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Prince William Slammed by Martin Luther King's Daughter
for 'Horrific' Ukraine Comment
BY JACK ROYSTON, Newsweek
ON 3/10/22 AT 4:15 AM EST
Prince William was accused of "horrific comments" by Martin Luther King's daughter in the aftermath of a Ukrainian community event where he was partially misquoted.
Bernice King linked the Duke of Cambridge's remarks to colonialism after William and Kate Middleton visited the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to support the relief effort on March 9.
Footage from the event showed Prince William said: "Everyone is horrified by what they are seeing. The news every day, it's almost unfathomable to actually witness it, to see it. For our generation, it's very alien to see this in Europe. We're all right behind you."
The Press Association originally reported William also suggested Britons were more used to seeing conflict in Africa and Asia—though footage released by ITV of the royal's full comments suggested he, in fact, made no explicit reference to the two continents.
However, some maintained their criticism of the Duke based on the reference to war in Europe feeling "very alien."
King, the chief executive of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, condemned the prince having seen the original, misleading account.
She wrote on Twitter: "Horrific comment. European people ran roughshod over the continent of Africa, pillaging communities, raping women, enslaving human beings, colonizing for profit and power, stealing resources, causing generational devastation. And European nations continue to harm Africa."
After the new footage emerged, King wrote: "I believe that we have a great deal of work to do globally to eradicate what my father called the Triple Evils of Militarism, Racism and Poverty.
"I believe that language matters in that work. And that it is harmful for a global figure to express war as 'alien to Europe.'"
European people ran roughshod over not just the continent of Africa, but on every continent but Antarctica. The list of grievances is unfortunately both accurate and incomplete. America is guilty of the same horrors in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The effects of which are now resulting in the massive migration from Latin America to the USA. In Europe, the migration comes from Africa and Asia, and it comes for the same reason - Colonialists stole all their natural resources and now the people are following the trail of those thefts.
Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a prominent commentator on race in Britain, told Newsweek the remarks about war in Europe feeling alien were offensive on their own.
She said: "William says it's alien in Europe. This is on the back of two weeks of western media also saying it's alien in Europe, also saying Western countries are civilized. I'm sorry, if it's alien in Europe, where is he referring to it as being normal?"
The outcry heaps new pressure on the royals just days after the one-year anniversary of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah Winfrey interview, during which they accused an unnamed royal of racism.
And it comes little more than a week before William and Kate are due to tour the Caribbean from March 19 to March 26.
Prince William and Kate Middleton visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, in London, on March 9, 2022.
During the meeting, the Duke of Cambridge suggested it felt alien to see conflict in Europe.
IAN VOGLER-WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES
After the original misquote, human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid wrote on Twitter: "Prince William says conflict is 'very alien' to Europe, unlike Asia & Africa.
"How do you have a 1,000 year history of colonialism, a literal 100 year war, launch 2 World Wars, allow multiple genocides, & bomb a dozen nations since 9/11 alone—yet make this type of a statement."
1000 year history of colonialism? I think it's half that.
Also before the footage emerged, royal biographer Omid Scobie, author of Finding Freedom, wrote on Twitter: "Unsurprised to see backlash against Prince William's ignorant remark (reported by@PA).
"Europe has seen some of the bloodiest conflict in the past two centuries—Balkans, Yugoslavia, Germany and Kosovo to name a few. But sure, let's normalise war and death in Africa and Asia."
It is not the first time Prince William has been accused of colonial comments, after he linked the pressure on wildlife in Africa to the human population in a November speech.
The duke said: "The increasing pressure on Africa's wildlife and wild spaces as a result of human population presents a huge challenge for conservationists, as it does the world over."
I'm hard-pressed to see anything wrong with this statement. If you do, please let me know what I am missing.
And a photo of Prince William being carried on a throne went viral in the aftermath of the Oprah interview in 2021.
In the famous interview, Meghan told CBS how an unnamed royal family member had made disparaging comments about how dark their child's skin might be before Archie was born.
She said: "So we have in tandem the conversation of 'He won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title' and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."
