Three things for February 4
1. Ohio police officer charged with the murder of Andre Hill
Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, was shot by former Columbus police officer Adam Coy in December while emerging from a garage holding a cellphone. Coy was charged with Hill’s murder, failure to use a body camera and failure to tell another policeman he believed to be in danger.
“Coy had a long history of complaints from citizens. He was fired on Dec. 28 for failing to activate his body camera before the confrontation and for not providing medical aid to Hill,” reports AP News.
Hill’s family is still grieving but considers Coy’s charges as a stepping stone in the right direction.
“It’s important to start holding these officers accountable for their bad actions and their bad acts,” family attorney Michael Wright told AP News. “I think it will go a long way for one, the public to trust law enforcement, for two, to potentially change the behavior of officers and their interaction with individuals that shouldn’t be killed or should not endure excessive force.”
2. Justice Department drops race discrimination lawsuit against Yale
On Wednesday, Feb. 3, the U.S. Justice Department dropped charges against Yale University. The university was previously accused of illegally discriminating against white and Asian American applicants in its undergraduate admissions process. Yale’s practices allegedly violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but an underlying investigation is ongoing.
“The DOJ sued Yale in October 2020 for race and national origin discrimination, alleging that most Asian American and white applicants have one-eighth to one-fourth the likelihood of admission as African American applicants with comparable academic credentials,” reports NPR.
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to NPR that it had dismissed the lawsuit “in light of all available facts, circumstances, and legal developments.”
Yale has denied the accusations and requested further investigation be conducted once all of Yale’s officials give more required information.
“Conservative strategist Edward Blum told member station WGBH in November that they planned to appeal that case to the Supreme Court and ask the justices to ‘end these unfair and unconstitutional race-based admissions policies at Harvard and all colleges and universities,’” reports NPR.
3. Country music star Morgan Wallen faces backlash for using racial slurs
Morgan Wallen, a successful country music artist, has been dropped by his recording company Big Loud Records after the star was recorded shouting racial slurs on the streets of Nashville.
“Morgan Wallen, country music’s hottest recording artist, has been banned from the nation’s two largest radio networks and a TV network, pulled from music-streaming services and suspended by his record label after he was recorded shouting a racist slur outside his Nashville home after a night out with friends,” reported the Los Angeles Times.
Wallen is not a stranger to controversy after his canceled Saturday Night Live performance for not obeying COVID safety procedures. Recently, the singer was caught by TMZ using the slur in anger.
“The backlash was sudden. Wallen’s label announced Wednesday via social media that it was taking a step back from the “7 Summers” singer, who was named the Country Music Association’s new artist of the year in 2019,” reports the LA Times.
Many radio stations have already removed Wallen’s music from their playlists.
