June 7 George Floyd protest news

Michael Jordan, Hall of Fame NBA player and owner of the Charlotte Hornets, spoke plainly about the damage racial injustice has done to the African American community in an exclusive interview with the Charlotte Observer. 

"Face up to your demons. Extend a hand. Understand the inequalities," Jordan answered when asked what needs to happen to change racist behavior. "Sure, it’s about bargaining for better policing, but it’s more. We have encountered racism to be somewhat acceptable in certain circles."

On Friday, Michael Jordan and Nike's Jordan Brand pledged to donate $100 million over the next ten years to organizations dedicated to promoting racial equality, social justice, and education. Speaking on why he chose those initiatives, Jordan said, "If I’m giving $100 million, along with Jordan Brand, then we’re going to make this go in a way that makes a difference. And this -- attacking ingrained racism, supporting educational opportunity -- is a very necessary step in society.”

The New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet has resigned effective immediately, a tweet from the Times says.

Bennet has been the Editorial Page Editor since May 2016, according to a statement from the Times.

“James is a journalist of enormous talent and integrity who believes deeply in the mission of The Times," Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said. "He oversaw a significant transformation of the Opinion department, which broadened the range of voices we publish and pushed us into new formats like video, graphics and audio. I’m grateful for his many contributions.”

This resignation comes after a controversial op-ed written by Sen. Tom Cotton was published where he argued the Insurrection Act could be invoked to deploy the military across the country to assist local law enforcement with unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Watch here:

The University of Houston canceled classes scheduled on Monday, according to a statement posted by the university on Twitter.

The university said it is doing so "in order to provide the UH community ample opportunity to attend the public viewing of George Floyd and reflect on the events taking place in our nation."

Here is a list of the status of curfews in US cities as of Sunday afternoon:

Atlanta: A mandatory curfew was lifted Saturday by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms after more than a week of a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has announced the City of Buffalo will lift their curfew immediately. “I have consulted with Buffalo Police management and members of the Common Council and we all agree to lift the curfew while we continue to hear the voice of the community. The Coalition and other community groups have committed to ensuring demonstrations they lead remain peaceful,” Brown said in a statement.

Chicago: A curfew remains in place between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued the curfew on May 30. On Sunday, city officials announced that access to downtown has been fully restored. Lake Shore Drive is open and downtown expressway ramps are now open. CTA rail and bus service downtown has also been fully restored.

Dallas: The curfew for downtown Dallas was lifted effective Saturday, according to the city hall website. A curfew had been in place since the state and city declared a State of Disaster on May 31.

Denver: The city wide curfew expired at 5 a.m. Friday and was not extended, a tweet from Mayor Michael Hancock said. 

Los Angeles: A curfew for the city was lifted by Mayor Eric Garcetti effective Thursday.

Miami: A curfew was put in place for Miami-Dade County by Mayor Carlos Gimenez earlier in the week and was pushed earlier to 8 p.m. from 10 p.m. due to unrest in Miami Beach Friday.

Minneapolis: Curfew was lifted by Gov. Tim Walz effective Friday after more than a week of protests.

New York City: Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Sunday morning that the city’s curfew is being lifted, effective immediately. “New York City: We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately. Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city. Tomorrow we take the first big step to restart. Keep staying safe. Keep looking out for each other,” de Blasio said.

Philadelphia: The city of Philadelphia announced on Sunday that they have lifted the curfew in place in the city.

St. Paul, Minnesota: Curfew was lifted effective Friday after more than a week of protests and curfews.

Washington, DC: Curfew was lifted Thursday by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

St John’s Church in Lafayette Square held a short prayer service outside today, that began with a “prayer for justice,” asking people to seek peace and move to action.

President Donald Trump visited the church for a photo-op on Monday amid protests outside the White House, drawing criticism from many in the religious community, including Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

On Sunday, prayer service attendees held up a sign calling on people to “Pray in solidarity with those who pray for justice.” The service was short, but threaded with calls for justice. All in attendance wore masks apart from when they were speaking. The crowd was made up of people of all ages and was racially diverse.

Rob Fisher, the rector of St John’s, said that the church is “so proud to stand and witness in solidarity to this moment.”

Another prayer called on people to “take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our heart, break down the walls that separate us,” and asked that “in good time all races and nations may serve in harmony.”

Krista Bradley, member of St. John’s Church, read from the book of Amos, “let justice roll down the waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Shortly after her reading, a member of the crowd was heard yelling out, “Trump man’s gotta go.”

In yet another call for justice, one member prayed, “help us in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth to confront one another without hatred or bitterness and to work with one another through mutual forbearance and respect.”

The service ended with a prayer to “open eyes and change hearts.”

Thousands of protesters across the US have flooded cities calling for a stop to police brutality against black people in America following the death of George Floyd.

These demonstrations have sparked worldwide dialogue about the unequal treatment of black people in America and why they seem to have more difficulty getting ahead compared to other ethnic groups, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said during his show Sunday.

Zakaria took a closer look of that treatment and highlighted how he believes that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. answered the question best in an interview the civil rights icon gave in 1967:

“And white Americans tell the negro to ‘lift himself by his own bootstraps,' they don’t look over the legacy of slavery and segregation. I believe that we ought to do all we can and seek to lift ourselves by our own bootstraps, but it’s a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps,” King said.

Watch the full segment here:

Civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at a Louisville worship service on Sunday where he said that black Americans today face three pandemics: racial violence by police, poverty and Covid-19.

The city has seen days of protests following the death of George Floyd and the unresolved case involving the killing of Louisville’s Breonna Taylor in March.

Taylor would have turned 27 on Friday.

The civil rights leader made these key points:

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that she is lifting the city’s curfew “effective immediately,” according to a tweet sent Sunday afternoon.

Read tweets from the mayor and city: 

The Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said Sunday that the Pentagon did not want to use active duty troops to subdue protestors in the nation’s capital last week but that the invocation of the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to use active duty military forces to quell unrest, was “heavily discussed” within the Trump Administration.

McCarthy also confirmed out of state National Guard will start going home Sunday at 5 p.m.

“Effective 5 p.m. this evening we will begin redeploying the out of state Guardsmen starting with the state of Mississippi...as well as the state of Florida, Utah and Indiana,” McCarthy said.

The departure process for those contingents is expected to take no more than 24 hours. 

The DC national guard will continue to support federal elements as well as local police. 

More context: President Trump wrote on Twitter earlier Sunday that he had ordered National Guard troops in Washington, DC, to return home. 

McCarthy said the controversial National Guard helicopter flights that flew over protestors Monday night were still under investigation.

The commanding general of the DC National Guard Maj. Gen. William Walker said that “There was no order to disperse the crowd” with the helicopters.