The queen released a statement saying the royals took the comments seriously but acknowledging "some recollections may vary."
William was the first to comment in person, telling journalists days after broadcast: "We are very much not a racist family."
Britain's empire covered a quarter of the world at its height, including India and most of South Asia as well as much of Africa and the Caribbean.
The new backlash comes as William and Kate prepare for a tour of the Caribbean as part of celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.
Among the countries on their schedule is Jamaica, where there have been recent debates about removing the monarch as head of state, with one party in the 2020 elections pledging to hold a referendum on the subject.
The latest episode of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast discussed the possibility of a backlash against the Cambridges during their tour.
A recent editorial in Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner read: "First, this newspaper is deeply uncomfortable, which we believe is the disposition of the majority of Jamaicans, of having the monarch of Great Britain, which, at this time is Queen Elizabeth II, as our country's head of state.
"Who holds this position is no meaningless symbolism. It ought to be an important reference point of who we are, and the aspirations we hold as a sovereign nation and people.
"The patriarch of a dysfunctional family in the United Kingdom that defined Jamaica's long colonial experience is not, therefore, an appropriate symbol."
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Jussie Smollett starts 150-day jail term in protected status
Don Babwin And Kathleen Foody, The Associated Press
Published Friday, March 11, 2022 7:45PM EST
CHICAGO (AP) - Jussie Smollett began a 150-day jail sentence for staging a hate crime against himself in protective custody, separated from other detainees and watched by security cameras and an officer, jail authorities said Friday.
Sheriff's deputies immediately took Smollett to the Cook County Jail on Thursday night after Judge James Linn sentenced the Black and gay actor to 30 months of felony probation - starting with a five-month term in jail - for lying to police that he had been the target of a racist and homophobic attack.
Smollett loudly maintained his innocence and suggested he could be killed in jail.
“Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this,” Smollett said Thursday. “And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself.”
Smollett's sentence may put an end - pending appeals - to more than three years of legal drama following the actor's report to police that two men wearing ski masks beat him, and hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him on a dark Chicago street and ran off.
Smollett's attorneys filed an emergency injunction Friday seeking Smollett's release pending his appeal. An appellate court judge ruled prosecutors have five days to respond to the emergency motion, WMAQ-TV reported.
His attorneys also filed a notice of appeal in Cook County Criminal Court. They had said Thursday night that they plan to appeal both the jury's guilty verdict and the judge's sentence.
One day earlier, a judge sentenced Smollett to 150 days in Cook County Jail following his conviction for lying to police about being the victim of a hoax hate crime in 2019. Smollett was also sentenced to 30 months of felony probation, ordered to pay more than $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago and was fined $25,000.
He began his sentence immediately after learning his fate Thursday.
In a statement on Friday, the Cook County Sheriff's Office said Smollett is being held in protective custody - typical for people “who may potentially be at risk of harm due to the nature of their charges, their professions, or their noteworthy status.”
Oh, good. Like Jeffrey Epstein!
Smollett has his own cell, monitored by security cameras and an officer stationed at the door and wearing a body camera, the sheriff's office said. Smollett is able to have “substantial time” in common areas to use the phone, watch TV and interact with staff but other detainees won't be in common areas with him.
Smollett faced up to three years in prison for each of the five felony counts of disorderly conduct - the charge filed for lying to police - of which he was convicted. He was acquitted on a sixth count.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised the sentence, saying it sends a message that “false claims and allegations” would not be tolerated.
“The city feels vindicated in today's ruling that he is being held accountable and that we will appropriately receive restitution for his actions,” she said in a statement.
Smollett's sentence includes a payment of $120,106 in restitution to the city and a $25,000 fine.
Smollett was convicted in a December jury trial, where witnesses included two brothers who told jurors Smollett paid them to carry out the attack and gave specific directions on what to do and say.
Smollett, who knew the men from his work on the television show “Empire” that filmed in Chicago, testified that he did not recognize them and did not know they were the men attacking him.
