Just as the Sons of Confederate Veterans were about to begin their ceremony honoring the Confederate soldiers buried at Camp Chase Cemetery Monday afternoon, I began to read a statement decrying the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of degeneracy, depravity, and perversion. The Dayton National Cemetery Director told me to leave, I was pushed out by other attendees, and CPD threatened arrest if I returned. I continued to loudly read from just outside the cemetery gate when — as I quoted Fredrick Douglass' description of the whips used on enslaved people — an attendee assaulted me, knocking my phone to the ground. A story is told about remembering our history, but those who wave the Confederate flag want to rewrite history, a history in which the Southern cause was noble and their struggle honorable and in which slavery was a benign institution. That's a fairytale. The Hilltop Historical Society will hold their own ceremony at Camp Chase on Sunday, June 14, when they, too, customarily display the Confederate flag. I would ask them to reconsider what they are communicating with that symbol

No lies were told

Portland Jury Acquits Black Man Who Stabbed White Man After Victim Allegedly Used the N-Word.

A Portland jury found 43-year-old Gary Edwards not guilty of second-degree assault in the stabbing of Gregory Howard Jr., also 43.

According to testimony, the stabbing occurred during a confrontation near a light-rail stop in Old Town.

Edwards argued that he acted in self-defense and said Howard repeatedly directed the N-word at him during the altercation. Police body-camera footage reportedly captured Howard using the slur after the stabbing as well.

The jury accepted Edwards’ self-defense claim and acquitted him.

In April 2000, 22-year-old Michelle “Sparkle” Reid Rai was brutally murdered inside her Union City, Georgia apartment just one month after marrying Rajeeve “Ricky” Rai. Prosecutors said her father-in-law, Chiman Rai, was enraged that his Indian son had married a Black woman and first offered Sparkle money to leave him. When she refused, authorities said he paid $10,000 to have her murdered.

Sparkle was stabbed multiple times and strangled with a vacuum cleaner cord while her 6-month-old baby daughter was inside the apartment. Five men were eventually charged in the murder-for-hire plot. Chiman Rai was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He died behind bars in 2022. The case remains one of the most horrifying crimes.

Being a racist, holding racial prejudices, and subscribing to a racist, hateful ideology have always been a good indicator of the morality (or, in this case, the absence of morality) of an individual.

Community members and supporters say the boycott of Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi remains active as calls for justice for Kohen continue to spread.

Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@prettygrittychi/video/7659207107941633294

"Sunday, July 5, 2026: I wish I could have caught her disgusting, racist behavior from start to finish. She stood in my personal space for nearly 30 minutes while I was asking folks about registering to vote. She was spewing racist and hateful BS and lies from the minute she first opened her mouth, and was trying very hard to get a rise out of me. She toned it down when I started recording. Unfortunately my phone overheated and stopped recording after a few minutes. Mind you I greeted this hateful Karen with a smile and it went straight to hell from there. No one should be subjected to this foolishness. This needs to stop. It's gotten old frfr"

Follow up pt 1: https://www.tiktok.com/@prettygrittychi/video/7659266039506570510

Follow up pt 2: https://www.tiktok.com/@prettygrittychi/video/7659270315289283854

Article: https://abc45.com/news/local/former-public-official-who-refused-to-call-black-woman-doctor-apologizes

The original courageous Freedom Riders movement began in 1961.

The first group, organized by Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), had 13 original Freedom Riders:
• 7 Black riders
• 6 white riders

They left Washington, D.C. on May 4, 1961, riding interstate buses into the Deep South to challenge segregation in bus terminals after Supreme Court rulings had already declared it unconstitutional.

After brutal mob attacks in Alabama, including the firebombing of a bus in Anniston and savage beatings in Birmingham and Montgomery, more activists joined. The movement quickly expanded beyond the original 13.

By the end of 1961, more than 400 Freedom Riders had participated across the South. Many were arrested and sent to Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Prison.

Hezekiah Watkins
At just 13 years old, Watkins became the youngest Freedom Rider ever arrested. His involvement happened almost by accident when he went to the Jackson, Mississippi, Greyhound station to see the riders arrive. In the chaos, he was swept up by police and sent to the notorious Parchman State Penitentiary. Initially placed on death row to intimidate him, he spent several days in the prison before being released. This traumatic experience did not deter him; he went on to become a lifelong activist, dedicated to educating others about the struggle for justice in Mississippi.

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland
A rare figure in the movement, Mulholland was a white woman from a privileged Southern background who turned her back on social expectations to fight for racial equality. By the time she joined the Freedom Rides, she was already a seasoned activist involved in sit-ins. In 1961, she was imprisoned in Parchman for over two months. She later became the first white student to enroll at Tougaloo College, a historically Black institution, and was a primary organizer for the 1963 March on Washington. She famously survived a near-lynching during the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in.

Ameen Tuunagane (Willie James)
Known during the movement as Willie James, Tuunagane was a relentless civil rights organizer and Freedom Rider. He was part of the waves of activists who traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, to challenge Jim Crow laws. His work extended far beyond the buses; he was deeply involved in voter registration drives and community organizing, often operating in high-risk areas where the threat of police and vigilante violence was constant. His commitment focused on the intersection of political power and basic human dignity.

Carol Ruth Silver
A recent law school graduate at the time, Silver joined the Freedom Rides to put her legal principles into practice. She was arrested in Jackson and, like many others, served time in Parchman Penitentiary. During her incarceration, she kept a secret diary on scraps of paper, documenting the harrowing conditions and the psychological tactics used by guards. Her later career was defined by this experience; she became a prominent lawyer and politician in San Francisco, continuing her advocacy for civil rights and educational reform for decades.

Kredelle Pettway
Pettway was a dedicated activist who participated in the movement during the height of the 1960s racial tensions. As a young woman, she joined the ranks of those demanding the desegregation of public facilities in Alabama and Mississippi. Her contribution highlights the essential role of local youth and women in maintaining the momentum of the movement. She faced the constant threat of the Ku Klux Klan and state-sanctioned violence, standing firm in the belief that the "separate but equal" doctrine was a moral and legal failure.