This is a thread dedicated to discussion of race issues in the US. Tony and rq are the curators, and they will be posting news and links here. Please feel free to add to the conversation, but this is not the place for argument; increase the information, not the conflict.
Thanks for creating this thread PZ.
****
note to anyone reading: most of the stuff I link to will contain excerpts, but not the whole article. A large part of that is due to the issues with loading a page with tons of links. It’s extra annoying when you’re on phone trying to read this page.
I may occasionally post the contents of an entire link, but I’ll make note of it.
****
Hiring black prosecutors won’t fix the criminal justice system:
****
If you think racist Donald Trump is political, look at what the New York Times said about him in 1973:
****
Why the police killing of Sam Dubose has Cincinnati on edge:
Author Zak Cheney-Rice goes on to lay out four reasons.
****
#AllLionsMatter Parodies the Fact That People Are More Outraged Over Cecil the Dead Lion Than Slain Black People:
Following the above are several Tweets under the hashtag.
The McWhorter article was painfull to read. He used a lot of words to present very few facts.
Tony,
I love your writing, and I think this is a very good idea for a thread – although I fear for its long-term stability given the nature of these online debates.
I literally just picked up Ta-Nehisi Coates’ memoir today (the latest book was sold out – which is encouraging!), but I look forward to following this thread.
I agree that hiring Black prosecutors in the US won’t change anything for the simple reason that this is a systemic issue. The SYSTEM needs to be changed, not just the pawns in it. It’s the same with the police – Black police officers aren’t the main problem – it’s the system of police they are operating in.
I also don’t believe for a second that ‘racist’ Donald Trump is political, since this strategy seems far to short sighted to work for him in the political future.
Martin Lee
Please see here, that thread and its previous iterations, which have been going on for nearly a year, with no major upsets and loads of links. There’s hours of reading (I could say required reading) over there, and a lot of background information for things that will appear here.
It would just be wonderful to have more people contributing.
+++
And on that note, I’m going to finish up there, so as not to inundate this clean new thread, and when that one dies its natural death (or until August 9, I’m not sure which comes first), I’ll move back over here. But I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread.
This made me laugh. Rob Ford really did happen to Toronto, you know. :D
I’d like to recommend a book that Ophelia Benson mentioned a month or so ago. I’m reading it now. Very disturbing yet insightful.
The book it called “Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow” by David Oshinsky.
I’d like to expand just a little on the first link. A big part of the problem is that prosecutors are dependent on the police to secure convictions. That means prosecutors mostly won’t prosecute police officers. Exceptions will be weeded out by police sabotage of their cases and opposition for reelections (or pressure on other elected officials where prosecutors are appointed). That is why, if we want to do something about police brutality and police racism, one piece of the puzzle is permanent independent prosecutors who do nothing but prosecute cases of police abuse, from petty harassment all the way to corruption and murder. There is on one sliver bullet, but prosecutors focuses on police abuses of power, separate from normal prosecutors offices, are an essential part.
Body cameras are another, but only if there are penalties for turning them off improperly, and with someone other than the police having custody of the recordings. Otherwise, police will adapt, turning the cameras off at critical moments when they are planning to go “rogue” (scare quotes because part of the system). There was a case in Florida a few years ago where a welfare check by police turned into a police murder, and the police turning the camera off was recorded by a monitoring system that had initially summoned the police.
I meant to say “no one silver bullet” not “on one silver bullet”.
I read the McWhorter article. I think I filled up an entire Bingo card: black-on-black crime, reverse racism, etc.
It’s fine as an analogy until you remember that racism (institutionalized and often personalized) is real, unlike god(s). He separates current activism from policy changes, without realizing that these two things are fully entwined. And the comparison of acknowledging white privilege and self-flagellation… well, there’s something of the witch-hunt rhetoric in there – a bit over the top.
Basically, he complains about Antiracism because it means white people have to care more than they currently do. Oh, the agony.
I couldnt finish that McWhorter article. Hopefully it got better in the 2nd half, because there were literally 0 points being made in the 1st half, other than making strained analogies to religious worship.
http://remezcla.com/features/the-secret-history-of-how-mexico-pushed-baseball-toward-racial-integration/ — an interesting bit of arcana.
The McWhorter article was pretty bad. I’m not sure there’s a single cliche he missed – black-on-black crime, Obama, IQ. I feel as if I could point people at it and say: Don’t.
I think the biggest issue with racism in this country is that far too many people think that it just up and vaporized by the end of the 1960s. I don’t think this speaks to any inherent racist attitude among the population, more so their inability to focus for more than 15 seconds. This provides cover for those last lingering segments that do represent institutional racism (Ferguson, etc). Fortunately, as technology forces the aforementioned dreamers to come to grips with reality, I think these last vestiges will find it harder and harder to hide from sunlight. Then that will leave the massive socioeconomic disparity that leads to racism by default, but that is another story…
Hi rq – I’m new in here. I’m about to go read that thread over. Go gentle!
That being said:
You realize that Rob Ford ain’t mayor anymore…
On the topic of Trump, the man has a clear history of making ridiculous racist comments which (from my point of view) all seem to stem from his clear position of white privilege. He views himself at the top of the pedestal, and views all those not on that pedestal as below him. This hasn’t changed since his run for the Republican nomination – it’s become more visible as he’s gotten press for it.
His comments on Oprah in 1988 even sound like they’re coming from a racist point of view:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEPs17_AkTI
United States-Third World Relations in the New World Order By Abbas P. Grammy, C. Kaye Bragg clearly points out that he’s completely wrong (during the 80’s Kuwait was starting to suffer from their worst depression in decades). But Trump is playing into the racist image of middle eastern people being affluent – wealthy oil tycoons.
My point is that this isn’t a new image for Trump. This isn’t being put on for the media for the sake of the Republicans. This appeals to many of the Republicans because, like Trump, they hold these racist values and images.
The question for me is how do we get them to recognize that it exists. It’s like arguing with a creationist who believes in microevolution, but not ‘real evolution’. They just cannot join the dots between the evidence and the final outcome.
How do we bridge that gap?
Martin Lee
I know Rob Ford isn’t mayor anymore. But he still got elected and managed to do some damage, which is the key point here. It might be a lot more difficult to get rid of Trump, is all I’m saying. :)
Do you really think that Republicans are unaware that their views are racist? Because I’m inclined to think that they just don’t care.
@14 “that will leave the massive socioeconomic disparity that leads to racism by default”
I think you’ve got the causation backwards, for the US at least. It’s racism which leads to poor whites supporting policies that hurt them in order to benefit the extreme rich.
Why Doesn’t the United States Have
a European-Style Welfare State?
Martin Lee @4:
As rq mentioned already, there’s been a stable racism-based thread (in different incarnations) going for very nearly a year at this point. Granted that may not be your idea of ‘long-term’, but I’d think it is for a blog.
Also, whenever I find myself employed again with some extra income, I really, really want to get Coates’ book.
(btw, thank you for the compliment on my writing; if you haven’t checked it out, I have a blog which you can access through my nym)
****
Speaking of Ta-Nehisi Coates, I am absolutely thrilled at the possibility that he might be writing a comic book for Marvel. It hasn’t been confirmed, but it seems to be a rumor with some strong legs.
Is Ta-Nehisi Coates writing a new comic book for Marvel?
He is a fan of Marvel Comics.
In May 2015, he received an invitation by upper management at Marvel to talk about writing for them.
Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso recently said:
Again, none of this is set in stone. It is, I think, slightly more than a rumor. But dammit, the idea of one of the best journalists (and one with a strong social justice bent) of today writing comics-and most likely a comic book featuring characters of color-fills me with such joy. I was talking to a friend a few days ago about how I wish I had half the writing talent of Ta-Nehisi Coates. I’m in awe of his skills as a writer, but I also love how he communicates about racism (really, how he communicates on anything). He speaks in such a way that-as my mother put it when I was a child-a Martian could understand. To know that he loves comic books too? Dude can I have your autograph?!
Haven Monahan,
Your coments don’t add to the conversation, or increase information, They are something else.
rq,
When Rob Ford was elected, his opponents largely didn’t go into his past drug abuses (Canadian politics can be so… nice). Your comparison between him and his election campaign and Donald Trump is, in my opinion, a big red herring. Donald Trump clearly holds racist opinions, and seems incapable of holding them to himself. His racism is not a display for election it’s just him. Rob Ford was clearly an addict, but was able to tuck it away for a while before it got the best of him.
Tony,
I have read parts of your blog (since spotting this thread), hence my comments! I haven’t read Ta-Nehisi yet, but I’m very much looking forward to it.
Haven,
Dr Ben Carson tropes out the same language used by the rest of the republicans:
is CLEARLY making allusions to the old ‘black on black crime’ story which has been hashed out dozens of times.
He appeals to the core conservative tropes of “you can just work your way out of poverty” with nonsense like “Even in an economy that is stagnant, it is still relatively easy to obtain a good job when one has acquired the requisite knowledge and skills. Many sophisticated jobs go begging or have to be filled by foreigners because we are not producing technical graduates in sufficient numbers.”
I guess all the graduates working at supermarkets are just doing it wrong?
I guess the three years I spent working security with my Ph.D in Chemistry were all just imaginary? Maybe I’ve failed some key life skill…
Curiously, he advocates for better access to education here but then suggests that you should work for it yourself here.
He’s Republican through and through, and his policies and comments miss the mark. They make no suggestion of improvements, merely point out the holes in the current policies. I’m less than impressed.
Question, is your links to pure opinions by a conservative, or do they contain links to the academic literature found through places like Google Scholar? The former, is controversial, and not evidence.
Haven Monahan:
Ben Carson is relevant to this thread. Just not in the way I think you mean.
On the one hand he is an example of an African-American man in the US who has achieved success and fame. He has risen to a place than many blacks can only dream of. He was a respected neurosurgeon and is a presidential candidate. That is something noteworthy.
OTOH, he is misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and a conservative fundie who thinks the United States is (or should be) a theocracy. For my part, the only type of links involving him that I would produce for this thread would be this:
Ben Carson thinks Black Lives Matter is ‘silly’:
Ben Carson is a modern-day Uncle Tom. His dismissive attitude towards the Black Lives Matter movement is in line with many, many white USAmericans who don’t see “what all the fuss is”. I don’t know why he doesn’t recognize the suffering of African-Americans in this country and how said suffering is intertwined with their race, but he does. And in so doing, he helps to perpetuate the culture of white supremacy in the United States by giving it a pseudo-legitimacy as a black man. He is that prominent black man that white people can point to and say-
A: “I’m not racist, I love Ben Carson”
and
B: ” See, if a black man says Black Lives Matter is stupid, then it validates my thoughts on those thugs”.
Along with the rest of the Republican contenders for the presidency, Ben Carson’s words and actions help to further the suffering of black people in this country and that is one of the many, many reasons I despise the fuck out of that man.
****
As an aside, I don’t recommend you continue down this path:
Such rhetoric has been common among various conservative critics of this site as well as Libertarians. Discussions involving this inevitably turn into arguments and that’s exactly what PZ does not want in this thread. Please consider that before you add anything further.
Haven,
I read the first of articles linked to in #19. A brief synopsis of the article (which would have been a helpful thing for you to provide) is that government initiatives to combat racism have had unintended consequences, therefore (final paragraph):
My view is that Dr. Carson doesn’t propose a single helpful idea or insight – it’s just an anti-government screed. You clearly think differently, unless you are trolling. Why did you think it would be a useful link to share?
Haven,
I’ve posted a commentary which uses your links to back up what Tony has said.
Also, Tony’s the moderator (along with rq). It IS up to them.
Haven @26:
He is misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and a theocratic asshole. Those are many of my objections to the man.
I did not engage in any ad hominem attack. To do that, I would have had to attack him or his character in an attempt to refute any of his arguments. I did not attempt to refute any of Ben Carson’s arguments.
I also explained why I think he’s an Uncle Tom, and provided a link to elucidate why I feel that way. Do you even know what an Uncle Tom is?
****
I’m not the final arbiter of anything. That is the sole province of PZ. I simply think that your line of argument is likely to lead to arguing and that’s not what PZ has said he wants here.
I’m not sure if you realize this, but this is a progressive space, so the overwhelming majority of people who comment and read here are people who oppose a great deal of the shit Carson espouses. I wasn’t going to continue interacting with you given that you support a man as reprehensible as Ben Carson, but I changed my mind somewhat. Since you’re clearly not aware of the man’s many failings, here:
Martin Lee @28:
I appreciate that, but I think you’re mistaken. Neither rq nor I are *moderators*. We’re simply curators. We collect links and bring them here. That’s it. We have no power here. That doesn’t mean I can’t make suggestions that perhaps someone ought to cool it with their line of reasoning. Anyone can do that though.
Also, Haven FtB is not responsible for the ads on the site. They have a third-party advertiser that provides the ads. Believe me, I don’t believe anyone at FtB would support Ben Carson.
Haven Monahan,
Specifically, which ideas, and, specifically, why those ideas are worth consideration. If those ideas were implemented, who would benefit, how, and why. Who would foot the bill, how, and why. Please be specific in your reply.
Haven @32:
Given that government assistance programs enable people to survive during times of economic downturn and provide food for their families-none of which would be possible without those programs, you have a curious idea of bettering the lives of socioeconomically disadvantaged people.
You cannot simply take away government assistance programs and not replace them with a system that achieves the same or better results. As briefly mentioned in my link @29, there is a lot related to economics and the plight of poor people that Ben Carson does not understand. His views are in line with other conservatives who do not have the proper understanding of the complexities involved to have any hope of offering a solution to the economic woes of millions of USAmericans.
Never Forget #020: Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat long before Rosa Parks:
ARGH!
Advocates of respectability politics have evidently been telling African-Americans that they have to present themselves in a manner deemed acceptable to white people so that they may continue living for a lot longer than I thought.
And wouldn’t you know it, Ben Carson is a fan of respectability politics:
(via Ta-Nehisi Coates)
The article is from 2013, which isn’t terribly old and I’ve seen nothing to indicate that Carson has changed his views for the better.
More of Ben Carson’s ‘respectability politics’:
Here is an article to aid people in understanding ‘respectability politics’- Why respectability politics is a sham:
I hope this is appropriate for the thread.
I was reading Offworld and came across an article about the Invisibility Blues Kickstarter, which looks like it’ll be similar to Anita’s Tropes vs Women in Video Games series, but about racism. I don’t know much about the people behind it, but I did click through to their videos and watched the one about Cuphead, which was interesting. Just thought I’d give it a signal boost in case anyone else was interested in it and wanted to help fund it (they have already reached their goal).
Haven Monahan
re: Ben Carson
Back when he entered the campaign, and every now and then since, the other thread had several opinions on Ben Carson and why his policies and ideas aren’t actually helpful. Including many from disillusioned black people who had held him up as an icon, and were disappointed. If you go to that link, and check all the pages, and Ctrl+F “Ben Carson”, you’ll come up with a few things.
Martin Lee
re: Trump/Ford
Listen. I’m not going to just go right out and say Donald Trump is worse, or that he definitely won’t be elected, and yes, I base that on Ford, because he ran on some pretty silly platforms, never mind the drug addiction. That’s just the issue that got him out, but that doesn’t encompass everything that was wrong with him.
As it is, this comparison is completely off-base for this conversation, so please just stop.
Nerd
Not looking for scholarly articles here. All media articles (preferably with your own commentary, as to why it is relevant to racism), personal stories, anecdotes, etc. can be shared. So please don’t bring in academic articles into the fray as an argument against someone posting on their own (if wrong) opinion*. I have been posting precious few myself, and that would make the vast, vast majority of past year’s work completely void.
* I would say Haven Monahan’s issue is posting them up without explaining to us what we might find of value besides ‘Ben Carson has some good ideas’, rather than posting conservative crap. Because we can give them alternate reading material for that – some people just don’t get beyond that.
Nes
Thanks for those links!!
Lawsuit: Black Employee of Cupcake Shop Fired After Reporting White Colleague’s N-Bomb
Teen Perfectly Illustrates The Problem With NBC’s Sam Dubose Tweet
Lawsuit: Black Employee of Cupcake Shop Fired After Reporting White Colleague’s N-Bomb
Teen Perfectly Illustrates The Problem With NBC’s Sam Dubose Tweet
Haven at 32:
Completely failed? I don’t think so. If it were not for government intervention, you would still have slavery and indentured servitude. The US is still too far in that direction compared to other developed nations. After all is said and done, God will not provide, due to lack of existence. The “invisible hand of the Market” has no incentive to do the job, nor are private charities sufficient. The solutions have to lie with something powerful enough to actually do it, such as government. Power is a two-edged sword, of course, but without government you end up with chaos and exploitation.
As far as I can tell, Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican who understood this.
… To add to echidna‘s 40, I think many government programs and policies have failed due to efforts to undermine them, or inconsistent implementation, or just plain whining. See: Voting Rights Act, as one example. Also that Supreme Court decision on discriminatory housing practices in Texas.
And while yes, some of those efforts have come from government entities, this means a change in government (attitude) is required, rather than a change in policy as such.
“Haven Monahan” shows up with no prior history here, dumps that controversial McWhorter article on us, and then disingenuously pours on links from Ben Carson, far right wing loon, claiming that they “hadn’t heard of him until recently”.
I see TROLL writ all over that. Banned. Trollpoop deleted.
Nerd of Redhead: You were successfully baited and gave the troll opportunity to bicker further; they were looking for a fight and you cheerfully plunged in to give them one. That is exactly the behavior I’m trying to squelch here. You made no comments until you saw someone you disagreed with and could take a slap at. I’m giving you a one day suspension. Stay out of the discussion threads if you can’t stop being pugnacious.
Well, at least we got some nice Ben Carson rebuttals out of that.
And considering that so far main discussion has been about two Republican candidates, I think Tony and I will work out a sort of directional statement for the thread, sort of a la Ibis3 over on the Feminism discussion.
Ferguson was mentioned in an article I linked for the Art thread:
X-posted Discuss Art
Never Forget #019: Concentration camps were perfected in Africa:
I noticed a lack of citations for the above article and left a comment (which is currently in moderation) at the site about that.
Me @46:
I was mistaken about a lack of citations. The site refers to references as receipts and I was unfamiliar with the term. The article does list several citations.
****
Lynette Holloway over at The Root writes about 40 new state laws sparked by Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson:
Super-duper baby steps, but at least they’re steps aimed in the right direction.
****
Also from The Root, an article by Kirsten West Savali, Jonathan Sanders case: Interview with the mother of the Mississippi man allegedly choked to death by cop:
I sincerely hope that he gets his day in court and that the courts find him guilty.
I can’t even imagine what it’s like for African-Americans to live every day of their lives in cities and towns that revere the Confederacy. I lived in Alabama for 15 years from the age of 12 until 27, but my consciousness hadn’t been raised enough, nor was my education sufficient to be aware of any of the racist imagery all around me.
****
From John Walker at Fusion–
St. Louis juvenile court biased against people of color:
Is there any aspect of USAmerican society that isn’t biased against people of color?
One defender for 394 cases in a year. IANAL, but wouldn’t even half that load be nigh-impossible for one person?
Move along, nothing to see here. Nope. No white bias whatsoever.
Norway’s police haven’t killed a single person in nearly 10 years http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/norways-police-havent-killed-a-single-person-in-nearly-10-years/
….but surely, lethal shootings by the police has nothing to do with racism (sarcasm) ?
Nowegian (and British) police are less into force and more into face-to-face interactions.
@ birgerjohansson
A 2006 survey found that Police Federation members were overwhelmingly (82%) in favour of frontline police officers being “routinely unarmed” (in terms of firearms). There are few moments when I have been prouder of our Police Force as a whole. The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police cited the US as an example of why giving frontline Police Officers firearms as a matter of course is a bad idea, and said that “Sadly we know from the experience in America and other countries that having armed officers certainly does not mean, sadly, that police officers do not end up getting shot.”
The UK Police force (particularly the Met, it seems) do have a problem with systemic racism of course, but it seems to be nowhere near as serious, and they can’t act on it by shooting people. This seems to me to be a far preferable way of doing things.
Not specifically racism in America, but I just read this on the BBC, and this seems the least tangential place to share it – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-33735177
Link is to a story about a twitter bot created to discourage people from using the word illegal when talking about immigrants.
Dear White America: Your Toxic Masculinity is Killing You
–
Sarah Lee Circle Bear Died While in Police Custody; Family Seeks Justice
–
addicted44@17:
Agreed. Race is used as the excuse/dogwhistle/whatever to keep people at each other’s proverbial (and all too often, literal) throats and propr up the wealthy.
And…it works. :-(
RE: Cecil the lion and all of the eeming conflict with the black lives matter.
The best thing I saw was someone recommending that all black people dress up as lions. It was funny, in that sad, kind of painful way. I might run in different circles (I get most of my news online, and rarely, if ever, watch main stream news outlets of any kind), but the reaction to me seemed pretty even (i.e. the people I know/follow seemed just as outraged by both acts). Unfortunately, many of the responses also had that Dear Muslima vibe, as if people can’t be outraged about both things.
Awww, former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson cannot find a job and rarely leaves his house-
A New Yorker profile of the police officer who shot unarmed teen Michael Brown to death in Ferguson, Missouri revealed that he is living in virtual anonymity and is deeply incurious about the larger events around the killing and the unrest that it spawned.
Former officer Darren Wilson now lives in a quiet neighborhood filled with houses “clad in vinyl siding.” He has a baby daughter who was born in March, a little sister to his two stepsons with wife Barb, another ex-cop.
The New Yorker‘s Jake Halpern said that Wilson has been unable to find police work, that departments consider him too much of a potential liability. So, he is living on donated money, screening visitors with a series of cameras connected to his cell phone and answering the door in a hat and sunglasses.
When asked if he has read up on the systemic injustices and entrenched departmental racism highlighted in the Justice Department’s report on the Ferguson Police Department, Wilson shrugged it off.
“I don’t have any desire,” he told Halpern. “I’m not going to keep living in the past about what Ferguson did. It’s out of my control.”
A grand jury cleared Wilson of wrongdoing in Brown’s killing and a Justice Department report on the killing said that Wilson had fired on the youth in self defense. While the agency found that the Ferguson police were carrying out racist policies and preying on the city’s black population, Wilson himself was twice found to have acted within official protocol.
Later in the profile, Wilson said he believes that blacks on his beat are using the racism of the past as an excuse not to do better in the present.
“I am really simple in the way that I look at life,” Wilson told Halpern. “What happened to my great-grandfather is not happening to me. I can’t base my actions off what happened to him.”
Police officers, Wilson said, “can’t fix in thirty minutes what happened thirty years ago. We have to fix what’s happening now. That’s my job as a police officer. I’m not going to delve into people’s life-long history and figure out why they’re feeling a certain way, in a certain moment…I’m not a psychologist.”
Now, Wilson and his family continue to keep a low profile, rarely venturing outside and choosing locations for outings carefully, like restaurants.
“We try to go somewhere — how do I say this correctly? — with like-minded individuals,” Wilson said. “You know. Where it’s not a mixing pot.”
Dude, just say you hang out with only white people.
Crap. Everything but the last line in my comment above should be blockquoted.
From Tony’s quote in #53
Oh my god…
Tony!’s quotes at 53:
That may be the most depressing part of this all. The people enthusiastically throwing money at the cop who lost his job after killing a black teenager. What a noble fucking charity.
What a hideous old trope that is. By fucking god.
Like minded individuals. Not a mixing pot. The culmination of a long series of dog whistles.
This isn’t just saying that he just prefers to hang around other white people. This is saying he prefers to exclusively hang around people with the same ideas as him too. You know, the kind of people who agree that racism is an issue of his grandfather’s time, that blacks are failures just blaming their problems on The Past, that money should be showered on a poor old cop who got yelled at for murdering a black teenager, and that Mixing Pots are Bad Things. In other words, not just white people, white racists.
I’ve just been listening to this week’s “This American Life” podcast. It’s here:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with
“The problem we all live with”
Right now, all sorts of people are trying to rethink and reinvent education, to get poor minority kids performing as well as white kids. But there’s one thing nobody tries anymore, despite lots of evidence that it works: desegregation. Nikole Hannah-Jones looks at a district that, not long ago, accidentally launched a desegregation program.
It’s stomach-churning to listen to. The tl;dr form is: education is not broken, education has been broken. What works is integration/desegregation but the US’ reaction has been to back away from it and re-segregate. Connecting the dots is easy.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/aug/02/donald-trump/donald-trump-black-income-unemployment-worse-now-j/
Why is it that, because he’s Black, Obama’s record must speak for all possible Black presidents?!
Did anyone suggest that because Bush lead us into a global recession, and two unnecessary wars, that we’d never have a White president?! What about Andrew Johnson, who allowed white southerners to completely eradicate any progress in the Black community after the Civil War, giving them reign to enact “Black Codes” and silently support the formation of the KKK. Did we declare that there’d not be a White president for generations?!
40 New State Laws Sparked by Michael Brown’s Death in Ferguson. The Root. I think the article posted by Tony over on the discussion thread.
Dylann Roof, Ray Tensing and their audacity to plead not guilty, from Blavity.
Next time someone says racism isn’t real, show them this 3-minute video
Dear white Facebook friends: I need you to respect what Black America is feeling right now
Black Lives Matter, all of them (Content Note: Transphobia) – yes, Tony’s blog post on the matter, one more time! Because we’re here for all black lives.
Dear NBC, BBC, CNN, and others: Mugshots are for criminals and murderers, not their victims – a look at how victims and killers are portrayed.
More examples at the link.
A Brave Interview: Raising A Black Child In America
Interview at the link. Clint Smith is excellent. And he has some beautiful poetry out there, too. I recommend.
The Continuing Reality of Segregated Schools
I believe the article has a link to the audio.
Alabama man says cop threatened him with murder:
Man, cops get to keep their jobs for doing and saying shit that would get civilians in a load of trouble.
But I’m sure he has nothing against black people. He’ll probably even let a black person use his restroom.
Dude, you don’t know that. More importantly, this is police officer. This kind of language is unbecoming of cops who are entrusted with authority and power. They are supposed to serve and protect. How can this guy be trusted to serve and protect black people if he’s going to say hateful, racist crap like this?
Both sides?
Both motherfucking sides?!
There is no justification for a cop saying such things, no matter *what* the “other side” is.
So chances are the cop wasn’t cleared, bc there doesn’t seem to have been any inquiry. Does this mean ::gasp:: that he lied?
<a href= "http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/08/lawsuit_details_brutal_attack_on_innocent_man_by_shreveport_cops_who_allegedly.html?wpisrc=topstoriesLawsuit details brutal attack on innocent man by Shreveport cops who allegedly beat and sodomized him:
(note: that’s the actual title of the article)
(bolding mine)
1- More cops being fucking vile assholes
2- Why is this referred to as ‘sodomy’, rather than what it was- rape?
Well I messed *that* HTML up…
I presume that at least some of the previous threads have brought up Altemeyer’s RWA and Pratto’s SDO scales, and their correlations to prejudice.
I’ve also previously noted that they seem to shed some light on the social justice controversy within the Freethought movement. RWA is strongly correlated to religiosity; SDO is uncorrelated. So, while the skeptic movement seems to tend light on xenophobes, there’s just as much contempt-based prejudice as in the wider society. Possibly more so, among organized groups. Some of the institutions arising in Ingersoll’s era had by the mid-20th century seem to have fallen to this.
The racist/sexist faction seems to have been swept even more thoroughly under the rug than the communists, but howsoever much the contemporary humanist faction might wish it to have never existed, it seems to have been one of the major strains.
