This 7-year-old boy held a heartbreaking memorial for Chadwick Boseman, who played his favorite superhero
(CNN) — When 7-year-old Kian Westbrook learned that Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played his favorite superhero, had died, he immediately began crying.
Kian never met Boseman, nor is he familiar with the actor’s work outside of Marvel’s 2018 film “Black Panther.” But he did love seeing a face that looks like his saving the world on a big screen.
“He was a good role model to me and Black boys because he let me know Black boys can be heroes too,” Kian told CNN. “When I found out he died, I felt very sad. I was crying and couldn’t stop talking about him.”
Boseman died Friday at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. It was only after he passed away that the world discovered the actor was filming movies in between surgeries and chemotherapy. He was a hero — both on the screen and off.
Overwhelmed with an urge to honor Boseman, Kian held a small memorial for him in front of his home in Florissant, Missouri, on Saturday — and all of his Avengers action figures were in attendance.
The young fan placed his Black Panther toy on a shoe box wrapped in black silk. Surrounding the box were flowers and an award metal, as well as an Iron Man glove to honor another hero who died on screen.
Kian’s father shared a photo on Twitter of the young fan standing behind the makeshift memorial and striking a “Wakanda Forever” salute to honor Boseman. The tweet has since garnered more than 530,000 likes.
“It was beyond words. It made me proud that he found a way to cope with losing his hero in a way that allowed him to understand closure. But he is still having a hard time,” King Westbrook, Kian’s father, told CNN. “I never knew it would touch as many people as it did. If Kian’s beautiful memorial can bring a smile to people hurting from this terrible loss, that makes me proud as a father.”
With his role as T’Challa, or Black Panther, in the blockbuster film, Boseman became a global icon and inspiring symbol of Black power. Many young fans, like Kian, only knew Boseman as T’Challa, king and protector of the fictional African nation Wakanda.
“Simply put, we have a lot of great Black actors, and a lot of great Black men in America. Chadwick Boseman was the best of both worlds,” Westbrook said. “There is absolutely nothing more important to me than my children, and I believe Kian is that much better that he got to see the kind and intelligent human being that Chadwick was. A great Black man, a great American.”
In addition to playing a Marvel superhero, Boseman made a career of playing inspiring Black figures, including Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall.
“He taught me to fight back and to never give up. He taught the world to be nice and have a strong family.” Kian said. “The memorial made me sad because he’s not coming back and I miss him. But I’m happy because I got to do something nice for him.”
Photo Credit: King Westbrook
New Jersey teen behind Black Lives Matter rally receives bill for $2,500 for police overtime
A New Jersey teen organized a Black Lives Matter and affordable housing protest on July 25, over what she says is a lack of affordable housing that disproportionately prevents Black people, Native Americans, and other people of color from living in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Four days later, Emily Gil, 18, received a letter from Mayor Mario Kranjac requesting that she foot the $2,499.26 bill for police overtime accrued during the protest, according to screenshots Gil shared with CNN.
“After various attempts to meet with you in person concerning a protest you planned to hold in the Borough, we were alerted to your July 25 protests just three days before it took place,” Kranjac told Gil, according to a copy of the letter shared with CNN.
In an email to CNN Saturday, Kranjac said the bill was rescinded. In a separate correspondence provided to CNN, Kranjac also told Gil it would be rescinded, pending approval by the city council.
“The bill for police overtime that you were provided was issued pursuant to the advice I received from our Borough Administrator who I understand consulted the Borough Attorney,” Kranjac wrote. “I have researched the issue further with my own counsel and I am hereby rescinding the bill, subject to our Council’s ratification of my action.”
Kranjac did not respond to additional requests for comment.
The rally drew about 30-40 people, organizer says
Gil first asked about the rules regarding protests weeks ahead of July 25, according to emails she shared. When city officials asked to meet in person about her planned protest, she offered instead to discuss it via Zoom or email because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the borough’s clerk and mayor continued to push for an in-person meeting, according to the email correspondences shared with CNN.
Gil said she organized the rally to highlight the small number of residents of color in Englewood Cliffs, and how her town’s lack of affordable housing disproportionately affects people of color, particularly black and Native American people. Englewood Cliffs is about 1.4% Black, compared to 15.1% statewide, according to the US Census Bureau.
About 30 to 40 people showed up at the rally outside of the town’s administrative building, Gil said. After an initial police presence before the rally, officers went indoors, only coming out temporarily to move plastic barricades, Gil said.
Englewood Cliffs Police Chief William Henkelman did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
Mayor says ordinances have to be adjusted
Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said the bill was “clearly unconstitutional.”
“You cannot require protesters to foot the bill for protected First Amendment activity,” Sinha told CNN.
Englewood Cliffs City Council President Gloria Oh said that Kranjac acted “unilaterally” in billing Gil, adding that normally the council would vote on a resolution before an individual would be charged for police service, which would not apply in the case of a protest or any other gatherings protected under the First Amendment.
Prior to the mayor’s rescinding of the bill, Oh and three fellow Democratic council members said in a statement that they were “unequivocally opposed” to the decision to bill Gil and would seek to cancel it.
Kranjac told Gil in an email that she provided to CNN that he always wants “to make certain that everyone’s Constitutional Rights are fully respected” and that they “will have to adjust the Borough’s ordinances accordingly.
“I was glad that you were able to express your rights to freedom of speech and assembly,” Kranjac wrote.
Gil told CNN the experience made her realize “that there’s a lot more work to do.”
“If anything, it’s made me realize that there are a lot of people in power that have abused that power,” Gil said. “We need to change that and make ourselves more welcoming, and more accommodating. It cannot be like this. It’s unacceptable.”
Photo Credit: abc7ny.com
Whoopi Goldberg wants Disney to build a Wakanda theme park in honor of Chadwick Boseman
“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg is calling on Disney to build a Wakanda theme park in honor of the late actor Chadwick Boseman.
Boseman — who played T’Challa/Black Panther, the king of the fictitious African kingdom of Wakanda in the blockbuster “Black Panther” — died of colon cancer, it was announced on Friday, after battling the disease privately for four years.
In the wake of his death, Goldberg, 64, urged Disney to make some changes to its popular attractions, insisting “we don’t really need another Frozen land.”
There are several “Frozen” attractions at Walt Disney World in Orlando, including “Frozen Ever After” and a chance to meet Anna and Elsa at Royal Summerhaus at Epcot, plus “A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Some events are listed as temporarily unavailable because of the pandemic.
“Dear People in charge of building NEW experiences Disney Land and World we don’t really need another Frozen land BUT what we could use is Wakonda,” she tweeted. “Please Disneyworld Disneyland PLEASE build in Chadwick Boseman’s name WAKONDA (Sic).”
CNN has reached out to Disney for comment.
Last year, Disney announced a Marvel expansion at Disney California Adventure park.
While there was no talk of a dedicated Wakanda theme park, the company said in a statement on Twitter that visitors will “find heroic encounters throughout the Avengers campus, including Black Widow, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Super Heroes from Wakanda and Asgard, and Iron Man.”
Goldberg was among a long list of celebrities to pay tribute to Boseman after his death was announced at the age of 43.
Describing him as one of her “all time favorite people on the planet,” Goldberg told her 1.5 million followers that Boseman was a “wonderful actor” and a “truly nice man.”
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer at Marvel, said Boseman’s passing was “absolutely devastating.”
“He was our T’Challa, our Black Panther, and our dear friend. Each time he stepped on set, he radiated charisma and joy, and each time he appeared on screen, he created something truly indelible,” Feige said in a statement to CNN. “The Marvel Studios family deeply mourns his loss, and we are grieving tonight with his family.”
On Sunday night, ABC aired the special “Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute For A King” following a commercial-free airing of “Black Panther.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Alabama driver fatally shot man for crossing road too slowly
An Alabama driver shot a pedestrian to death — for taking too long crossing the road, according to police.
Johnarian Allen, 29, was hit eight times in a barrage of bullets Thursday as he crossed outside a store in Union Springs, a small town about 45 miles southeast of Montgomery, according to WSFA 12 News.
Driver Jermiah Penn, 22, fled the shooting scene — but later arranged to hand himself in via a friend who is a sheriff’s deputy, police said.
He allegedly confessed to jumping out of his vehicle and firing multiple times because he felt Allen wasn’t moving out of the roadway quickly enough, Union Springs Police Chief Danny Jackson told the station.
Penn is being held on a capital murder charge in the Bullock County Jail, police said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/31/alabama-driver-fatally-shot-man-for-crossing-road-too-slowly/
Photo Credit: Union Springs Police Department
Jeremiah Wesley Penn (left) has reportedly confessed to fatally shooting Johnarian Travez Allen.
Over $1M worth of cocaine washes up on Florida beach
US Customs and Border Protection agents seized a whopping 78 pounds of cocaine worth more than $1 million after it washed up on a Florida beach, officials said.
Last Monday, a beachgoer on Hollywood Beach in Hollywood, Fla., discovered 30 packages containing the massive amount of drugs on the shoreline, according to authorities.
The sunbather called the police and agents with the US Border Patrol Miami Sector seized the narcotics.
Chief Patrol Agent of the US Border Patrol Miami Sector John Modlin announced the news on Twitter.
“Thankfully, the 78 lbs. of drugs didn’t make it into our community,” Modlin wrote.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/31/over-1m-worth-of-cocaine-washes-up-on-florida-beach/
Photo Credit: US Border Patrol
Former police officer files motion to dismiss charges in George Floyd’s death
One of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd is requesting charges against him to be dismissed.
