Fulton DA announces charges against 6 Atlanta officers in excessive force case

The great-grandson of a woman who played the Aunt Jemima character for nearly 20 years said he was angry with Quaker Oats’ decision to change its logo and name on its pancake mix and syrup. Larnell Evans Sr.‘s great-grandmother, Anna Short Harrington, portrayed the Aunt Jemima character from 1935 to 1954, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported. On Wednesday, Chicago-based Quaker Foods announced it would eliminate the Aunt Jemima brands in response to civil unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died May 25 when his neck was pinned by the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer for nearly nine minutes. “This is an injustice for me and my family. This is part of my history, sir,” Evans told Patch. “The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side -- white people. This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother’s history. A Black female. … It hurts.” Harrington, a Syracuse resident, was discovered by representatives of the Quaker Oats Company while she was cooking pancakes at the 1935 New York State Fair, the Post-Standard reported. She was hired to dress up in the Aunt Jemima character and toured North America, promoting the brand. Harrington, who cooked for many fraternity houses at Syracuse University, was the third “Aunt Jemima,” the newspaper reported. Nancy Green, a former slave, originated the role with an apron and headscarf in 1893. Harrington was born in Bennettsville, South Carolina. She died Oct. 21, 1955, in Syracuse and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in the city, according to her obituary in the Syracuse Herald American. Evans, 66, a Marine Corps veteran living in North Carolina, told Patch that Quaker Oats should not try to erase history, the Post-Standard reported. “This woman served all those people, and it was after slavery. She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job,” Evans said. “How do you think I feel as a Black man sitting here telling you about my family history they’re trying to erase?” Quaker Oats said it will announce a new name for its pancake mix and syrup later this year.

A new reservation system is coming to Walt Disney World when the parks reopen in July, the resort announced Friday. The new Disney Park Pass system will allow guests with a ticket or annual pass to make a reservation in advance for each park. A reservation and valid admission for the same park on the same day are required for each person ages 3 and up, the resort announced. Beginning Monday, Disney Resort and other select hotel guests who already have a valid park admission can make reservations. Annual pass holders can begin making reservations June 26, and existing ticket holders can make reservations beginning June 28. Park reservations can be made through Sept. 26, 2021, based on each guest’s resort ticket eligibility or ticket eligibility window, the resort stated. The tool will be available at DisneyWorld.com. Reservations will be made using a My Disney Experience account with a valid theme park ticket or annual pass linked to it. Hotel reservations should also be linked to it beforehand. Ticket sales for the remainder of 2020 as well Disney Resort hotel arrival will resume later this summer. By June 28, all guests will be able to purchase new Disney Resort hotel packages and theme park ticket, and make park reservations, to come to Disney in 2021. For now, guests will only be allowed to select one park per day. Disney said they hope to bring back the multi-park tickets in 2021. In addition, the resort stated it will implement temperature checks at the gate. Anyone in a party who has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will not be admitted along with the rest of their party. All guests older than the age of 2 will be required to wear a face covering at all times except when dining or swimming. The resort is encouraging guests to bring their own masks. Cast members will also have to wear a mask. The parks will operate under reduced capacity, and social distancing will be enforced. There will also be enhanced cleaning procedures throughout as well as hand sanitizing stations. Disney previously announced that the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopen July 11, and EPCOT and Hollywood Studios reopen July 15. On Thursday, the park canceled its annual Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom while also extending and modifying the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT.

