Tuesday, May 6, 2025
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A View From the Ground
News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from URL Media's network of Black and Brown publishers.
Good evening. The state trial of three former Memphis officers accused in the death of Tyre Nichols is underway, beginning with emotional testimony. Trump is now picking with the Harvard Law Review accusing it of racial bias. It’s not harder than ever to seek asylum in the United States after generations of the country welcoming refugees. Also, good news for Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser as she wins the Commanders back to the city.Plus, we’re bringing you the latest updates at url-media.com as events unfold. Have a question? Write to us at [email protected].
Credit: Memphis Police Dept.
Three former Memphis, Tenn., police officers accused in the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols went on trial last week. Opening statements began April 28 with Nichols mother, Rowvaughn Wells’ emotional testimony, saying he “never made it home to enjoy my sesame chicken.”
Capital B reports Tadarrius Bean, 26, Demetrius Haley, 32, and Justin Smith, 30, have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder state charges as well as aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, among other charges. Former officers Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., were also charged, but are expected to change their pleas from not guilty.
Bean, Haley and Smith were convicted last October on federal charges of obstruction of justice and witness tampering, but acquitted on charges of depriving Nichols’ civil rights, causing his death. Martin and Mills pleaded guilty and testified against them.Despite the federal convictions, Nichols family is steadfast in getting state convictions against the remaining defendants.
"As the state trial begins for the former Memphis police officers charged in the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols, we are reminded of the profound pain and loss his family continues to endure. This trial marks a critical step in the pursuit of justice for Tyre, whose life was senselessly taken in an act of unconscionable violence,” said Ben Crump, attorney for the Nichols family, in a statement as the proceedings began.
Nichols, 29, a FedEx driver and amateur photographer who was a father, died after a Jan. 7, 2023 traffic stop encounter with the officers in which he suffered multiple injuries from being punched and kicked by them. The incident was captured on video. Medics who arrived at the scene failed to administer aid for 16 minutes. He was admitted to the hospital in critical condition but died three days later.
Furthering its war on academia, the Trump administration has launched an investigation into the Harvard Law Review editorial process. It accuses the student-led staff of racial bias in how it selects scholars for publication, according to URL Media.
CNBC reports that the conservative Washington Free Beacon spurred the probe, saying that the Review has a pattern of racial discrimination. The website also led a campaign through multiple articles and essays accusing former Harvard University President Claudine Gay of plagiarism, which became instrumental in her resignation from the position in 2024.
The move comes just weeks after Trump chose to weaponize his anti-DEI and supposed antisemitism policies on universities throughout the nation. He successfully got Columbia University to capitulate, allowing its Middle East studies department to fall under new supervision and change its rules for protests and student discipline, the Associated Press said.Now the administration is targeting Harvard, demanding a dismantling of its DEI programs and screening international students for radical ideology. It also froze $2.2 billion in grants over concerns of campus antisemitism. But the school is fighting back and is engaged in a legal battle with the president, suing him over the freeze’s legality.Meanwhile, both the Department of Education and the Department of Health & Human Services said they would conduct the investigation into Harvard. “The investigations are in response to information ED and HHS received about policies and practices for journal membership and article selection that may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” a joint statement issued by the departments said.Read more at URL Media.
Entering the United States as an asylum seeker is now harder than ever. Over the years, millions of people from outside the country have sought refuge here, in an attempt to escape totalitarian, authoritarian, and fascist regimes. Asylum was normally sought and granted on the protected grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or bearing a specific political opinion.But in the first 100 days of his presidency, Donald Trump has essentially eliminated the ability to seek asylum in America, Pulso reports. Through an executive order, Trump suspended the refugee program and asylum applications at the U.S. southern border. He also froze funds for groups that worked with refugees, placing it with other anti-DEI initiatives. In addition, federal judges were also instructed to speed up asylum rejections without a hearing.The United States admitted between 73,000 refugees each year between 1975 and 2024. But now people who are in the process of seeking asylum are left in legal purgatory with an uncertain outcome.Read more in Pulso.
It might seem to have more to do with sports than politics, but the return of the Washington Commanders to RFK Stadium is a clear political win for Washington D.C. and Mayor Muriel Bowser.
TANTV News reports that D.C. officials and the NFL announced an agreement to invest $2.7 billion into the stadium as part of a $3.6 billion mixed-use redevelopment running 180 acres along the Anacostia River that includes retail, public parks and a sports complex.
The Commanders currently play at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., about five miles east of Washington. But Bowser and the City Council’s advocacy and emphasis on projects like this brought it into collaboration with Congress, which approved the RFK site’s land transfer.This makes it the largest private investment in the city’s history, and means 16,000 jobs, $20 billion in tax revenue, and the potential to improve areas near the site that have fallen into economic hardship.As we focus on the growth of our economy, we're not only bringing our team home, but we're also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7," said Bowser in a joint statement with the Commanders.Read more in TANTV News.
Check out our Currency of Impact dashboard, a new tool designed to revolutionize media buying conversations and put community impact on the foreground. Dive into our impact tracker and case studies highlighting demonstrated impact across the URL Media network. This project was co-produced with the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Visit it here.