The lawyers for Derek Chauvin reportedly filed a motion to dismiss the second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter charges against their client.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are seeking stiffer sentences for all four men charged in Floyd’s murder.
In documents filed Friday, prosecutors noted that Floyd was vulnerable and treated with particular cruelty.
Two of the officers–J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao– are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter.
A judge has the discretion to order up to 15 years on the murder counts under the state’s sentencing guidelines. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years.
The death of George Floyd sparked protests across the nation and around the world against police brutality and systemic racism.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Former NFL star Brandon Marshall posts video of security calling cops on him as he moves into his new home
WESTIN, Fla. — Former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall posted video of a confrontation Thursday involving security guards that he says called the cops on him as he moved into his own home.
In the video, Marshall says the security guards called police due to an apparent threat. But Marshall wasn’t a threat — he was only moving while Black.
“This is the problem,” Marshall says repeatedly, documenting his experience of seemingly being profiled in his own neighborhood. His kids were in the car, he said.
He calls Westin, Florida — where the home is located — an affluent area, to which he’s met with a response off camera that other Black people live in the neighborhood, an apparent attempt to deny racial profiling.
Marshall spent time with both the Jets and Giants during his NFL tenure.
Back in 2018, PIX11 News reported on a similar situation.
Though it didn’t involve a six-time Pro Bowler who spent 13 seasons in the NFL, it chronicled another story of a Black man in the cross-hairs of police for simply moving into a new home.
Bronx-native Darren Martin had a career in D.C.; he worked on Captiol Hill and in the Obama White House. But when he decided to come back to the city, police were called on him as he moved into his new apartment on the Upper West Side.
The report was for a burglary in progress. Police said they thought he had a weapon.
But Martin wasn’t breaking into the building or taking things out — he was moving in.
There was nothing criminal about it, an investigation later proved.
“As a Black man when you’re in an all-white environment, you’re cognizant of that,” he said.
When asked about the call that started the incident, Martin said, “Get to know folks before you make those assumptions.”
Photo Credit: dailymail.co.uk
27 men arrested in Ohio undercover child sex sting
CLEVELAND, OH. (KMOV.com) — A four-day undercover operation in Ohio led to the arrest of 27 men accused of attempting to sexually abuse children, the Ohio ICAC Task Force said.
The men, ages 21 to 61-years-old, were sending sexually explicit messages to undercover officers posing as children through various online apps. The task force said the suspects also sent photos of their genitals.
Authorities arrested 27 men who arrived to a vacant house in Cuyahoga County where they thought they would engage in sexual activity with the purported children.
Drugs, guns and other evidence were seized.
Charges range from attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, importuning, and possessing criminal tools.Help Keep Your Cat Healthy with Tailored Nutrition from Royal CaninAt Royal Canin, we’ve spent decades studying cats to ensure our products deliver the exact nutrition your cat needs.Ad By Royal Canin See More
The following men were arrested:
- Adam Davis, 41, Painesville, OH
- Rajwant Singh, 44, Mayfield Heights, OH
- Germaine Truett, 38, Cleveland, OH
- Jason Johnson, 37, Cleveland, OH
- Ronel Washington, 24, Garfield Heights, OH
- Hector Pietri, 29, Cleveland, OH
- Kyle Vansteenburg, 28, Cleveland, OH
- Raphael Robinson, 26, Cleveland, OH
- Corey Huber, 32, Elyria, OH
- Michael Labondano, 30, Lyndhurst, OH
- Nicholas Cook, 38, Bedford Heights, OH
- Chazz Johnson-Hawks, 22, Solon, OH
- Ian Rensel, 43, Bedford, OH
- Jerry Harris, 35, Westlake, OH
- Carson Strnisa, 21, Seven Hills, OH
- Justin Cowger, 22, Cleveland, OH
- Kim Koran, 61, Cleveland, OH
- Nathan Troup, 39, New Castle, PA (Registered Sex Offender in the State of Pennsylvania)
- Abed Aldur, 45, Parma, OH
- Arturo Martinez, 47, University Heights, OH
- Phillip Jones, 30, Streetsboro, OH
- Keith Kozak, 41, Brooklyn, OH
- Pedro Correa Jr., 42, Cleveland, OH
- Ryan Dempsey, 37, Ashtabula, OH
- Johnathan Smith, 34, Cleveland, OH
- Robert Spisak, 45, Broadview Heights, OH
- Jason Schmucker, 37, Canton, OH
“As we have seen the number of Cybertips dramatically increase this year, it is clear that online predators remain a serious threat to our children,” said Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “Hopefully the success of yet another operation serves as a stern warning to offenders that you will be found, you will be arrested, and you will be prosecuted.”
The suspects were taken to Cuyahoga County Jail.
Photo Credit: The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force
SNL Black jeopardy Chadwick Boseman Guest Host
One of my favorite skits RIP Wakanda forever!
