"REVOLT Black News" talks Mauritania and allegations that the country still grapples with slavery
On Friday’s (June 16) episode of “REVOLT Black News Weekly,” global news anchor Mara S. Campo tackled a myriad of topics including an update on the case of Ajike “AJ” Owens, the indictment of Daniel Penny, reported slavery in the African nation of Mauritania, disparities in majority Black schools, and more.
Owens was laid to rest in Ocala, FL 10 days after her death. The mother of four was shot and killed by her neighbor, a 58-year-old white woman named Susan Louise Lorincz that many in the neighborhood called a “Karen.” On the evening of June 2, Lorincz got into an altercation with Owens’ children, allegedly becoming violent and taking one of their iPads way. When Owens knocked on Lorincz’s home, the white woman shot through the closed door, striking and killing the mother. It took the police four days to arrest Lorincz due to her self-defense claim and Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws.
“We know this is a racist law,” said activist Takema Robinson. “We know it is applied in a racist way and disproportionately applied when there is a Black victim, and so, we really want the community behind us as we also call for change around Stand Your Ground.”
Appearing in court with a bulletproof vest, Lorincz pleaded not guilty to a first-degree felony charge of manslaughter with a firearm as well as culpable negligence, battery and assault. A judge granted her a $154,000 bond.
The GoFundMe set up for Owens’ children offers a glimpse into the racial disparities still gripping the nation. Created to help Owens’ kids, over $300,000 has been raised. However, the donations for the legal defense fund of Daniel Penny, who killed a Black man, Jordan Neely, with a chokehold on a New York City train on May 1, is at almost $3 million. Penny was not immediately arrested and turned himself in after two weeks of public outrage and protest. A grand jury indicted him for second-degree murder.
“I knew I had to act, and I acted in a way that would protect the other passengers, protect myself and protect Mr. Neely,” said Penny in a previous interview. “Some people said that this is about race, which is absolutely ridiculous. I didn’t see a Black man threatening passengers; I saw a man threatening passengers.”
Moreover, Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, the day the last American slaves were made aware of their freedom, which was a full two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. But while we’re celebrating over 160 years of “freedom,” the African country of Mauritania was the last to ban slavery in the world. Mauritania is in Northwest Africa, and slavery has been part of its culture for centuries, per an Equal Times-produced documentary. Like chattel slavery in the U.S., if you were born to an enslaved person, you were also a slave.
Working day and night, tending to domestic duties, the women were often raped with their children becoming another generation of enslaved people. Mauritania abolished slavery in 1981, but there were no legal repercussions, so the practice continued until 2007 when it was criminalized, but only after international pressure. However, only three enslavers were sentenced to jail time through 2018.
“The law is there, it just has not been enforced by the government because of the lack of political will to enforce the law,” said U.S.-based Mauritanian activist Abdoulaye Sow. “In my mind, the reason for that is the people in charge in Mauritania are the ones who are protecting the slave masters.” However, the government continues to deny any slavery. Nevertheless, in 2018 the Global Slavery Index estimated the number of enslaved Mauritanians at 90,000, and placed the country third behind North Korea and Eritrea on the list of countries with the highest prevalence of slaves. Mauritania abolitionists, like SOS Slaves, continue working to change things despite the circumstances.
More topics “REVOLT Black News Weekly” covered included the trend of Black children being left behind in school (which led to debates over school choice); the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi; and an interview with rapper and actor Abraham Da’Vinchi Juste of Starz series “BMF,” who discussed his success and struggles with mental health with correspondent Kennedy Rue.
Be sure to watch new episodes of “REVOLT Black News Weekly” every Friday at 5 p.m. ET via REVOLT’s app. Plus, catch a quick clip from Friday’s installment below.
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