fired. As it turned out later, it was discovered that Dadlani expressed a desire to hire ‘white blonde chicks or girls’, as it was stated by Megan Cacace, the lead attorney for Hardin’s racial discrimination lawsuit.

Mick Dadlani’s suspected white supremacist views didn’t just stop at his encounter with Briggitta Hardin. Cacace also goes on to reveal that back in 2011, Dadlani closed Redline earlier on one particular night because a few Black men showed up at the establishment wearing baggy clothing and allegedly displayed a “ganglike” appearance. The next day, Dadlani was spotted singling out Black customers at the door, and turning them away.

As a result of her pain and suffering, Ms. Hardin has been awarded $175,000 in compensatory damages and $510,000 in punitive damages, plus an additional $2,000 in punitive damages.

Here is a link to the story.

B. Clark

The aforementioned examples of Black Excellence had to be displayed in order to reiterate that a counterproductive spirit is nowhere to be found in the DNA of African/Melanoid people. The semblances of “laziness” and lack of motivation which has infiltrated Black Society in recent generations has been attributed to external factors–namely the system of racism/white supremacy. When a person’s ability to provide for themselves and their families is stripped away from them systematically, you can be sure to witness a person who’s in danger of falling prey to a broken spirit, which gives way to the previously mentioned “laziness”.

Because we have often acknowledged this to be a problem in Black Society, many of us feel a sense of obligation to the dominant society to prove that we’re not “failures” by overcompensating in all areas of human activity. At the workplace for example, we may want to prove that we are just as worthy as our non-Black colleagues by putting in more hours and labor than anyone else at our jobs. We also might go out of our way to be the most polite in our social circle(s) of non-Blacks, just to show that “we come in peace”, and that we mean no harm.

Maybe the best term to capture such an overambitious spirit in Melanoid people would be none other than “John Henryism”, which was a term coined by a Black educator named Sherman James. In a nutshell, “John Henryism” describes Black people’s tendency to overwork ourselves in order to “fit in”, only to remain in a second-class state in comparison to the members of the dominant society. “John Henryism” is such a debilitating approach to navigating through society that it spawns various physical ailments such as hypertension and high blood pressure.

As you may or may not know, the coined phrase “John Henryism” is an ode to the American folk hero by the name of John Henry, a Black man whose relentless work ethic led to his eventual demise at the hands of a steam powered machine, which is a great analogy for our situation in a white supremacist society.

Check out the video below to hear Gus T. Renegade’s profound take on the dangers of “John Henryism”.

The condition recognized in academia as “John Henryism” is such a serious phenomenon that it is killing us–literally. While much honor lies in our strong work ethic, perhaps a more healthy alternative to falling prey to “John Henryism” would be to re-direct the same energy/work ethics into creating our own alternatives (i.e., economic base, neighborhoods, education) to a society which has been designed to exclude us in the first place.

B. Clark

Black workers of a Sara Lee plant in Paris, Texas–which closed in 2011–suffered atrocious mistreatment at the hands of white supremacist supervisors and staff. The workplace conditions that the Melanoid employees suffered were so vile and disrespectful, it was stated in the settlement (filed by 74 former Black employees at the factory) that the workers were subjected to “environmental racism”.

The Hillshire Brands Company, (formerly known as the Sara Lee Corporation), is slated to pay $4 million to the former Black employees who were mistreated. Reports reveal that the factory’s premises were covered in grafitti, with white extremist phrases and words such as “we hate these niggers”, “KKK”, and apes hanging from nooses–littered throughout the facility.

Not only was the blatant racism seen throughout the factory, it was also heard on numerous occasions, with the former Black employees recalling accounts of them being verbally assaulted by supervisors and co-workers with a barrage of racial epithets. The grievances of the Black workers were ignored by management.

The Black workers of the now-defunct Paris, TX plant were under the thumb of white supremacy at their job so much that it physically affected their health. CBS Chicago reported that the Blacks at this job were forced to do jobs in areas which were infested with black mold, asbestos, and other deadly substances. As a result of being railroaded into working in such deadly conditions, several of the employees developed cancer in the process.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) opened a two year investigation which concluded that the Melanoid people who were the victims of discrimination at this factory were entitled to the payout.

Follow this link to watch a video clip of a statement given by Suzanne Anderson, Attorney for the Dallas Chapter of the EEOC in regards to the settlement that is owed to the former Black employees of the Sara Lee plant in Paris, Texas.