Argentine family comes home after 22-year drive around the world
Issued on: 12/03/2022 - 19:32
France24
Members of the Zapp family of Argentina open up a canvas that acts as a tent atop their 1928 Graham-Paige car near Gualeguaychu, Argentina, on March 10 JUAN MABROMATA AFP
Gualeguaychu (Argentina) (AFP) – An Argentine family is about to finish the trip of a lifetime: they have covered five continents in a 1928 jalopy on an adventure that began in 2000, while bringing into the world and raising four kids who are now adolescents.
The Zapp family -- Herman and Candelaria and those children -- have driven a total of 362,000 kilometers (225,000 miles) and have now stopped off in this town on the border with Uruguay before their scheduled arrival Sunday back where they started on January 25, 2000 at the Obelisk, a monument in downtown Buenos Aires.
"I have very mixed feelings. We are ending a dream, or fulfilling a dream," Herman told AFP. "What will come now? Thousands of changes, thousands of options," said the 53-year-old, who is already thinking of sailing around the world.
Candelaria, who was 29 when the trip began and is now 51, said her biggest and best discovery was the people encountered along the way.
"People are wonderful. Humanity is incredible," said Candelaria.
She said the family visited no fewer than 102 countries, although sometimes they had to take detours because of wars or other kinds of conflict.
'Good in cities'
The couple had been married six years, had good jobs and had just built a house, with plans to have kids, too, when wanderlust hit. Their round-the-world journey began with a backpacking trip in Alaska.
And somebody offered them a car, a 1928 model of an American make called Graham-Paige. The engine was bad and the paint looked terrible. "It would not even start," said Candelaria Zapp.
"The seats are not great, nor is the muffler. It does not have air conditioning, either. It is a car that you have to keep your eye on. It does not look comfortable, but it was marvelous," said Herman.
"It was good in cities, in mud and on sand," he added.
They went through only eight sets of tires in 22 years and only twice needed to do major engine work.
Herman shows off the roadster by opening up a canvas on the top that forms a sort of tent for the kids to sleep under when it was time to camp out.
"It is nicer now than when it first came out," he said of the modified uber-vintage vehicle.
While out on the road, and with the first two kids born -- Pampa, now 19, came into this world in the US and Tehue, 16, during a visit back to Argentina -- they enlarged the car by actually cutting it in half and adding 40 cm (16 inches) of length and another seat.
That made room for the arrival of Paloma, now 14 and born in Canada, and Wallaby, 12, down under in Australia.
The last additions to the family were a dog named Timon and a cat called Hakuna during a stay in Brazil, where the Zapps were stranded for a while in 2020 because of Covid-19.
More on that car, which looks like something out of a gangster movie: the trunk acts like a kitchen storage area, and the heat of the engine is used to cook or heat water. Clothes and tools are stored under the seats. And for all these years, it was home sweet home.
"It is a small house but with a huge backyard, with beaches, mountains and lakes. If you do not like the view, you can change it," Herman quipped.
On the side of the car is a sign that reads "A family traveling around the world."
The Zapps usually stayed as guests at people's houses -- they estimate around 2,000 altogether.
"Humanity is incredible," Candelaria said of people's hospitality. "Many helped just to be part of a dream."
But it was not all easy going. Herman once caught malaria, the family drove across Asia during the bird flu outbreak, and had to deal with Ebola in Africa and dengue fever in Central America.
- 'A lot of friends'-
Here on the streets of Gualeguaychu, people honk their horns when they see the Zapps' old Graham-Paige. Vintage car buffs have their picture taken with it.
And some buy a copy of the book the Zapps have written about their adventure, entitled "Catching a Dream." They have sold about 100,000 copies and say this is their main source of revenue for all this traveling.
For the record, they did the Americas, Africa, Oceania, Asia and Europe.
They touched Mount Everest, ate duck eggs in Asia, danced with native people in Namibia, entered the tomb of King Tut in Egypt and sailed across many a sea.
For the kids, it was an unforgettable experience. They did their studies remotely and with home learning with Candelaria.
Now, in-person classes await them in Argentina.
"What I most want to do is make a lot of friends," said Paloma, the 14-year-old.
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