Results
#1. The U.S. Department of Education has found that this metro Atlanta county may have violated a civil rights law after banning eight books from its school system last year.
It’s Forsyth County.
Forsyth County in January 2022 removed eight books, including Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” but allowed seven to return after further consideration. It excluded only “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a memoir about growing up as gay Black man by George M. Johnson.
Federal officials wrote in a letter last week that Forsyth County erred not so much in the removals, saying “the district limited its book screening process to sexually explicit material.” Instead, officials found that the problem was how district officials talked about removals at school board meetings.
#2. Which retail corporation announced plans to remove certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month?
It’s Target.
The decision comes after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.
The chain confirmed that it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.
#3. On Monday, this South Carolina politician officially announced the launch of his campaign for the 2024 Presidential Election.
It’s Tim Scott.
Scott, the Senate’s only Black Repubican, made the announcement in his hometown of North Charleston at Southern University, his alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
#4. The first new nuclear reactor at __________ is expected to start generating electricity for customers by the end of next month.
It’s Plant Vogtle.
The announcement comes as Georgia Power customers’ bills are slated to increase in June for the second time this year. After the meeting, a small group of protesters rallied at the company’s Atlanta headquarters to protest rising bills.
#5. This Atlanta based organization claimed on Thursday it has been blocked from interviewing people in the Fulton County jail system with complaints against the city’s police and corrections officers.
It’s The Atlanta Citizen Review Board.
In a statement to WABE on May 24, the sheriff’s office denied the board’s allegations and said it remained “committed to transparency.”