B. Clark

The woman, named Alexis Cain, was sentenced to two years in prison after leaving her puppy in the car on a hot July afternoon. Although the puppy succumbed to the summer heat while sitting in the car, the owner of the dog (Cain) had no intent to inflict harm upon the animal.

The 24-year-Cain, who worked in a supervisory role at her job, displayed the ability to be a responsible young adult, despite what state prosecutor, Eric Christiansen says. ““I think it’s fair,” he says. “She left the dog in there for two hours. She killed the dog, basically. Just let it cook to death.”

The two year prison sentence is excessive due to the nature of the crime, yet Christiansen states that it was done to make an example out of people who may do what Ms. Cain did back in July. Alexis Cain is eligible for a program that would enable her to do her time outside of prison with stipulations of good behavior.

Regardless of the fact that she is granted such an opportunity, this is yet another example of the lives of animals being valued over the lives of Black humans. In the process, another Black life (Cain’s) has been made more difficult for trivial purposes.

For more on this story, follow this link.

B. Clark

According to various sources, Santiago (who is white) allegedly felt emboldened to partake in an over-the-top demonstration of his authority as a law enforcement official when he was reported to have had two friends riding along with him in his squad car, which he wasn’t supposed to do. Another glaring violation committed by Santiago reported by various sources was that he engaged in extremely tasteless and threatening commentary towards Cunningham. According to Raw Story, Cunningham and his cousin Kennieth Smith were innocently minding their business when Santiago aggressively approached them with the following statements:

“Y’all gonna learn about officer Santiago today. I just got back from Iraq. I’m not scared of you all (Blacks).” Cunningham made a testimony in court that Santiago also said, “You need to watch your attitude because us P.G. cops, we shoot people.”

Here is a video snippet of Jenchesky Santiago’s unprofessional and unruly behavior.

The video above was obtained from a cell phone video recording which has been under wraps in the possession of the PG County officials until it eventually went viral. PG County Police Chief Mark Magaw is “recommending termination”. Magaw released the following statement in regards to the suspension of Jenchesky Santiago.

“The actions Officer Santiago chose to take that day are his alone. His behavior is flagrant, appalling and isolated,” Magaw said at a press conference. “His actions are among the worst I’ve seen as Chief of Police and that will be taken into account when I make a decision about his employment.”

Chief Magaw on suspended Officer Santiago: "I am recommending termination." pic.twitter.com/vcgEjIuKzw

— PGPDNEWS (@PGPDNews) December 2, 2015

Santiago is currently suspended without pay and will be sentenced on January 8th, 2016.William Cunningham and his wife Shaketta are seeking $12 million dollars in damages via a separate lawsuit they filed, due to William’s civil rights violations being violated by the race soldier.

B. Clark

Although the concept of the “Not One Dime” movement appears to be both a noble and revolutionary act in itself, we’d be remiss to acknowledge that boycotting non-Black businesses alone doesn’t necessarily equate to Black Empowerment at its full potential. As a matter of fact, many concerned Melanoid citizens have made it their responsibility to not only refuse the patronizing of non-Black establishments during this time period, but they’ve also made a conscious decision to “Buy Black” at a higher rate during this same time period–more so than they usually would at any other time.

While the “Buy Black” concept has been in discussions for many years, perhaps it is because of Internet’s far-reaching power that it has become a more commonplace activity. Last year, we featured a story which profiled several ways to locate Black-Owned businesses throughout the country, and this year we will be taking a slightly different approach to giving your Black-Owned business the shine that it deserves. If you are a Black business owner, please list your business info (and link to the business’s site) in the comments section of this story.

Let’s not limit buying Black to a short weekend alone. Remember to buy Black, and sell to the world as much as possible. Much success to the hardworking and entrepreneurial minded Melanoid people who exude top-flight professionalism and have provided goods and/or services of excellent quality.

B. Clark

According to the Philadelphia Magazine, more than 5,000 text messages were exchanged, prompting the facility to fire the 9 white officers. Here are a few examples of the blatantly racist text messages exchanged among the guards:

• “To me a really good high is stomping the shit out of a nigger for no reason.”

• “No matter how they look at things, no matter how dressed up they get.. When they wake up tomorrow morning they’re still just NIGGERS.”

• When referencing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in the series of text exchanges, one of the messages read “Don’t forget his wife is a colored.”

The texts were written and exchanged on phones that were smuggled into the facility. According to the David Owens, the warden of the Camden County jail, the officers involved in the slew of racist texts represents a “small minority of rogue officers”, and says that in no way do the text message exchanges representing the hard work done on a daily basis by the hundreds of employees of the jail.”

