Isaiah Brazzell greets honking cars and people waving signs as the graduation parade travels through the 54th District in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 13.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
All around the country, the coronavirus pandemic has forced communities, educators, and families to come up with socially-distanced alternatives to the pomp and circumstance of traditional high-school graduation ceremonies. Last Saturday in Los Angeles, community members in the state’s 54th Assembly district organized a graduation parade — complete with gift bags and a fire truck — to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of high-school seniors from schools across the district.
Photographer Alexis Hunley was there:
Over the last two and a half months, I have been documenting the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on my neighborhood here in Los Angeles. Too often, published images of Black people focus solely on our pain, so I was particularly excited about this event because it was one of the moments in this project where I’ve been able to highlight Black joy.
Riding along the parade route was some of the most fun I’ve had in quite a while. Not because I was out of the house, but simply because I was surrounded by so much love and joy. Neighbors took time out of their day to decorate cars, which snaked through the streets of the 54th district. They honked horns and waved signs with giant grins and loud cheers. Students met us in their yards wearing their cap and gowns, beaming with pride as their families looked on lovingly. More than I realized, I needed those moments. I needed to be surrounded by Black people laughing and smiling and loving each other. I needed a reminder that we are more than our collective pain and suffering, and that we are fighting not only for justice, but for the freedom to live peacefully and joyously.
Samantha Jackson reads a certificate of recognition she received from Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Camille Wilson decorates a car in preparation for the graduation parade.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Megan Mingo and her family wave to parade participants.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Graduate Jasmine Jean-Louis.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Sasha Benson greets honking cars and people waving signs.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Joshua Alexander greets the parade.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Nierah Whitfiled greets the parade at the View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
The parade traveled through several neighborhoods with participants honking and waving signs to celebrate the recent graduates.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
April Williams (right) presents Joshua Alexander with a certificate of recognition from Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Family members of graduate Sailor Caught join the fun.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Nierah Whitfiled and Joshua Alexander embrace as the graduation parade through the 54th district comes to an end.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Nierah Whitfiled and her family pause for a quick photograph at the View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library at the end of the parade.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
Aiyana Lopez-Spears tips her cap.
Photo: Alexis Hunley
[A]fter a prolonged battle against what Trump’s biggest supporters see as a rigged judicial system staffed by Obama-era bureaucrats, [Michael] Flynn’s status as a deep state-fighting warrior has only grown. And with Flynn on the verge of potentially having criminal charges dismissed altogether, Trump allies are pushing the campaign to give Flynn the ultimate comeback: hitting the campaign trail for the president, according to nine people inside or close to the Trump campaign. …
Three people affiliated with the campaign said they would welcome Flynn back — perhaps reprising his role as an opening act at Trump rallies or a TV surrogate — between now and Election Day, although a Trump campaign official said the campaign has not approached Flynn about taking a formal position.
The move would bring Flynn back to where it all started in 2016, but this time emboldened by his journey — from little-known campaign surrogate, to White House national security adviser, to indicted Russia probe target, to, potentially, the man who defeated Robert Mueller’s prosecutors.
A long-lasting, widespread and intense heat wave is set to swallow the nation, arriving right at the historical peak in annual temperatures. While hot weather is expected in the summertime, the magnitude, duration, and intensity of the upcoming heat wave will be impressive.
A wide swath of the Lower 48 will be engulfed by temperatures 10 or more degrees above normal, with a sprawling heat dome likely to park over the nation’s heartland, lingering for weeks. The combination of heat and stifling humidity could even catapult heat index levels into the triple digits near the coasts. …
With the heat will come collateral impacts, including the risk of strong to severe windstorms for some. Climate change continues to worsen and extremity heat events, increasing their severity. A recent analysis by Climate Central found that the number of days each year with overlapping high heat and humidity has doubled across much of the United States since 1980.
An American private citizen worked with foreign spies to damage one presidential candidate and help the other. That president accepted the help. When caught, the private citizen lied. When the private citizen was punished, the president commuted his sentence.
The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has for years been using a pseudonym to post bigoted remarks on an online forum [called AutoAdmit, also known as XOXOhth,] that is a hotbed for racist, sexist, and other offensive content, CNN Business learned this week.
Just this week, the writer, Blake Neff, responded to a thread started by another user in 2018 with the subject line, “Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?” Neff wrote, “I wouldn’t get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no.” (The subject line was not censored on the forum.) On June 5, Neff wrote, “Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down.” On June 24, Neff commented, “Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep.” On June 26, Neff wrote that the only people who care about changing the name of the NFL’s Washington Redskins are “white libs and their university-’educated’ pets.”
And over the course of five years, Neff has maintained a lengthy thread in which he has derided a woman and posted information about her dating life that has invited other users to mock her and invade her privacy. There has at times also been overlap between some material he posted or saw on the forum and Carlson’s show.
Georgia reported another record number of cases on Friday (almost 5,000)
[Atlanta] Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is preparing to roll back the city’s reopening plans as coronavirus cases surge, a spokesperson told Channel 2 Action News Friday. The city will go back to Phase 1, in which all residents are ordered to stay home except for essential trips. Atlanta entered Phase 2 at the end of May, which was described as an “easing” of restrictions phase. …
Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesn’t want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him. “He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”
NEW: Facebook is considering a ban on political ads on its social network in the days leading up to the U.S. election in November. No decision yet, but it’s being discussed, according to sources
Chaotic planning? That’s not like this White House at all
New: Per source in New Hampshire familiar, this decision to postpone Trump’s rally tomorrow was a last minute decision, shocking some in the state who had been finalizing plans #nhpolitics
BREAKING: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer toughens a requirement to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, mandates that businesses open to the public deny service or entry to customers who refuse to wear one.
Pres Trump says hell be looking at a pardon for former campaign advisor Roger Stone, scheduled to begin prison term next Tuesday. In response to a question on departing WH, Pres said Stone was unfairly treated.
Way down in the polls, Trump continues to try to undermine the integrity of the election
Mail-In Ballot fraud found in many elections. People are just now seeing how bad, dishonest and slow it is. Election results could be delayed for months. No more big election night answers? 1% not even counted in 2016. Ridiculous! Just a formula for RIGGING an Election….