After months of worry and prayers over her now-100-year-old father at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, Susan Regensburger finally got to see him this week. But the reunion was bittersweet. “I was very excited, but I was also very sad because I knew I wouldn’t be able to give him a hug, that they’d be very tight on restrictions,” Regensberger said. Her father, John MacKay, is a living miracle. The former Army Air Corps sergeant turned 100 on May 15. He also recovered from the coronavirus, which killed dozens of veterans at the Soldiers’ Home. Visits are finally allowed but with strict protocols. Regensburger had wanted to take her dad’s favorite treat, peppermint patties, to celebrate but said, “They said absolutely nothing could come in.” So, father and daughter sat outside across a 7-foot table with a nurse’s aide watching their every move. Regensburger said a nursing assistant sat in a chair. “(She was)… to the left of us with the CNA sitting there monitoring making sure we didn’t do anything illegal,” Regensburger said. But the hardest part for her was not being able to hug her dad. “He seemed lonesome to me because he’s very personable,” Regensburger said. And without that social contact, she thinks he’s regressed. “If he’d had a lot more personal interaction, he’d be sharper,” she said. Regensburger also worries about the investigations into why so many succumbed to COVID-19. As of Tuesday, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services said 76 veterans had died from the coronavirus. Both the attorney general’s investigation and the governor’s investigation are ongoing. Regensburger just wants answers. She knows her father was lucky to survive. “I just hope for the sake of those people who lost their lives that something will happen and problems will be rectified there,” she said.

A monument to Washington Redskins founder George Preston Marshall, the last NFL owner to integrate his squad, was taken apart and removed from the grounds of RFK Stadium on Friday. The monument was taken down on Juneteenth by Events DC, Washington’s convention and sports authority that manages the 190-acre area that served as the Redskins’ home stadium from 1961 to 1996, The Washington Post reported. Marshall, a segregationist who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, did not integrate the Redskins until 1962, 16 years after the NFL reintegrated. He founded the franchise in 1932 as the Boston Braves and renamed the team the Redskins the following year, ESPN reported. Marshall moved the team to the nation’s capital in 1937. Max Brown, the chairman of the Events DC board of directors, and Greg O’Dell, the organization’s president and CEO, issued a joint statement that said dismantling the monument was “a small and overdue step on the road to lasting equality and justice.” “This symbol of a person who didn’t believe all men and women were created equal and who actually worked against integration is counter to all that we as people, a city, and nation represent,” the statement read. “We believe that injustice and inequality of all forms is reprehensible, and we are firmly committed to confronting unequal treatment and working together toward healing our city and country.” The Redskins were not consulted on the removal, the Post reported. The team declined to comment through a spokesperson. Only a few African Americans had been in the NFL from its founding until 1933. That included Frederick “Duke” Slater, who played from 1922 to 1931, and Fritz Pollard, who played and coached from 1920 to 1928, according to the NFL. The Los Angeles Rams reintegrated the league in 1946. The first African American to play for the Redskins was Bobby Mitchell in 1962. Marshall once said he would sign African American players once the Harlem Globetrotters signed white players, ESPN reported. As the NFL’s southernmost franchise for many years, Marshall had the team’s marching band play “Dixie” on the field for 23 years. The NAACP protested against Marshall at a league owners meeting in 1957 and once picketed outside his home, ESPN reported. Marshall finally integrated the Redskins in 1962 after Interior Secretary and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy threatened to revoke permission to play at D.C. Stadium (later renamed RFK Stadium), which was built on federally owned land, the Post reported. The Redskins left RFK Stadium after the 1996 season and moved to FedEx Field in northern Virginia. The lower seating bowl at FedEx is called the George Preston Marshall Level, and Marshall’s name is enshrined in the Ring of Fame that hangs on the stadium facade, the Post reported.

Protests over racism and police violence continue nationwide, sparked by outrage over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed last month while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Live updates for Friday, June 19, continue below: Georgia Sheriffs’ Association critical of Fulton County DA Update 6:01 p.m. EDT June 19: The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association criticized the way Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, Jr. has handled the investigation into the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. “District Attorney Paul Howard hastily conducted his own personal investigation before announcing he had secured warrants for the two officers,” Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard, the president of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, said in a statement. “Through this grandstanding vote-seeking tactic, Howard has trampled on the rights of Officer Garrett Rolfe and Officer Devin Brosnan and has further allowed this tragic incident to be more about his re-election than justice for the officers involved, the Atlanta Police Department and the citizens of our state.” AG Barr critical of process used in charging Atlanta police officers Update 5:42 p.m. EDT June 19: U.S. Attorney General William Barr, in an interview that aired Friday, criticized the way charges were brought against two Atlanta police officers by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard. Barr told Fox Business that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation should have completed its investigation of the shooting before the charges were filed. Barr also said a grand jury should have been used while the case against officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan were being built, CNN reported.  “I think it’s important to go through the right processes before charging someone,” Barr said.  Red paint covers Ohio statehouse Update 4:59 p.m. EDT June 19: Red paint handprints were found on the walls, stairs and pillars of the Ohio statehouse Thursday, a move that angered Gov. Mike DeWine. The phrase, “hands up, don’t shoot” were also painted along with the handprints. “I support the right to peacefully protest,” DeWIne said in a statement. “However, defacing, damaging, and vandalizing our state capitol and its grounds are wrong, and such actions are criminal.” Former officer accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks waves court appearance Update 1:44 p.m. EDT June 19: Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe has waived his first court appearance, WSB reported. Rolfe’s attorneys did not show up to court on his behalf. Officer who was involved with Breonna Taylor shooting to be fired Update 12:19 p.m. EDT June 19: Louisville Chief Rob Schroeder has started the process to fire Det. Brett Hankinson, WLKY reported. Hankinson is one of three officers were was involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old ER technician. In his termination letter, it is said Hankinson violated two standard operating procedures: obedience to rules and regulations and use of deadly force, according to WLKY. The letter said that Hankison was also reckless since some of the rounds he fired in Taylor’s home went into a neighbor’s apartment. Schroeder said Hankinson was not trained by the police department to use “deadly force in this fashion,” WLKY reported. Taylor was shot and killed on March 13 when Hankinson and two other officers were acting on a no-knock search warrant that had her name and apartment listed as part of a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in her apartment. Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fired a gun at the officers who broke into the apartment unannounced because he thought the home was being broken into, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. Former officer charged with murder in Rayshard Brooks’ death to face judge today Update 6:17 a.m. EDT June 19: Former Atlanta police Officer Garrett Rolfe is expected to appear in court at noon today, WSB-TV is reporting. Rolfe turned himself into the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, but then officials transferred him to the Gwinnett County Jail. He’s being held with no bond. On Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard charged Rolfe with murder and 10 other charges, including aggravated assault. The other officer, Devin Brosnan, who is facing three charges, including aggravated assault, turned himself in and quickly bonded out. Read more here. Confederate memorial removed from Atlanta suburb Update 4:58 a.m. EDT June 19: Hundreds of people cheered late Thursday as crews removed a Confederate memorial from Decatur Square in Georgia. According to WSB-TV and The Associated Press, the monument was erected in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The stone obelisk was lifted from its base with straps to chants of “Just drop it!” from the crowd, who were kept a safe distance by sheriff’s deputies. On June 12, DeKalb County Judge Clarence Seeliger ordered the 30-foot monument to be removed by midnight June 26 and placed in storage indefinitely. The order came hours before a white Atlanta police officer shot and killed a black man, 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, in the back, sparking renewed protests. Read more here. Hundreds gather for vigil for Charleena Lyles, pregnant mother killed by Seattle police in 2017 Update 3:11 a.m. EDT June 19: Hundreds gathered Thursday at Seattle’s Magnuson Park to remember Charleena Lyles, a