FLORIDA STATE REPRESENTATIVE ANGIE NIXON SAY RON DESANTIS HAS ‘BLOOD ON HIS HANDS’ AFTER JACKSONVILLE SHOOTING

BY AJ WOODSON

was instead one of three Black people gunned down Saturday afternoon at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida.

Gallion, 29, was shot as he entered the store’s front door with his girlfriend in a predominantly Black neighborhood. The killing marked him as another victim in the latest racist attack in the US.

“My brother shouldn’t have lost his life,” his sister, Latiffany Gallion, said Sunday. “A simple day of going to the store, and he’s taken away from us forever.”

NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson released the following statement, condemning the act of hatred and calling for the ban of assault weapons:

“It’s a sad day in America when we realize that extremists will stop at nothing to undermine our work to thrive. As we continued the march for freedom in Washington, hateful actors continued to carry out the white supremacist agenda in Jacksonville, claiming the lives of Black Americans in the name of an era we refuse to go back to. Today’s tragedy is a reminder of why we march, and why we will stop at nothing to ensure that democracy works for everybody. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who stand to be forever impacted by today’s acts of hatred. Enough is enough. We must ban assault weapons now.”

On May 20, 2023, the NAACP Board of Directors issued a formal travel advisory for the state of Florida. The travel advisory comes in direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.

During the continuation of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a white supremacist follower in Jacksonville claimed the lives of three Black Americans at a Dollar General store.

Florida lawmaker Angie Nixon slammed Governor, Ron DeSantis, after a 21-year-old white man named Ryan Palmeter, who “hated Black people” killed Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29 in what officials described as a “racially motivated” attack in Jacksonville on Saturday. August 26th.

“Look, at the end of the day, the governor has blood on his hands,” Nixon, who represents a district that includes the site of the deadly Dollar General store shooting, told MSNBC on Sunday.

“He has had an attack, an all-out attack on the Black community with his antiwoke policies, which we know very well was nothing more than a dog whistle to get folks up and riled up in the way in which it just happened yesterday. As I listened to him for the first time with that statement, my blood is literally boiling,” Nixon said.

As the Gov DeSantis began speaking at the vigil on Sunday, many members of a crowd of over a hundred people booed DeSantis, forcing him to step back from the microphone.

The shooting took place at a Dollar General store just blocks from the historically-Black Edward Waters University.

Shortly before the gunman went on a killing spree, his parents called law enforcement to say they had found a manifesto. The gunman had reportedly called his parents ahead of the attack and told them to look at his computer.

Sheriff TK Waters described those writings as a “disgusting ideology of hate”. “The manifesto is, quite frankly... the diary of a madman,” he said. “He knew what he was doing. He was 100% lucid. He knew what he was doing and again, it’s disappointing that anyone would go to these lengths to hurt someone else.”

Family members, including Anolt Laguerre, father of Dollar General cashier Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., expressed their unspeakable anguish on Sunday. Laguerre said his son recently graduated from high school and was working as a cashier at the Dollar General store where the shooting took place. “He hasn’t even lived his life yet,” the father said.

The anger and rage I right now as electeds in Florida throw up their hollow statements about the racist violence that occured. Your complicity is one of the factors that led to this. I am so angry and sad for those families,” State Rep Angie Nixon post on X (formerly called Twitter).

Nixon criticized DeSantis, who has condemned the attack, after he said “targeting people due to their race has no place in the state of Florida” at a press conference on Sunday.

DeSantis has come under fire for backing efforts to loosen gun restrictions, gone after what he describes as “woke” policies, and supported controversial standards for teaching Black history in his state.

Nixon noted that she and other Black lawmakers have “repeatedly” warned the GOP presidential candidate about his rhetoric.

“This is absurd, it’s ridiculous. He is one of the causes to this. This is an agenda that he has been pushing since he has gotten into office,” said Nixon, who referred to the governor’s “monkey this up” remark when he ran against 2018 Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum, who is Black.

“We have Republican leadership across this state who are doing everything to continually attack Black lives. They are doing everything to erase Black history. They are feeding our children propaganda. All that does is lead to the devaluation of Black lives,” she added.

Nixon, who appeared alongside the governor as he was booed at a Jacksonville vigil on Sunday, wrote in a post on X that DeSantis “needs to apologize for his part” in the attack.

“Gov. DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida are doing nothing but hurting us. And I am angry. I will not continue to sit idly by,” Nixon said in an emotional message.

