Tyre Nichols Funeral Service on Wednesday

On the night of January 7, 2023 Tyre Nichols, 29-year-old motorist was pepper-sprayed, kicked and beaten by policemen after running from a traffic stop in Hickory Hill toward his parents home. Nichols was severely injured and passed away three days later in the hospital.

The five Memphis police officers involved have been fired and charged with second-degree murder. Two more have been relieved of duty, along with two sheriff deputies and three fire department employees who responded that night have also been fired.

The world was outrage after witnessing footage of Nichols attack and also hearing him call out for his mother. Footage was released on January 27 by the Memphis Police Department (MPD), four video clip edits showing the day of the incident between 8:24PM & 9:24PM. The release of the surveillance along with police body footage quickly led to worldwide protests.

The funeral service will be live Wednesday at 10:30AM (CT) on WREG website and News Channel 3 within the Memphis, TN television area.

Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at the funeral.

Ben Crump, attorney for the Nichols family will deliver a "call to action" during a service led by Rev. J. Lawerence Turner.

Sources say that Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to attend the service as well.

Nichols will be laid to rest at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.

#TyreNichols #PoliceBrutality #Memphis #Funeral

T.H.U.G✊🏿

Where a teenage girl is constantly switching between two worlds... Speaking on the act of code-switching, which is when you're turning 'it' on and turning it 'off'... referring to one's blackness.

It is a film inspired by the book 'The Hate U Give' written by Angie Thomas. She happens to be a huge fan of rapper, Tupac as well. While writing this book Thomas was able to find a connection with the term "THUG LIFE" and events taking place in today's society such as: gang violence, black on black crime, white crime, police brutality and a 'corrupt' system.

When attending #NABJ18 in Detroit, #MelodicallyInTune sat in on the Arts and Entertainment Taskforce, 20th Century Fox Presents a Clips & Conversation Reception where director of the film, George Tillman Jr. spoke with moderator Roland Martin and fellow journalists and other professionals about the movie schedule to hit all theaters on October 19.

The main character, Starr Carter played by Amandla Stenberg is constantly reassured that her father Maverick Carter (Russell Hornsby) did not name her Starr for no reason and that not everyone was giving the same superpowers.

The Carter's (Regina Hall, wife/mother), growing up in Garden Heights only wants a better life for their family. Starr and her siblings Seven (Starr's half brother) and Sekani were all given unique names with a special meaning. None of them attended their "neighborhood school" because the only thing people do there is either get jumped, high or pregnant. Starr's parents sent them off to a predominantly white private school called Williamson.

"Our live is here [Garden Heights] because our people are here."

Garden Heights was one world but the school they actually attended was another. For instance, talking slang makes white people seem cool but for Starr it would only make her hood.

"We have not been trained to be unapologetically black"

-Roland Martin, NABJ18 Convention

The director Tillman Jr. faces these same experiences until this very day.

In the movie he wanted to display that Starr could have a white boyfriend, black best friend and still live the best of both worlds. He continues on to say "be who you are, don't be afraid of being who you are!"

We must have conversations about black and white people so that things can keep getting better and we can keep moving forward.

It's a movie displaying that "where you live does not define who you are." At one point within the movie, Starr feels as if she has to be quiet so she don't seem like a poor girl from the hood who just now saw her friend get killed.

At a point within the movie, Starr's uncle Carlos (Common) plays the role of a cop and states how the views of police officers are different and that we live in a complicated world. After being given two different scenarios, most people as in white people when dealing with blacks being pulled versus dealing with someone else white they "don't see it as a crime but another traffic stop gone wrong."

One of the incidents Tillman used as motivation amongst completing this film was the Philando Castile, who was a 32 year old man at the time who got pulled over in Falcon Heights, Minnesota and shot to death by a cop.

Within the movie it shows how it's "Just US for justice." Us meaning black people... Starr has to deal with the fact that her second life of people doesn't understand the seriousness of what happened to her best friend Khalil (Algee Smith) and being black in America.

"Violence brutality, it's the same story just a different name."

"Division is how they win unity is how they crumble."

