On Monday, June 25th, two friends of Antwon, 17, a rising high school senior from Rankin, Pa., who was killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer one week prior to this writing, struggled to read that poem, “I Am Not What You Think!,” as family, schoolmates and friends gathered for Antwon’s funeral at his school, Woodland Hills Intermediate School, in Swissvale, Pa.
Antwon died after being shot three times as he ran from a vehicle during a traffic stop. The police said that he and another passenger fled after an officer stopped the Chevrolet Cruze they were in because it was thought to have been involved in an earlier shooting. The driver was taken into custody, interviewed and later released, the police have said.
“As it appears in … full read/full credit”
Two Years Before Police Murdered Antown Rose He Wrote a Poem Fearing His Life Would End
~Published on Jun 22, 2018~
17 year old Antwon Rose wrote a poem in 2016 hoping his mother would never have to experience losing her son to police violence.
Two years later, Police gunned down the unarmed African American.
On Wednesday’s episode of “Ellen,” May 2, host Ellen DeGeneres sat down with James Shaw Jr. – the 29-year-old Nashvillian now known as the “Waffle House Hero” after wrestling a gun away from a shooter at a Waffle House in Antioch, Tenn.
During his interview with DeGeneres, Shaw recounted the events of the April 22 attack, which left four dead.
“Wow … You’re a really brave man,” DeGeneres said, and her audience broke into applause.
She also asked Shaw how he felt about being called a hero.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” he said. “It’s just if you’re in that same situation, I want you to know that a regular guy did it, and I want you to emulate that same thing, and know you have that fire inside yourself.”
The two discussed the GoFundMe campaign Shaw had set up for funeral expenses for the victims, as well as the campaign for Shaw and his daughter set up by journalist Yashar Ali.
~~Ellen Sits Down with Waffle House Hero James Shaw Jr.~~
~~Published on May 2, 2018~~
James Shaw Jr. made headlines after bravely disarming the shooter who opened fire in a Tennessee Waffle House in April.
He sat down with Ellen to talk about his experience and how anyone can be a hero.
~~Waffle House Hero James Shaw Jr. Meets His NBA Idol Dwyane Wade~~
~~Published on May 2, 2018~~
James Shaw Jr. became a national hero after disarming a gunman in a Tennessee Waffle House, and now Ellen introduced James to his own personal hero, NBA player Dwyane Wade.
Avi Kaplan, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, Mitch Grassi
Cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’
The five-member a capella group Pentatonix has released a new music video featuring their own arrangement of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” on April 24.
The somber yet beautiful rendition is one of the seven tracks released from their latest album, PTX Vol. IV – Classics.
The simple video, set against a black backdrop, focuses on the group, as the camera pans to each singer in a circle while their voices are woven in and out together by the melody.
On June 12, 2016, a 29-year-old security guard, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a terrorist attack/hate crime inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States.
~Wikipedia~
On a day like today, 9 months ago, I woke up to the news.
It came with a deep, gut-wrenching feeling!
49 people dead, many injured, in a gay club relatively near my house, on Latin night.
~Orlando City unveils seats honoring 49 Pulse nightclub shooting victims~
Orlando City president Phil Rawlins led a private ceremony unveiling 49 rainbow-colored seats honoring 49 Pulse Nightclub shooting victims.
The seats, which honor the people killed at a popular Orlando gay nightclub on June 12, are in section 12 of the Lions’ new stadium set to open in March at the start of the 2017 Major League Soccer season.
Girls from around the world are using the words of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai to campaign for education as part of Plan International’s Because I am a Girl campaign.
More than 40 girls from 12 countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda, Brazil, El Salvador and the Philippines have been involved in voicing one of Yousafzai’s famous speeches calling for education for all girls all over the world. Inspired by Malala’s example, there are many “other Malalas” around the world who are fighting for girls to be given the right to be educated.
Girls from around the world are using the words of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai to campaign for education as part of Plan’s Because I am a Girl campaign.