Just hours after a gunman opened fire in a Dollar General, killing three people, the National Rifle Association (NRA) posted a pro-gun photo on X. The post took a quote by President Joe Biden saying “Nobody needs an AR-15” and claimed that most Americans “disagree” with this.

“Americans vehemently disagree with Joe on this. Millions of law-abiding citizens own and use AR-15s to defend themselves and their families,” the NRA wrote.

Gun activists criticised the organisation for posting the pro-gun ad just hours after the gunman in Jacksonville used an AR-15-style rifle.

Fred Guttenberg, a gun-control activist, responded: “No entity has worked harder than the NRA to fuel gun violence in America. The American Carnage on our streets is because of them. More guns are not making us safer.”

Father, 29, among three killed in racially-motivated attack, Jerrald Gallion planned to spend the weekend with his 4-year-old daughter but the devoted father was

“Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

“Let me be clear - failing to teach an accurate representation of the horrors and inequalities that Black Americans have faced and continue to face is a disservice to students and a dereliction of duty to all,” said NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson. “Under the leadership of Governor Desantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our union was founded upon. He should know that democracy will prevail because its defenders are prepared to stand up and fight. We’re not backing down, and we encourage our allies to join us in the battle for the soul of our nation.”

“Once again, hate-inspired state leaders have chosen to put politics over people. Governor Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida have engaged in a blatant war against principles of diversity and inclusion and rejected our shared identities to appeal to a dangerous, extremist minority,” said Chair of the NAACP Board of Directors, Leon Russell. “We will not allow our rights and history to be held hostage for political grandstanding. The NAACP proudly fights against the malicious attacks in Florida, against Black Americans. I encourage my fellow Floridians to join in this fight to protect ourselves and our democracy.”

America sets horrifying 17-year record for mass killings, the US saw more mass killings in the first half of this year than any other six-month period over the last 17 years, new data shows. There were more than 28 mass killings between January 1st and June 30th, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Previously, the record for a six-month period was 27 – which was set in the second half of 2022. The database defines a mass killing as an incident where four or more people are killed, not including the attacker, within a 24-hour period.

I close with the words of State Representative Angie Nixon who sums up the whole ordeal perfectly/

“The racist coward litterally went to a Historically Black University to kill Black students. Got stopped. Then redirected his hatred, racism and vilence to the local store where he told all non Black people to get out and then proceeded to kill Black People.”

MOTHER PEARL C. QUARLES IS RECOGNIZED DURING PRE-MOTHERS DAY JAZZ BRUNCH 2023

Sister to Sister International saluted Queen Mother Pearl C. Quarles during their PreMothers Day Jazz Brunch & Hat Parade to benefit their Reach for the Stars scholarship fundraiser at Julianos in New Rochelle, NY.

Special Guest Mistress of Ceremonies for the occasion was Supreme Court Judge Janet Malone joined by a who’s who of elected officials, STSI members, family and friends.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman presented a Congressional Proclamation to the Hon. Pearl C. Quarles, the first African-American woman to serve on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. She was also the first Black to chair the New Rochelle School Board, and was a leader in various civic, religious and charitable endeavors. The Hon. Pearl C. Quarles was also the first African American to be hired in a “white collar” position in the banking industry in Westchester County and has received numerous awards for her contributions, over the years. She was also an inaugural board member of Sister to Sister International and has most recently served as parliamentarian.

The Pre-Mothers Day Jazz Brunch & Hat Parade event was well attended by various elected officials from Westchester County including NYS Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Deputy County Executive Kenneth Jenkins, Mt. Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Yonkers City Council President, Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, and Judge Delores Scott Brathwaite, White Plains, Greenburgh Town Court; Yonkers City Court Judges Verris B. Shako and Karen T. Beltran; along with Legislators Terry Downes Clements, Christopher A. Johnson and New Rochelle Mayoral Candidate, Yadira Ramos-Herbert.

Previous scholarship awardees: Sayidana Brannan Douglas, Khadyja Sarr, and Jordanne Lewis provided testimonies explaining their journey being part of the STSI STEAM program and how it has greatly benefited their career trajectory as adults. All attended the Inaugural STEM Camp in 2010 and have since secured master’s degrees and pursued careers in filmmaking and digital media, hospital administration and medicine, respectively. Additional testimonies were shared by former scholarship recipient and STEAM Program Consultant, Jhinelle Walker and Leah Townsend Brown, college student at New Delhi.