Art and Activism:
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/ferguson-artists-blur-boundaries-between-activism-and-art
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/damon-davis-hands-reach-ferguson-ladue-hope-racial-justice
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/how-broad-brush-ferguson-transformed-local-arts-scene
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louisan-s-photos-sheldon-challenge-jim-crow-depictions-african-americans
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/and-then-ferguson-happened-unrest-opportunity-drew-rac-head-felicia-shaw-home
Nona Faustine’s White Shoes Series, beautiful and powerful: http://blackgirllonghair.com/2015/07/black-woman-artist-poses-nude-at-former-new-york-slave-trade-sites-including-wall-street-and-city-hall/
X-posted Discuss Art
Issa Rae: Hollywood Wanted to Lighten Awkward Black Girl—I Said No, also worthy of cross-post to the Discuss: Art thread.
Note:
Today is the one year anniversary of the extrajudicial execution of Michael Brown, Jr. at the hands of ex-police officer Darren Wilson.
****
A children’s illustrator is getting hate for her anti-racist art:
Click the link for screencaps of the backlash as well as the support she has received.
Also, note the amount of fucks she gives:
Tony!,
It’s so nice to see that ME still has that edge when she wants to bring it out. She seemed to have gone all Christianitish, but it looks like there’s still more to her.
Can I do a ‘casual racism of the day’ anecdote here? Even if it’s technically for Toronto, just over the border? This one’s really exemplary of how casual racism happens – and how its entangled with the personality of the deliverer to the point where you can’t quite pin racism down on them. Also, nobody gets killed fortunately, but two people get embarrassed and irritated while the perpetrator goes scot free.
So there I am at the car rental counter in Toronto, and the white woman behind it really was a grumpy old whatever, but she was treating me fairly civilly. Then a black guy comes along and he has one of those questions that require a one-second answer, so he butts in with it during a quiet moment. I give him a big welcoming smile because, yeah, it’s a pain to wait for 15 minutes when your question takes 1 second, and I was all for her dealing with it. People do that all the time. Not with this employee. She tells him in the nastiest tone she can muster that she’s with a customer and he’ll have to wait. Not content, she starts trying to catch my eye while she pulls disapproving faces about him. Yuck! Before she was done, I needed a shower, not a car. I had a really bad feeling about her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone treat a reasonably well-dressed white guy that way AND try to drag another customer into it – heck, in Chicago, I just waited 45 minutes to sign a form while another white woman discussed shopping opportunities with the employee! But what do I know? Toronto-car-rental-person did have a grumpy personality. It’s not like I have enough to file a complaint against her. I’m just left with a bad feeling.
‘Kay, I’ll leave you all to the really heavy stuff now.
Shots fired in Ferguson after mostly peaceful Michael Brown, Jr. anniversary:
Fuck. I just had a chilling thought. How many black families have lost a loved one due to police brutality within the last year? The last 5? The last 10? Could we fit them all in a civic center? A massive football stadium?
@ Tony #73 – “How many black families have lost a loved one due to police brutality within the last year? The last 5? The last 10?”
The Guardian is attempting to count them: How many black families have lost a loved one due to police brutality within the last year? The last 5? The last 10?
Apparently, the total for all races killed this year is around 550, with black people twice as likely to die. Let’s round that to about 400, with a projected figure of 800 this year? And it probably isn’t unreasonable to multiply by however many years… I don’t know how many people fit in a civic center or football stadium. Whatever, it’s still too many.
The Guardian also notes that black people are not only twice as likely to die, but about twice as likely to be unarmed and doing nothing very much at the start of the incident.
#74 – Sorry, forgot to add a link : http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/01/us-police-killings-this-year-black-americans
#74 & 75 – Whoops, I did my maths wrong. Black people being twice as likely to be killed needs to take population demographics into account.
– 400!!! Could the curators please just correct that last post, and i’m going to go an do something about the jetlag.
Hiya.
Can I drop this link here?
Armed “Oathkeepers” Show Up in Ferguson
Yeah, this should end well.
Pen
There’s two counts, I believe the other one is by the Washington Post, but I could be wrong. Their count is much higher, over 600 (might be near 700 by now). The two counts have slightly different criteria.
Either way, both are projecting something near 1000 deaths by police for the year (last year, I believe, it was around 1100, but these are memory-numbers so may not be accurate. I’ve been posting occasional updates on the Count (when I remember) here.
+++
In any case, for those switching over from the Look At All the White People thread, here we are.
I know this comes late in the thread, but here’s a Welcome! comment from me and Tony:
And as a reminder of where it all started, here’s PZ’s first post on Michael Brown Jr, though first mention goes to Tony in the Lounge (comment 448), with a link to one of the first news stories at 449. I believe PZ’s post then connects to all subsequent posts – if it doesn’t, the next place to look is “Good Morning, America“. Other posts from PZ and a few other FtB bloggers are usually linked through as well.
And to finish off, here’s Dana Hunter on Bernie Sanders fans, with some advice (and links!) on who to listen to and who to read to achieve some clarity re: BLM.
Onwards.
Be nice if this could spread throughout the country:
California Governor Jerry Brown signs bill banning grand juries in police use-of-force cases:
After the decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, I have found I’m not happy with the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.
