Georgia Jury Convicts 3 White Men of Ahmaud Arbery Murder

Ahmaud Arbery

Wednesday, following eight days of testimony and two days of deliberation, a jury of nine White women,
two White men and one Black man, delivered guilty verdicts in the trial of three White men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County Georgia last year.

The 25-year-old Black man was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23, 2020, when Travis McMichael (35) and his father Gregory McMichael (65), grabbed their guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup. Their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. (52) later joined the pursuit in his own pickup and ended up recording cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery.

The video, which leaked online two months after the killings, was key in the prosecution of the crime in which federal authorities allege the three men chased and killed Arbery because he was black. Prosecutors in the current trial did not argue that racism motivated the killing, but the trio will face federal hate crime charges in a trial scheduled for February.

Following the verdict, outside the courthouse, Ahmaud's father Marcus Arbery Jr., said his son never did anything wrong.

"He didn't do nothing but run, run and dream. He's always been a curious kid. He always wanted to see things," an emotional Arbery Jr. said as he greeted family and supporters with smiles and handshakes. with. "All he wanted to do was run and dream."

Ahmaud Arbery's father Marcus Arbery, who cheered in the courtroom after the first guilty verdict in his son's murder trial:

"I don't want to see no daddy watch their kid get lynched and shot down like that ... Today is a good day." pic.twitter.com/m6zyyQ6j3z

— The Recount (@therecount) November 24, 2021]

Arbery Jr. added, "For real, all lives matter. Not just Black children. We don't want to see nobody go through this. I wouldn't want to see no daddy watch their kid get lynched and shot down like that."

"It's all our problem. So hey, let's keep fighting. Let's keep doing and making this a better place for all human beings."

From left to right, William "Roddie" Bryan, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael

The shooter Travis McMichael was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. Gregory McMichael and William Bryan were acquitted of malice murder but convicted on the other counts. All three men stood trial for murder because it was determined by the jury that they committed crimes that contributed to Arbery's death.

Malikah Shabazz dead at 56

Malikah Shabazz, who along with her twin sister Malaak, was the youngest of six daughters of civil rights icon Malcolm X and his wife, Betty Shabazz, is dead at 56.

Her daughter found her body inside her residence in Midwood, Brooklyn at about 4:40 p.m. Monday.

New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said no foul play is suspected, but an autopsy would determine the official cause of death.

“At this point in time, working with other authorities, the medical examiner, and speaking to the family, she had been ill for a period of time, and at this point, nothing appears suspicious,” Shea told PIX11.

The death comes just a week after two men were exonerated for their alleged roles in the 1965 assassination of her father.

Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., said was deeply saddened by the death of the daughter of her father's contemporary and sometimes critic.

“My heart goes out to her family, the descendants of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X. Dr. Shabazz was pregnant with Malikah and her twin sister, Malaak, when Brother Malcolm was assassinated,” she wrote on Twitter. "Be at peace, Malikah."

I’m deeply saddened by the death of #MalikahShabazz. My heart goes out to her family, the descendants of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X.

Dr. Shabazz was pregnant with Malikah and her twin sister, Malaak, when Brother Malcolm was assassinated.

Be at peace, Malikah. pic.twitter.com/YOlYoW4xDC

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) November 23, 2021

Blue Ivy Carter Steals the Show in Jay-Z Tribute Video

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's true recent Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jay-Z must be basking in pure adulation. 

While the rapper was officially inducted to the hall in October, a new video was released shortly after the ceremony aired Saturday on HBO. In it a long list of luminaries, including his wife Beyoncé, pay tribute to the artist by reciting iconic lyrics from his body of work.

However, it was his nine-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who stood out from the pack of 30 celebs — including the likes of Kevin Hart, Rihanna, Halle Berry, David Letterman, Chris Rock, Ed Sheeran, Idris Elba, Lin-Manuel Miranda and LeBron James, reciting a censored line from her father's 1998 track "Ride or Die."

"Congrats S. Carter, ghostwriter. You paid the right price, so we just make your hits tighter," recites Blu before bursting into laughter.

What the entire video below: