“House approves sweeping police overhaul from Democrats, responding to national outcry over George Floyd's death.” — AP

Adrian Brandon is a Seattle-raised and Brooklyn-based visual artist, whose "Stolen" collection was originally displayed at his first public solo show in November 2019 at 263 Bowery in New York. It's stunning visual art project both in its concept, and its execution. I'll allow the artist to explain:

This series is dedicated to the many black people that were robbed of their lives at the hands of the police. In addition to using markers and pencil, I use time as a medium to define how long each portrait is colored in. 1 year of life = 1 minute of color. Tamir Rice was 12 when he was murdered, so I colored his portrait for 12 minutes. As a person of color, I know that my future can be stolen from me if I’m driving with a broken taillight, or playing my music too loud, or reaching for my phone at the wrong time. So for each of these portraits I played with the harsh relationship between time and death. I want the viewer to see how much empty space is left in these lives, stories that will never be told, space that can never be filled. This emptiness represents holes in their families and our community, who will be forever stuck with the question, “who were they becoming?” This series touches on grief and the unknown.

Brandon's pen-and-ink work is phenomenal. But when you see how much — or how little — color art is added to the lives of these people of color, it really drives the point home. Read the rest

"I'm asking you to help him, I'm asking you to help me." — George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd calls for UN probe into police brutality in U.S.

Amazingly powerful. Read the rest

• "I should not have been there.” • Milley said his presence “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”

America's top general said that showing up in combat fatigues with impeached President Donald Trump after a violent dispersal of protesters outside the White House last week was a "mistake." Read the rest

She's good. She's really good. Read the rest

Actor and activist Keke Palmer, who we saw in a video from recent protests that went viral, has an amazing guest column in Variety today: ‘I Have Waited for a Revolution My Entire Life.’ Read the rest

This is sure an interesting Friday, with Reddit and Facebook and now Amazon CEOs and founders speaking about Black Lives Matter and the protests surrounding the police killing of George Floyd. Read the rest

Yes, we regret to inform you that Large Adult President Donald Trump said something stupid again on the Twitters. Read the rest

"Black lives matter," said Mark Zuckerberg today. Read the rest

• Founder to leave Reddit, saying resignation can be ‘act of leadership’ • Reddit promises to update content moderation policies to “explicitly address hate” within weeks

Earlier today, we told you that Reddit's Alexis Ohanian was resigning from the Reddit board, asked the company to fill his seat with a Black candidate, and said he'd donate further proceeds from Reddit to anti-racism causes beginning with a $1M pledge to Colin Kaepernick's “Know Your Rights Camp.”

Now, Reddit has responded.

Reddit community demanding change in hate speech policy. Exciting times.https://t.co/2dt5JB4avE

— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020

Reports Hannah Murphy at the Financial Times:

In a lengthy statement later on Friday, Steve Huffman, Reddit’s chief executive, said that the company would “honour” the request by Mr Ohanian that his successor be a black candidate.

He added the company would update its content moderation policies to “explicitly address hate”, adding that the timeline would be “weeks, not months” if moderators of individual forums engage in the process.

“[Our] current policy lists only what you cannot do, articulates none of the values behind the rules, and does not explicitly take a stance on hate or racism,” he said. “We will update our content policy to include a vision for Reddit and its communities to aspire to, a statement on hate, the context for the rules, and a principle that Reddit isn’t to be used as a weapon.”

Read more: Reddit pledges to appoint black director after Ohanian quits [ft.com] Read the rest

“Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country.”

On Wednesday during a "Justice for George Floyd" protest, a late-night dance party broke out in downtown Oakland. Thousands of masked people took to the streets in this peaceful past-curfew street fête.

Robb Benson:

After several nights of violent confrontations with the police & the announcement by Minn Attorney General Keith Ellis of the elevation to 2nd degree murder for Derek Chauvin and aiding & abetting 2nd degree murder for the officers who were silent, Oakland responds to the City's curfew with a dance party. #Justice4GeorgeFloyd

Day 6 of Oakland #GeorgeFloyd protest: Oakland going dumb. 3 hours past curfew. pic.twitter.com/ygY87qCnfB

— Sarah Belle Lin (@SarahBelleLin) June 4, 2020

Also, people really miss dancing. pic.twitter.com/5A007k8ge2

— Shane Bauer (@shane_bauer) June 4, 2020

screengrab via Robb Benson Read the rest

An autopsy of George Floyd, who was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, shows that he'd tested positive for COVID-19 in April, and had recovered -- only to have his life cut short by those who vow to “protect and serve.” Read the rest

The New York Times today published a column by Sen. Tom Cotton calling for the U.S. military to violently suppress nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by police in Minneapolis.

These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further.

One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers.

It is completely mad that the Times would publish such an piece, even as an op-ed. It does so from a floating world which has no idea how quickly or how hard it could be brought crashing to the ground. It invites violence against everyone, from all quarters of power, and America will pay for it in blood. Read the rest

• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison increased the charge against Derek Chauvin, and charged Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd.

On Wednesday, three additional Minneapolis police officers were charged in the killing of George Floyd, and charges against Derek Chauvin were elevated to second degree murder. Read the rest

Tries to convince everyone it was 'more for an inspection'