Tuesday, June 10, 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. Larry Hoover, the founder of Chicago’s notorious Gangster Disciples gang, will go free from federal prison after Donald Trump commuted his sentence, but his state charges remain — so far. Also, Haitians working in the United States under a Biden-era program find themselves in limbo after it was struck down. Plus, we’re bringing you the latest updates at url-media.com as events unfold. Have a question? Write to us at [email protected].Plus, as always, we’re bringing you the latest updates at url-media.com as events unfold. Have a question? Write to us at [email protected].
Credit: Capital B via AP
The Trump pardon train has apparently made a stop in street legend as the president has granted a commutation to Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, according to Capital B. The move is among several that Trump has made to give clemency to numerous people convicted on federal charges.Hoover, 75, was serving six life sentences in a federal prison in Colorado on 1997 federal convictions of operating a criminal enterprise from prison that included drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, and other crimes. He had already been convicted in 1973 for ordering the murder of a gang rival in Chicago and sentenced to up to 200 years behind bars. But with the Trump administration deciding to release him on time served, he’s still got one hurdle before he’s truly free.He still has to serve the Illinois state sentence for the 1973 murder. His lawyers, however, are thankful that Trump moved to end the federal sentence. But his lawyers hope there will be a way to end his state sentence.
“Sometimes the courts do not do the right thing. But thanks to the work of so many advocates and supporters keeping Mr. Hoover’s voice alive and ultimately the president taking action to deliver justice, we are thrilled to see Mr. Hoover released. Now it’s time for the IDOC to do the right thing,” Hoover’s legal team, Bonjean Law Group, said in a prepared statement."Thankfully, Mr. Hoover's pleas were heard by President Trump, who took action to deliver justice for Mr. Hoover," his lawyers continued. "We are thrilled to see that Mr. Hoover will be released from federal custody."
Haitians who came to America hoping to find a safe place from the political turmoil in their country now find themselves at a crossroads because of the Trump administration’s stringent immigration policies. The Haitian Times reports the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end humanitarian paroles through the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans program (CHNV).The program was launched by the Biden administration in 2023 to allow nationals from those countries to remain in the United States and work for two years. But the Supreme Court overruled an April emergency relief order issued by a Massachusetts federal judge. This means more than 530,000 participants in the program, including 210,000 Haitians, could be deported unless they find another way to stay stateside.Most of those affected see using Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as their last chance to remain and avoid deportation. But DHS Secrtary Kristi Noem announced in February that the TPS designation for Haitians would end Aug. 3.
Until then, the Haitian immigrant community remains in limbo, wondering if they will be sent back to a nation rife with political and gang violence. “The community is waiting,” Herold Dasque, community liaison at Haitian Americans United for Progress, told Documented. “They are watching, thinking, analyzing, and strategizing.”Read more at The Haitian Times.
Tulsa, Okla., Mayor Monroe Nichols announced a plan to secure $105 million in funds for a private trust to address what happened to the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Money from The Greenwood Trust would go toward housing, education and other resources for the Tulsa Community, according to The Oklahoma Eagle.
Nichols called the fund “a critical step to unify Tulsans and heal the wounds that for so long prevented generations of our neighbors from being able to recover from the Race Massacre.” His goal is to have the money secured by the 105th anniversary of the tragic event, now viewed as the most deadly episode of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
The trust will include a $24 million housing fund that will benefit the residents of Greenwood District and North Tulsa; a $60 million cultural preservation fund; and a $21 million Legacy Fund to develop trust-owned land for the massacre’s survivors and their descendants.
A program in Hong Kong aims to create a green future by fostering environmental entrepreneurs. TANTV News reports that the Green Entrepreneurial Education Project (GEEP), which launched in May, is aimed at taking on climate change sustainability problems with education, in and out of the classroom.
GEEP has multiple goals, including addressing knowledge connected to sustainable development; Environmental, Societal and Governance criteria, and climate action. The project is moving toward growing the skillset of green entrepreneurs who plan to work in the fields of eco-innovation and design thinking, systems thinking and social resiliency adaptability, TANTV said.
The result is expected to be a new generation of green entrepreneurs who will display multiple skills, including AI and digital technologies, that will address environmental issues headed into the United Nations COP30 climate change conference in Brazil in November.
Dance professor Imani Kai Johnson challenges traditional learning practices - Black Voices News
From freedom schools to fascist bans: Missouri-Kansas educators fight back - The Kansas City Defender
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