Puerto Rico has its first LGBT monument in the island’s history, which now is also a memorial to the victims of the Pulse shooting.
The monument is seven concrete pillars, each covered in colorful mosaics, and sits at the entrance of Sixto Escobar Stadium in San Juan’s Third Millennium Park, according to Noticel, a Puerto Rican publication.
The monument cost an estimated $9,000, funded by city taxpayers, Noticel reports.
It was designed by Alberto de la Cruz.
A section of the monument lists the names of the 49 people who lost their lives at the Pulse shooting, highlighting the names of the 23 Puerto Rican victims.
Next to the names, written in Spanish, is the quote,
“This tribute to life strengthens our commitment to fight hate – the product of homophobia – with love and respect.
The monument’s dedication took place almost exactly one year after a federal judge in Puerto Rico first ruled in favor of marriage equality.
Although an anti-equality judge in Puerto Rico tried to halt that ruling, a federal appeals court determined in April that the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which brought marriage equality to all 50 states, was also binding in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
“We celebrate life,” said San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín at the monument’s inauguration. “We must work together to eradicate discrimination and homophobia. We must raise our voice for justice and equality of every human being.
We must aspire to a country where everyone is equal and not be judged by how we love.”
Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor, Juanes, Pink, Mary J. Blige, Selena Gomez and Britney Spears are among 24 artists featured on a new recording to raise money for victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre.
The all-star release, “Hands” — a charity single from Interscope Records with support from GLAAD — was conceived by hit songwriter Justin Tranter, co-writer of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and hits for Gomez, DNCE, Fall Out Boy and Stefani.
The June 12 slaughter at the gay nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people and injured 53, is the most deadly mass shooting in American history and the deadliest act of violence against the LGBT community. Funds from the song will aid families with medical care, counseling and will also be used for education.
Proceeds from the sale of the new tribute single in the United States will benefit Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida, and GLAAD.
“Hands,” is a musical tribute to the 49 victims of the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The track features Mary J Blige, Jason Derulo, Britney Spears, Tyler Glenn, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Ty Herndon, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Kacey Musgraves, MNEK, Alex Newell, P!nk, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, RuPaul, Troye Sivan, Jussie Smollett, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainor.
“Hands” was written by Warner Chappell writers Justin Tranter & Julia Michaels, and BloodPop®; produced by BloodPop®, Mark Ronson, and Justin Tranter.
[Verse 1: Britney Spears + Gwen Stefani]
Can hold a gun
And hold your heart
Can put out fires
And make ’em start
Skin and bones
And flesh and blood
With all this nerve
How did we get this numb
[Pre-Chorus: Meghan Trainor + Troye Sivan]
Cus they can hurt
Or they can heal
They can give back
Or they can steal
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
[Chorus: All Together]
Ooh hands
Hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands
[Verse 2: Selena Gomez + Kacey Musgraves]
Doesn’t matter
Who you love
All that matters
Is your love
I’ve been watching news
And seeing all this hate
Tell me is it wrong
To want a little change
[Pre-Chorus: Mary J. Blige]
They can hurt
Or they can heal
They can give back
Or they can steal
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
[Chorus: All Together led by Jason Derulo]
Ooh hands
Hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands
[Post-Chorus: Led by Imagine Dragons]
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Ooooh
[Bridge: Jennifer Lopez]
Can hold a gun
And hold your heart
Can put out fires
And make ’em start
I’ve been watching news
And seeing all this hate
Tell me is it wrong
To want a little change
[Chorus: Adam Lambert & Tyler Glenn + P!NK & MNEK]
Ooh hands
Hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands
[Post-Chorus: Led by Imagine Dragons]
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Ooooh
[Outro: RuPaul + (Mary Lambert) + Nate Ruess + Together]
Just take my hand baby
Everybody’s in love
(All that matters is your love)
(Change it or break it)
(They can love or they can take it, take it all)
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Ooooh
It Is What It Is 