pregnant mother of four who was fatally shot three years ago after calling police to report a burglary at her apartment, KIRO-TV is reporting. During the vigil, Lyles’ cousin laid out several demands, including that the Seattle Police Department be defunded by at least 50% and reinvest the funds into the community. Lyles’ family also wants the Seattle police officers involved in the case, Jason Anderson and Steven McNew, to drop their lawsuits against King County, which the family said is preventing the inquest from proceeding. On the night officers arrived at Lyles’ place, they said she was calm and peaceful at first, but then she suffered a mental breakdown. Police said she grabbed at least one kitchen knife and lunged at them, leaving them no choice but to fire shots, killing her. In the aftermath, family members sued the officers involved in the case, as well as the city of Seattle. Read more here. Georgia Gov. Kemp releases video message in support of police officers Update 2:36 a.m. EDT June 19: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released a video Thursday with a lengthy message in support of Georgia police officers and acknowledging the challenging time officers are facing, WSB-TV is reporting. The message came one day after two Atlanta police officers were charged in connection with the death of Rayshard Brooks and after weeks of protests against police brutality nationwide. “While so much of our attention is on the few that have violated their oath, we have failed to express our deepest appreciation for the many more who uphold it every day,” Kemp said. “So today and every day, we say, ‘Thank you.’” Kemp lauded officers’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic and during protests. “During this global pandemic, you stepped up to help advance COVID-19 testing. You worked overtime to keep your friends and neighbors safe during peaceful community protests,” Kemp said. “And even when it seemed like the world abandoned you, and demonized your profession, you continued to sacrifice your life for the safety of others.” On Wednesday night, rumors swirled that officers walked out after the Fulton County district attorney announced charges against the two officers involved in Brooks’ death. Garrett Rolfe faces 11 charges in the deadly shooting, including felony murder. He turned himself in Thursday. Officer Devin Brosnan, who faces three charges, also turned himself in Thursday and was released on bond. WSB-TV′s Richard Elliot was outside the state Capitol, where Kemp’s office said his statement was in direct response to reports of Atlanta police officers refusing to go to work. Kemp’s office said the officers were protesting District Attorney Paul Howard’s charging of the officers in Brooks’ death, although Kemp never mentioned Brooks by name. “Know this: We stand with you,” Kemp said. “We support you, and we have your back. I don’t know what comes next, but know that you are not alone.” The Atlanta Police Department has said there was no massive walkout. Read more here. Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, implement curfew ahead of Trump rally Update 1:49 a.m. EDT June 19: Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said a curfew is now in effect for downtown due to President Donald Trump’s visit on Saturday. According to KOKI-TV, Tulsa police took to Facebook to say the curfew started at 10 p.m. CDT Thursday and will be in effect until 6 a.m. CDT Saturday. After the rally, the curfew will resume until 6 a.m. CDT Sunday.  Mayor G.T. Bynum signed the executive order that places a curfew on certain areas. It cites the possibility of “civil unrest” and “multiple incidents of violence and property damage” during and surrounding previous protests. Read more here. County health board in Washington state declares racism a public health crisis Published 12:57 a.m. EDT June 19: The King County Board of Health in Washington state passed a resolution Thursday declaring racism a public health crisis, KIRO-TV is reporting. As part of the resolution, the Board of Health said it supports King County and Public Health – Seattle & King County in the work to advance a public health approach in addressing institutional and systemic racism. Officials also said they “commit to assessing, revising, and writing its guiding documents and its policies with a racial justice and equity lens including the Board of Health code and annual work plan.” As part of the resolution, the board members said they also commit to ongoing work around race and equity, including the following: Participating in racial equity training. Engaging and being responsive to communities and residents impacted by racism, especially black and indigenous communities, as partners in identifying and implementing solutions. Establishing an agreed-upon understanding of racial equity principles to work towards anti-racist policies and practices and to serve as ambassadors of racial equity work. Read more here. – The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A 16-year-old boy was bitten by a shark off Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Thursday, according to a release from the National Park Service. The teen from Oak Ridge was bitten while jumping over waves on a sandbar near an off-road vehicle ramp. The ramp is just south of the town of Salvo. The attack happened around 4 p.m. The boy was taken to Nags Head for treatment and released Thursday night. His family said that the attack happened about 25 feet from shore. Researchers have said it’s not unusual for lots of sharks to hang out near the Carolina coast.