The race soldier prison guards have been placed under investigation since late last year, when a shakedown of the staff occurred in November of 2014. More can be found on this story by following this link.

B. Clark

The establishment–named Reggie’s—is an after hours hangout for many of the university’s students, and has apparently served as such for the past 15 years. However, one young Black female student stepped forth and shed light on Reggie’s questionable practices regarding how it checks in its patrons. Taylor Ward is the Melanoid student previously mentioned who took to Twitter to express her frustration with her visit to Reggie’s, went on to describe the following:

This image is a screenshot of Ward’s Tweet, which was later deleted. As the picture depicts above, the stamp on her hand bears an eerie resemblance to the word “nigger”, even though letters are positioned upside down to illustrate the covert racist message the bar attempted to convey.

This isn’t the only clue that this place of business is owned and/or operated by suspected white supremacists. Last month, the LSU Reville ran a feature which went in-depth by questioning the suspect culture of the business. The story featured its discriminatory practices toward Melanoid people, to its tasteless choice of decorations in the form of a large confederate flag which hangs freely behind the counter of the bar.

Picture of the confederate flag which hangs in the bar area of Reggie’s.

The manager of Reggie’s, who as expected, has defended the venue’s use of the “Reggie/Nigger” stamps, has stated that the stamps have been used once a week for the past decade, and that there is no racial messages connected to the stamp. On another note, the term “Reggin”–the same word that is stamped on the Black hands of Taylor Ward and countless other Blacks who frequent the establishment–is derived with the intention of being the opposite of a “nigger/Black person”. It refers to white people who “act Black”, or choose to “slum” with Black people.

Watch the video on the story below.

B. Clark

Christopher Smith is a Melanoid man in his late ’30s–who, like certain members of society in general, is an individual with special needs. His racial identity, combined with his personal challenges, have made him a victim in the hands of malicious white supremacists who abused him for years.

Mr. Smith worked for J&J Cafeteria for 23 years. The Conway restaurant is owned by a white man named Ernest J. Edwards. His brother, Bobby Paul, is the manager of the eatery. The siblings are under investigation for a series of reports which show Bobby Paul physically abusing Mr. Smith going back to 2010. According to reports, Smith was beaten with a belt, slapped, punched and choked. Charleston (S.C.)’s The Post and Courier is also reporting that Smith’s attorneys state that he was “hit with a frying pan, burned with grease-covered tongs, and beaten with butcher knives, belt buckles and fists “while being called the N-word repeatedly,” the attorneys said. The assaults took place in places like a walk-in freezer as he screamed for his life”

The same news source shows that Smith was forced to work 18-hour shifts from Monday-Saturday, and for 11-hour shifts on Sundays. He wasn’t allowed breaks, and the attorneys have calculated that Smith was paid less than $3,000 annually.

Smith stated that he worked at the restaurant since he was 12 years old, doing everything from washing dishes to cooking. Bobby Paul, the man charged with the abuse of Christopher Smith, is free on a $10,000 surety bond with the stipulations involving that he stay clear of his victim (Smith), and that he asks for permission before leaving the state of South Carolina for any reason.

Although many have attempted to refute the notion that slavery has been eradicated from the United States, it should be noted that some workplaces here in the States have served as smoke screens for imposing draconian practices on its employees. Perhaps we should look no further than J&J Cafeteria in Conway, South Carolina, which has apparently been operating like a plantation for years.

B. Clark

After the white extremist group  saw their requests to adopt-a-mile close to the North Carolina border rejected by the Georgia Department of Transportation, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) came to the aid of the Klan by challenging the rejection.

Maya Dillard Smith, Executive Director of Georgia’s ACLU branch, released the following statement:

Accessing the Georgia courts to defend ones constitutional rights is fundamental to protect those very rights. But the state of Georgia believes Georgians only have the right to exercise defense of their most fundamental rights, only if the state says so. It’s that kind of unchecked power that erodes individual liberty guaranteed to each Georgian by the U.S. and Georgia state Constitution.

Although the Klan technically does have the right to “adopt-a-mile”, perhaps the most interesting issue about this story is the ACLU’s willingness to assist the hate group in having their requests granted by the state. The mile that the KKK looks to adopt is located on Route 515 near the border of North Carolina.

If this appeal is granted to the Klan, this would send a vivid and threatening statement to Melanoid people who are living, working, and/or traveling around or through this stretch of highway.

Here is a video showing the Klan’s appeal to adopt a mile in North Georgia, which has being in the works for the past three years.

Here is a link to the story.

B. Clark