Black teen found dead at Missouri home of white man who made racist posts did not shoot himself dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
10:44 EDT, 21 May 2021
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A black teen did not kill himself while attending a party at the home of a white man who made racist social media posts, his family insists.
On April 25, 19-year-old Derontae Martin was found shot to death during a prom party inside the rural Missouri home of a middle-aged white man with a history of bigoted social media postings.
Madison County Sheriff s Office ruled his death a suicide by gunshot wound to the head, but Martin s family says the outgoing 19-year-old was not suicidal and find the circumstances surrounding his death questionable.
Martin s mother, Ericka Lotts, his grandmother and racial injustice activists don t believe the findings of a preliminary investigation indicating that he took his own life inside the attic of that home.
Missouri House passes bill to crack down on highway protests, dozens of loosely related provisions
Missouri s Republican-led House on Tuesday passed legislation to crack down on protesters who block roadways after amending the measure to cram in provisions from dozens of other loosely related bills.
The main bill, approved 98-50, would make it a felony to repeatedly block traffic without permission, a tactic that has been used to draw attention to racial injustice.
Republican bill sponsor Sen. Bill Eigel has said he thought of the idea after protesters angered by the death of George Floyd blocked traffic on Interstate 70 in the St. Louis area last summer. He s argued that blocking highways puts protesters and drivers in danger.
Black religious leaders decry Missouri bills as biased
May 6, 2021 GMT
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Black religious leaders on Thursday rallied at the Missouri Capitol and met with political leaders to denounce pending bills that they say are racially biased.
The Reverend Darryl Gray, a longtime St. Louis activist who organized the event, said faith leaders planned to meet with lawmakers, Republican Gov. Mike Parson and Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s staff.
Gray said in a statement that religious leaders are trying to convince lawmakers to drop legislation that he called “dangerous, discriminatory, and anti democratic.”
Gray said Black leaders are concerned about bills that would make it more difficult for citizens to put issues on the ballot.
St. Louis organizers say fight for justice not over after Chauvin conviction It s not a celebration, but it s a continuation because we continue to fight every day against injustice, said the Reverend Darryl Gray Author: Robert Townsend Updated: 10:59 PM CDT April 20, 2021
ST. LOUIS They first huddled in the cold outside St. Louis City Hall. Off the sidewalk and into the streets! Off the sidewalk and into the streets, the Reverend Darryl Gray shouted as he led demonstrators into the streets near Tucker and Market downtown.
Several dozen people of all races then quickly marched a few feet and blocked the streets.