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  The Telegraph

  Select committee MPs call for football to sever ties with Black Lives Matter movement

  There were renewed calls from MPs for football to sever ties with the Black Lives Matter movement on Wednesday night after an application to form a political party was made in its name. The chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee, Julian Knight, and committee colleague Steve Brine both questioned the sport’s on-going support of the movement following the publication by the Electoral Commission of a notice of the application to register a UK-wide political party under the name Black Lives Matter. The commission has already approved the registration of one BLM-inspired political operation after The Taking The Initiative Party (TTIP) was launched this summer by BLM UK activist Sasha Johnson, who calls herself “Oxford’s Black Panther”. BLM UK has denied being behind the new party, which could nevertheless field candidates in next year’s local elections, compounding concerns MPs already had about support for the movement not being deemed a breach of football’s rules on political slogans. Knight told the Telegraph Sport: “This must call into question the long-term endorsement of the Premier League politically.” Brine, who this summer challenged Premier League chief executive Richard Masters over the matter, added: “I rest my case. This is, and very clearly always was, political.” Football has sought to distance itself from BLM following a row over the campaign’s alleged far-left ideology, including its divisive criticism of Israel and its promotion of policies such as defunding the police and ending capitalism – one of the leaders of the movement’s UK arm has also argued in favour of rioting. The BLM logo that appeared on players’ shirts when the Premier League resumed following the coronavirus crisis was replaced at the start of this season with the slogan No Room For Racism, the name of the world’s richest league’s own anti-racism campaign. But footballers in England have continued to take the knee – a symbol that has become synonymous with BLM – while BLM banners still adorn the stands at some stadiums during behind-closed-doors matches. European football is allowing individual clubs to make decisions over whether to take the knee, with Manchester City's players doing so ahead of their game with Marseille while their opponents stood in a line around the centre circle. Neither the Football Association nor Premier League had plans to review their positions on BLM following the Electoral Commission’s revelation. The FA said this summer: “We’re proud to support the Black Lives Matter message in order to show solidarity to the black community and to highlight inequality and injustice experienced by this community. “As an apolitical organisation and, while we are pleased to offer our solidarity in promoting this important message, we do not endorse any political organisation or movement, nor support any group that calls for violence or condones illegal activity. “We’ll continue to stand firm against all types of discrimination. Just as we specifically promote campaigns like Rainbow Laces to support the LGBTQ community or Level Playing Field’s week of action to highlight discrimination against disabled people, we are supporting Black Lives Matter.”
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  Deadline

  Los Angeles D.A. Challenger Attracting Big Hollywood Money & Support; Reed Hastings, Channing Dungey & Steven Spielberg Among Donors

  George Gascón’s bid to be Los Angeles County’s next District Attorney replacing two-term incumbent Jackie Lacey has all the drama of a Hollywood production, and the challenger has a lot of the industry’s backing to support that idea. Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings, newly minted Warner Bros TV boss Channing Dungey, FX EVP Georgina Balian, Macro […]
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  Evening Standard

  Why Dina Asher Smith turned down 'every single' request to talk in public about racism and Black Lives Matter

  Dina Asher Smith has revealed she turned down “every single” request to talk in public about racism and the Black Lives Matter protests as she did not want to “argue about whether something I see and face every day exists or not.”The 200 metre world champion said she was inundated with TV requests to discuss race following this summer’s protests, sparked by the deaths of 46-year-old George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, 26, in the US.
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  The Guardian

  America's protest crackdown: five months after George Floyd, hundreds face trials and prison

  America's protest crackdown: five months after George Floyd, hundreds face trials and prisonSome protesters face stacked charges and threats of deportation; others have been charged with police assault with no reports of injuries
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  The Telegraph

  'Black Lives Matter' registers as political party and could stand in local elections next year

  A Black Lives Matter group has applied to register as a political party, the Electoral Commission has revealed, and could field candidates in next year’s local elections. An application in the name of the protest group, which has led calls to defund the police, was made almost exactly five months after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd. The political party intends to operate over the whole of the UK and its registration suggests it plans on launching splinter groups in Wales and Scotland. It may also try to contest the London mayoral and assembly elections next year under the name “Black Lives Matter for the GLA”. However, there was confusion over who was behind the registration, after Black Lives Matter’s leading UK affiliate group denied any knowledge of the political operation. A spokesman for BLM UK said: “BLM UK has no intention to set up a political party. This person or group is not affiliated with us.” In a statement, the UK wing insisted it was operating on a “non-political, non-partisan, non-violence Black Lives Matter platform”. It remains unclear whether the registration was made by BLM’s American parent group, who did not respond to requests for comment, or another offshoot.
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  PA Media: UK News

  Ryan Giggs opens up on being made to feel ‘different’ because of race

  The Wales manager said he had ‘no hesitation’ in taking the knee at recent international games.
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  PA Media: UK News

  Harry: Living in Meghan’s shoes taught me unconscious bias existed

  The Duke of Sussex and activist Patrick Hutchinson spoke to launch men’s magazine British GQ’s Heroes Festival.
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  Evening Standard

  Selma director Ava DuVernay aims to ‘change minds’ with Black Lives Matter art exhibition

  Selma director Ava DuVernay says she wants to “change minds” with an exhibition bringing the Black Lives Matter movement into the heart of London’s art world.The 48-year-old, whose films include the Oscar-nominated 2014 civil rights drama and Disney’s A Wrinkle In Time, has teamed up with Mayfair gallery Signature African Art for the show. It features paintings and sculptures by 13 African artists and honours George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, whose killings at the hands of police in the US inspired the BLM movement.
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  Charlotte Observer

  Black Lives Matter street art being removed, drawing backlash in South Carolina city

  Black Lives Matter art is being removed from a South Carolina city street, sparking backlash from some people who say it’s going away too soon. City officials said artists used the wrong type of paint and the mural was a target of vandalism, prompting the city of Florence to get rid of it, Mayor Stephen J. Wukela said in a statement shared Friday with McClatchy News. The street art was created in early September and featured a chain, crown and other symbols surrounding the words Black Lives Matter, photos show.
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  Cosmo

  As a Black Muslim woman, where do I stand?

  It can feel like you're too Black for the Muslims, and too Muslim for the Black people.