An Indiana University student is facing backlash for her racist remarks on social media, sparking protests on campus.

“I’m sorry, but if you’re Black, you’re not country. I don’t care,” the student said in the video reshared on TikTok. “I wish I meant that in the nicest way, but babe, I know you were raised in the country or your grandparents were … but they was picking, OK?”

She added, “They wasn’t planting. Just keep that in mind. They wasn’t making money. They were getting sold for money. You ain’t country.”

Her comments were seemingly in response to Beyonce’s record-breaking country album, “Cowboy Carter.” The 27-track highly anticipated project was released on March 29 and included features from Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Miley Cyrus, and Post Malone. Additionally, the mega-star highlighted Black artists — Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Shaboozy, Willie Jones, and Reyna Roberts.

Source: ‘Getting Sold for Money’: White Indiana State University Student Uses Beyoncé Album to Unleash Racist Rant; School Slammed for ‘Weak’ Response

In May of that year, Aaron Larry Bowman was pulled over for “improper lane usage” and was forcibly removed from his car by state troopers. When former trooper Jacob Brown, 32, showed up at the scene, he pulled Bowman into the driveway of his home in Monroe, then battered him with a flashlight 18 times in 24 seconds.

Bowman was heard screaming, “I’m not resisting! I’m not resisting!” on body camera footage while he was being beaten. He was left with a broken jaw, three broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a gash to his head that required staples to close.

It took state police nearly two years to investigate the attack, and they only launched a probe after Bowman filed a civil rights lawsuit. Investigators described Brown’s actions as “excessive and unjustifiable” and noted that he failed to report the use of force to his bosses and “intentionally mislabeled” his body camera footage.

That footage was never released by state troopers. The Associated Press published it alongside their findings into how Louisiana state troopers routinely bury evidence of the numerous instances where they exercise excessive use of force against people of color.

Brown was ultimately indicted by a grand jury for a civil rights violation and was charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. To defend his actions, he called the beating “pain compliance,” referring to a variety of pain-inducing techniques available to officers to “persuade” an uncooperative arrestee to comply with their demands.

It only took three days for jurors to find Brown not guilty.

Afterward, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Brandon B. Brown stated, “We believe that this victim’s civil rights were violated.”

Before Brown stepped down from his position, state police records show he was involved in 23 use-of-force incidents dating to 2015 to 2019 of which targeted Black people.

He is still facing state charges for his part in another violent arrest of another Black motorist that he bragged about in a group chat with other troopers, stating, “it warms my heart knowing we could educate that young man.”

Source: Ex-Louisiana State Trooper Let Off the Hook By Federal Jury After Justifying Thrashing Black Driver 18 Times With Flashlight as ‘Pain Compliance’

A former Black graduate student at Utah State University is receiving a $45,000 settlement to resolve a lawsuit he filed against his alma mater earlier this year that alleged his professor continually ignored him in class and drew a racist cartoon caricature of him that was displayed n front of the entire class.

Greg Noel, 32, filed a discrimination lawsuit against Utah State in March after he felt targeted and humiliated by his professor.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Noel was using a computer in a lab in 2018, and the computer shorted out. The outage resulted in his work being deleted, which made Noel frustrated. He admitted to using profanities and pushed a chair. His professor was made aware of his outburst and called a one-on-one meeting.

During the meeting, Noel says the professor accused him of being violent and questioned whether he was abusive to other people and his wife. He also asked Noel, “Was that you going full Haitian?” the suit alleges.

He was the only Black student in the marriage and family therapy program and is of Haitian descent. The school’s student population is 82 percent white and less than 1 percent Black.

After the 2018 incident, Noel said the professor would purposefully ignore him during class discussions. The professor would also continually mention how much power he had over the graduate students and their careers, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Noel reached his breaking point in 2020. He said that his white professor drew a cartoon image that Noel felt was an exaggerated picture of him as “the angry Black man.”

The drawing showed Noel’s well-groomed afro sticking out wildly and taller. His skin tone was darker, his eyebrows were thicker, he had an angry facial expression, and his mustache was much thicker in the picture.

The professor didn’t realize others could see the picture, but he played a pre-recorded training on a screen at the front of the classroom, and the drawing reflected from his computer onto the screen.

Noel’s classmates started a text thread to discuss the picture, and all agreed that it was him depicted in the drawing.

He filed a complaint with the Office of Equity in March 2020 about all of his experiences with the professor. The office found the drawing was inappropriate and Noel was subjected to a hostile environment. The professor then filed an appeal with the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee at the university. The committee overturned the initial ruling without speaking to Noel.

The 32-year-old then decided to get a lawyer because he felt the school betrayed him and didn’t take his complaints seriously.

“Enough is enough. I felt betrayed by Utah State University. I felt completely betrayed,” said Noel to the Salt Lake Tribune in March when he first filed the lawsuit.

Source: ‘Enough Is Enough’: Black Utah State Graduate Is Getting $45K to Settle Lawsuit Claiming Professor Drew Racist Caricature of Him That Was Displayed In Front of the Entire Class