YesterdayBen Crump and Paul Napoli, nationally known civil rights and private injury lawyers, Ben Crump Law and Napoli Shkolnik, respectively, announced lawsuit on behalf of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) v. Johnson & Johnson.

The lawsuit was filed over the corporate’s targeted marketing of talc-based baby powder specifically to black women, despite known links to ovarian cancer. “The complaint calls for corrective action to inform Black women and all other consumers about the risks of the products and their link to ovarian cancer,” the agency says Atlanta Daytime World.

Founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, NCNW mission “is to lead, support and empower women of African descent, their families and communities.” Many NCNW members staunchly used Johnson & Johnson powdered products, believing they were protected to use on themselves and their families.

Since at the least the Nineteen Eighties, some studies have shown that: to mix between using talc-based products and cancer. Regardless of this information, Johnson & Johnson deliberately selected to promote and advertise to black women as a vital a part of their business strategy. In fact, “Johnson & Johnson’s internal documents reveal the corporate’s intentions… The company’s 2009 marketing strategy noted that “the multicultural consumer [is] very essential to the business – need for retention” and expressed concern that “effectively retaining key consumers is becoming increasingly difficult” – within the criticism claims.

“This lawsuit affects the lives of our grandmothers, our mothers, our wives, sisters and daughters – all of whom were cynically targeted by Johnson and Johnson… All this time, the company’s management knew the risk of ovarian cancer associated with the use of talcum powder” – Crump he said. Co-counselor of Napoli he said Johnson & Johnson “puts profits over people by ignoring and concealing tons of research about risks.”

NCNW Executive Director Janice Mathis states “This company, through its words and images, told Black women that in our natural state we are offensive and that we must use their products to stay fresh… Generations of Black women believed them and made it our daily practice to use their products in ways that put us at risk cancer — and we taught our daughters the same. Shame on Johnson and Johnson.”

Opening statements have begun in the criminal trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who’s charged with murder and other charges in connection with the death of George Floyd on Memorial Day.

Floyd, 46, died in police custody on May 25, 2020. A cellphone video that went viral shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying on the bottom, said, “I can’t breathe” and called out for his mother, while Chauvin, 45, kept his hands in his pockets and didn’t render aid.

Floyd’s gruesome death sparked Black Lives Matter protests across the country and world wide.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter; he has pleaded not guilty. A jury was recently empaneled in the high-profile case. The jury is alleged to incorporate nine whites and 6 black and/or multiracial jurors. Two are alternates, and one could be dismissed to expand the jury pool to 12.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a press release to ESSENCE that he hopes “justice will be swift and clear.”

“The time has come for Derek Chauvin to be held accountable for the public hanging death of George Floyd,” Crump said. “The video, which has been viewed by millions of people around the world, makes it clear that this is a very clear case. The only reason some people think this is a complicated case is because George Floyd was a black man. If he were white, no one would say that his slow and painful death under Derek Chauvin’s knee was in any way misleading,” he said.

Crump, along with Antonio Romanucci, L. Chris Stewart and Jeff Storms, are co-attorneys representing Floyd’s family.

A team of civil lawyers reached a legal settlement with Minneapolis earlier this month for a historic $27 million.

“Since Mr. Floyd’s death less than a year ago, the city of Minneapolis has enacted sweeping police reforms, including reporting use of force incidents, requiring body cameras, and a policy for officers to de-escalate non-threatening encounters by retreating or walking away,” said attorney Antonio M. Romanucci.

Today, Floyd’s relatives, Pastor Al Sharpton, founder/president of the National Action Network, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, and supporters held a vigil, kneeling for eight minutes and 46 seconds. On Sunday, they held a rally for justice at Greater Friendship Missionary Church in Minneapolis.

In a press release, NAN said the organization is committed to fighting for justice for the Floyd family and opposing the “repeated, now sanctioned violence against Black people by police officers.”

“The world watched law enforcement officer Derek Chauvin lynch George Floyd with his knee as he repeatedly pleaded for mercy,” Sharpton said. “As the trial begins, we must reiterate that police lynchings will not be tolerated and that police accountability must be the law of the land. We urge the Senate to act immediately to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to ensure that law enforcement is never above the law.”

In addition, attorneys and the family have urged Minnesota lawmakers to pass laws that might strengthen the flexibility to carry officers accountable for his or her actions after they act outside the bounds of the law. The attorneys say the bill, which might overhaul a piece of Minnesota Statute, ought to be called The George Floyd Arbitration Reform Bill. It is an element of an ongoing series of police reform measures that Minnesota and Minneapolis are considering in the wake of Floyd’s death.

“George Floyd’s family and those who loved him endured unimaginable pain to get to this day. We hope jurors will allow the compelling evidence in this case to guide them,” said attorney L. Chris Stewart. “We also urge people in Minneapolis and everywhere to continue to express their support for Floyd’s family, but to do so peacefully.”

The process is anticipated to take no less than a month.

Tech giant Google is once more under fire for worker discrimination after one of its former employees filed a lawsuit last Friday within the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that business “has a ‘pattern and practice’ of treating its black employees unfairly. Suit [also] “alleges that the corporate has placed them in junior, lower-paying positions and exposed them to a hostile work environment in the event that they speak out.”

The criticism states that “Consistent with its intensely racist corporate culture, Google has a pattern and practice of racially discriminating against its African American and Black employees… Google’s centralized leadership, which is almost devoid of Black representation, has biased and stereotypical views about the skills and potential of Black professionals.”

The lawsuit alleged that April Curley, black woman, “was hired in an entry-level position” despite the fact that she had five years of experience and a master’s degree. After six years with the corporate and despite high performance rates, Curley was wrongfully terminated in September 2020. At Curley’s words“I felt the need to speak out about the racist behaviors, policies and practices that are deeply rooted in the problematic layers of Google’s diversity recruiting efforts and treatment of Black Google employees.”

Another former Google worker, Chloe Sledd, also a black woman, said:[m]My first few months at Google weren’t what I had imagined and almost immediately become a nightmare. A white man on my department floor began sexually harassing me.” After being accused of lying, Google’s human resources department rejected and neglected her claims and threatened her with retaliation. There were sleds mainly “Forced to resign. “It was clear to me that they wanted me to back out, but I didn’t realize what my rights were, so they took advantage of that.”

Attorney Ben Crump he said“Google says its No. 1 core value is working with great people… When you consider the claims of these minorities and look at the data, you can conclude that Google apparently believes that great people are white people. In the process, we announce to Google that Black and brown people are great people too.”

Stomp added“April Curley was an exceptional worker at Google. She was hired for a position well below her qualifications and consistently illegally omitted for promotions… Although Google claims it was committed to increasing diversity, it actually undervalued, underpaid, and mistreated its black employees, resulting in high turnover. “We will not stop until we bring justice to Curley and other Black Google employees and until we see real change in the culture of this company… Google is a Fortune 10 company and with this lawsuit we are telling Google that it is not about profits, it is also about people.”

The lawsuit seeks to acquire class-action status and, as well as, demand that these employees be reinstated existence “they admitted the value of compensation and benefits that they have lost and will lose in the future.”