Corruption – Page 20 – The Pen Hustle With Brandy Cavalli

One Black Juror Selected for Ahmaud Arbery Murder Case; All Other Jurors White

The jury selection phase of the Ahmaud Arbery case is already proving to be a miscarriage of justice for Ahmaud. This trial hasn’t even began and it already appears to be headed in the wrong direction. One black juror was selected for the jury, all the others were white. Even the judge called the jury selection process “discriminatory”.

Let’s hope justice is served for Ahmaud Arbery who didn’t deserve his fate. For those who don’t remember, Ahmaud was jogging through a South Georgia neighborhood & subsequently hunted down and shot like a dog by two white men playing neighborhood “vigilantes”.

CNN — After a long and contentious jury selection process in a coastal Georgia county in preparation for the trial for Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, a panel of 12 people was chosen Wednesday — consisting of one Black member and 11 White members. The jury was selected after a two-and-a-half-week selection process that ended with prosecutors for the state accusing defense attorneys of disproportionately striking qualified Black jurors and basing some of their strikes on race.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said the defense appeared to be discriminatory in selecting the jury but that the case could go forward.

“This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination.”

“One of the challenges that I think counsel recognized in this case is the racial overtones in the case. … This is sort of the continuation of a conversation that I think will continue for a long time, with respect to this case,” the judge said, but added that in Georgia, “all the defense needs to do is provide that legitimate, nondiscriminatory, clear, reasonably specific and related reason,” for why they struck a juror and he said the defense met that burden.

Two Connecticut Police Officers Accused of Patrolling While Drunk

The Insider — According to reports, two police officers in Connecticut resigned earlier this month after they were accused of drinking in their patrol cars and not responding to service calls while on duty.

CBS New York reported the two were suspended last year after they were discovered together at a hotel instead of working and drinking in a school parking lot.

According to CT Insider citing their arrest warrant, the duo was found by their supervisor on the night of October 9, 2020, and cops said they “were not in a condition to respond to calls for service.”

The warrant said that during their investigation, authorities also found broken beer bottles at the school that was linked to both officers.

Damn! Imagine getting pulled over and the police officer is completely trashed. Smh. Bad business.

Black Professionals Hesitant on Returning Back into Office Workplaces

CBS NEWS — Polls suggest some employees are content to be back at their desks, Black workers told CBS MoneyWatch that being in a predominantly White workplaces often exacts an emotional toll. Working from home offers a measure of inner peace and even helps them do their jobs better.

Such sentiments are common among people of color, including in corporate America. For decades, Black and Hispanic employees have reported feeling marginalized at work and being relegated to lower-paying roles even when their credentials qualify them for a higher-level position.

Black women, in particular, say a typical workday often requires looking past microaggressions from co-workers, ignoring flippant comments about their natural hairstyles or suppressing emotions lest they be labeled an “angry black woman.”

As a black woman and mid level professional in the Construction industry, I can attest that everything this article is stating is facts.

I started working from home approximately 2 years before Covid and I really can’t imagine ever going back into an office environment. The convenience & flexibility are definitely beneficial, but for me the privacy aspect is the main gain.

My staunch work ethic always allowed me to rise pretty fast within the ranks of the corporate world but ‘fitting in’ with various company cultures is something that I had a hard time adjusting to. I started my career very young, skipping college and joining the workforce. I did eventually go back to college 10 years post high school, so I didn’t have tolerance for the workplace shenanigans. I made sure I kept things social but I wasn’t there to meet friends or group chat. I just wanted to bury my head in my computer and get to work.

Working from home allows me the luxury of not having to physically see or entertain people daily. Working with people over the computer or phone is a piece of cake. Honestly I feel I am far more productive and I even find myself willingly working longer hours — to the benefit of the company.

What about you? Are you a professional who would rather work from home than going back into the office? Or would you rather go into the office environment daily or intermittently? Why or why not?