The concept of acting black but still keeping the same white privilege isn't an option for black people.

Director Tillman Jr. presented this film to 20th Century Fox Pictures by telling them it's not only about the things that are happening right now today in society geared towards police brutality but also displays personal growth, love, respect, relationships amongst others and yourself...

Watch the official trailer of The Hate U Give.

The entire movie is heartfelt and had us in tears drowning in our feeling with a remarkable ending.

Making America Great 'Again' OR Worse?

The world discovers billionaire and 'Apprentice' celebrity Donald Trump is the United States President-elect. Trump won the 2016 Election bearing 290 electoral votes oppose to Democrat Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 228, needing 270 to win. Clinton won the election by popular votes instead. Trump gains his victory over Clinton due to the electoral votes earned by the battleground states which wins him the presidency seat inside of the White House.

Since 2000, a president has not won the election solely off of the electoral votes without winning the popular votes as well.

Early Wednesday morning following the results of the election chaos then begins. The nation has not been the same from coast to coast, several Anti-Trump protest have formed. Demonstrations that were intended to be peaceful eventually turned into riots, leaving some citizens injured and others arrested. Protesting rising in various locations from California to Illinois and Georgia to New York hitting other cities and states that lie far and close between.

Media has shown the wide range of Americans on college and university campuses protesting at schools such as Le Monye College and Western Kentucky University.

Well known celebrities such as singer Chris Brown, Lady Gaga and rapper T.I. have joined in on the protest action along with expressing their emotions on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram.

Many Americans are expressing themselves on all platforms of social media, trying to make sense of how something such as this could happen. How could anyone want a person such as Trump to be our president for the next four years? ... OR is he their president.

The "Not My President" and "No Racist USA" protest have occurred for several days now.

Protesting even continues into Thursday night only this time in Louisville, Kentucky. Like most events this protest started as a Facebook invite to help circulate the word of 'peaceful protesting' taking place in downtown Louisville.

About five hundred people gathered in downtown Louisville at the Jefferson Square Park holding signs displaying messages such as:

• "Trump Hates Someone You Love"

• "Pussies Against Trump! You can't grab this"

• "Racism, Misogyny, Sexual Harassment are NOT OK neither is complacency to it"

• "#BlackLivesMatter, #TransLivesMatter, #LatinoLivesMatter, #DisabledLivesMatter

Yelling chants and holding signs such as:

• "We reject the President-elect!"

• "Love Trumps Hate!"

• "Hey, Hey,Ho,Ho Donald Trump Has Got to Go!"

• "My body, my choice!... Her body, her choice!"

• "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA"

• "Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter..."

Chanting while spectators drive by and blew their horns in agreement, passerby's eventually joining in on the protest. The protest went on for three hours with very few pro Trump voters interrupting those expressing their feelings about the results of the election.

Co-organizer of the protest Kate was in-despair from the election results and wanted to put on an event to show that people can come together, work against social justice and still move forward. Kate is very impressed with the results of the protest, "this is not going to stop [people] but make them work harder for the issues that matter."

Kate cried when learning the election winner she believes Trump speaks to a "hopefully dying part of the population that's intrenched in racism, misogyny, transphobia and sexism which his policy reflects."

This country doesn't need more walls but needs bridges instead. Kate will no longer be able to have their transition covered through the Affordable Care (ACA) this is taking a toll on their mental and physical health now that Trump will take over office January 20th.

"This election was to me, and so many others, more than just the traditional Republican versus Democrat fight. This was hate and fear versus love and compassion. This was a fight to show everyone that love does trump hate, and that we will stand up against the face of oppression."

-David Adams

A first time voter and student at the University of Louisville working towards a political science degree joined in on the protest as a member of the LGBTQ* community it was also heartbreaking news for him and his friends when learning the results of the election. He is a proud supporter of Clinton and after Thursday nights protest he too wants others to take away that these next four years could be the ugliest years and that [minorities] are not going to stop fighting for equality.

A petition has been created on change.org as well to see the future power of the White House change from the hands of Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton.

There will always be a certain divide in America! However, right now it does not appear to be a great one...