Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby Found Guilty on all three counts


The jury in Bill Cosby’s retrial found the TV icon guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in a Philadelphia suburb in 2004.

The 80-year-old comedian faces up to 10 years in prison on each count, but would likely serve them concurrently.

After the trial concluded, Constand left through a side door in the courtroom, walking into a hallway with her arms around two women and a huge smile on her face. Cosby shouted at the prosecutor in court when his bail was discussed, observers said. 

The case against Cosby centered on testimony from Constand, a former employee with Temple University women’s basketball team. She testified that Cosby, a powerful trustee at Temple, drugged her and sexually assaulted her when she visited his home to ask for career advice.

Cosby’s defense team argued that their interaction was consensual. Constand is a con artist, they argued, who wanted a piece of Cosby’s fortune.

The case is the first celebrity sexual assault trial since the #MeToo movement began last fall, and as such, represents a test of how the cultural movement will translate into a courtroom arena.

Conversations Of A Sistah, Tracy L. Bell - Blog Talk Radio, Tracy L. Bell Host Conversations Of A Sistah

White Privilege in America Tonight on “Conversations Of A Sistah”


What is white privilege? It’s a term used for associating societal privileges that benefit white people in this country and beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. The concept is to analyze how racism and racialized societies affect the lives of white or white-skinned people verses people of color.

Whites in society enjoy advantages that non-whites do not experience, as “an invisible package of unearned assets”. White privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes them from overt bias or prejudice.

Join our host Ms. Tracy Bell on “Conversations Of A Sistah” via Blog Talk Radio at 6:30 p.m. EST for her commentary on “White Privilege in America“.

Follow ‘the links‘ in this post to access the show.

Racism in America

Celebrities & The Public Raise $106K for James Shaw; Call Out Trump for Ignoring His Heroism


Snoop Dogg and other celebrities are calling out President Donald Trump for ignoring Waffle House hero James Shaw, Jr. who disarmed Travis Reinking after he shot and killed 4 people and wounded 4 more with an AR-15.

Reinking, 29, who wore only a green coat during the attack on April 22, was captured alive on Monday while walking in the woods in Antioch, Tennessee.

Shaw, a 29-year-old father of one, charged Reinking and snatched away his AR-15. His actions saved others from being killed in the restaurant.

Rapper Snoop Dogg and other celebs wonder why Trump hasn’t recognized Shaw for his bravery.

“If a Muslim shot up a restaurant full of white people, the ‘president’ would be tweeting up a storm, driving his dumb racist base into a frenzy.” Snoop Dogg’ posted on Instagram.com.

Snoop added: “The NRA would use it as fodder for propaganda to scare dumb racists into buying more guns.”

A GoFundMe page created by Shaw, Jr. for the shooting victims has raised over $106,000 of its stated $15,000 goal.

Crime, Shooting death

Waffle House Suspect Arrested… A Hero Acknowledged with 4 Dead, 4 Wounded


After a massive manhunt, the FBI announced the arrest of Travis Reinking, 29, the suspected gunman who went on a shooting rampage inside a Waffle House restaurant wearing only a coat and no bottoms. He was captured yesterday hiding out in a wooded area near his home.

The manhunt involving 160 FBI, federal marshals and law enforcement officers, concluded after Reinking was taken into custody alive with no resistance according to police.

In the wee hours on Sunday, Reinking walked into the Waffle House restaurant with an AR-15 assault rifle and opened fire, killing four and wounding 4. Waffle House hero James Shaw, Jr. (pictured top center) charged Reinking and disarmed him before any more patrons were killed.

Shaw Jr. attended a press conference in Nashville on Sunday with FBI Special Agent In Charge, Matthew Espenshade (L) and Metro Nashville Mayor David Briley (right). Shaw, Jr., 29, took action disarming the gunman and ultimately forcing him out of the Waffle House restaurant.

Shaw, Jr. broke down and cried during the emotional press conference on Sunday. He embraced Waffle House President and CEO, Walt Ehmer who called him a hero. “I’m not a hero. I’m just a regular person,” Shaw said.

On Sunday, Shaw visited with the wounded people in a hospital.

“Have you met James? James saved a lot of lives,” one of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s surgeons told the father of one of the victims.

The two men embraced, crying. “Thank you,” the older man whispered to Mr. Shaw.

Racism in America

Starbucks CEO: “I’m going to fix it”


In an emotional interview, the CEO of Starbucks, Kevin R. Johnson was confronted with the truth about racism in America. But racism is more than prejudice. It is, rather, the system by which prejudice is encoded into the laws and customs of a society so that, to take an example not quite at random, two black men can be arrested for waiting quietly on a prospective business associate to arrive for a meeting at Starbucks.

In the video above, the Starbucks CEO seem to sincerely express how he is going to fix the issue to understand how the incident happened and to ensure he doesn’t happen again.

Racism is alive and well in our society, so this conversation is far from over.