Quebec considering removing N-word from 11 place names – yep, it’s there, even in la belle province!
Okay, I get descriptives, but to say there was no pejorative connotation back then…? I think… I think he’s wrong. What’s nice is that the commission is considering the name-change without any actual outcry from the public – which means that someone in that commission is being so PC as to actually think ahead of the crowd! And that is a good thing.
From Tuesday, about Monday night: Ferguson unrest: More than a dozen arrests in 4th night of Ferguson protests; also on Monday, Michael Brown anniversary: State of emergency declared after shooting, protests.
From Monday, about Sunday: Ferguson braces for nightfall after state of emergency declared.
More recently, Christian Taylor shooting: Texas police officer fired – I wonder if he will be able to live on donations from now on, too?
And they’re still calling it a suspected burglary.
Ferguson unrest: Protesters gather for peaceful demonstration
Belmar was ‘critical’ of them. What would he say if it was a group of black men exercising the same right?
Ha! CTV journalist Tom Walters charged one year after Ferguson protests.
I had a whole other comment with more Canadian media links but I think moderation et it all up. I forgot to remove some bad words.
Also, here’s an article from August 5 of last year. Earlier this year – I believe in July? – we saw a number of articles on the threat white supremacist organizations pose to USAmerican domestic safety. It seems to be a recurring theme, and yet the authorities don’t seem to be taking these people with the seriousness they deserve. See also: Oath Keepers (tangentially related).
Anyway, here’s the article: Nonpartisan Study: Sovereign Citizens Pose Bigger Threat To USA Than Islamic Extremists.
And from CTV News itself,
CTV’s Tom Walters nearly a year after Ferguson arrest.
Other stories from there:
‘I have a dream’ speech warm-up recording discovered in North Carolina, which is neat!
After 2 nights of tension, a peaceful protest with no arrests in Ferguson;
Police chief fires Texas officer who killed unarmed college football player.
Over at Ferris State University, the Jim Crowe Museum of Racist Memorabilia has their Question of the month up:
The answer is long and involved.
Here’s an excerpt:
Bernie Sanders lets civil rights activists open Los Angeles campaign event:
(bolding mine)
****
Marissa Johnson speaks out about taking the mic from Bernie Sanders:
I implore her critics to keep the bolded portion (my doing) in mind.
Oh go away, troll #86. You’re transparent and tedious.
In case there is any doubt, the fool posting above is not me, nor are they related to my blog. They are a troll trying to stir up shit, so please don’t listen to them. PZ will happily ban this latest fool posting where they know they are not wanted.
Lol, I was thinking I should write a children’s book: The Saddest Troll of Them All.
Sandra Bland: Talking while black:
excerpt:
US civil rights activist Julian Bond dies aged 75. Mr Bond was one of the founders of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, who played an incredibly important role in the Civil Rights movement), and also a founder of the SPLC, and later, president of the NAACP.
Damn, damn, damn and damn. We need our wise elders to live forever. We need as many as we can get. We need to stop murdering our young who could become wise elders. We need to stop murdering.
RIP Julian Bond.
Huge piece of black history found: Martin Luther King Jr’s first recording of ‘I Have A Dream’ speech found:
Here’s a piece by Tony, listen to the song within.
Black Lives Matter? Not to NBC
Chills. The good kind. I think.
Sorry, Not sorry: Bernie Sanders nixes aides apology to Black Lives Matter :
****
Dutch paper NRC Handelsblad sparks latest n-word debate with Ta-Nehisi Coates book review:
(to prevent this post from being held in moderation, I have tweaked the n-word as it appeared in the original article by replacing the ‘i’ with an asterisks)
They didn’t assume it would offend Dutch readers? Are there no black people in the Netherlands familiar with the N-word (and that read the paper)?
White supremacist Craig Cobb wants to name latest all-white enclave after Donald Trump:
I think Cobb’s community would have to be NOT welcoming to Mexican-Americans for this to appeal to Trump.
I have some week-old articles that I said I’d put up. And I’m slowly trying to find a groove within which I can do things here and still do everything else in meatspace.
Anyhow, onwards.
A Year After Michael Brown, People Are Sharing Tough Truths With #FergusonTaughtMe
One thing I haven’t kept up with is twitter, hence I have no idea what the alternate narratives for Tyrone Harris currently are. I do think the official one has changed in the meantime. The “remarkable amount of gunfire” may not have been unloaded by Harris himself, but by police firing pretty much into a crowd. Annnnyway.
Police Have Killed at Least 1,083 Americans Since Michael Brown’s Death – note: that number is already a week old.
A huge stack of visuals at the link, too – great infographics for more visual readers. With all requisite numbers, too, of course.
Yankees Affiliate: Timing Of Blue Lives Matter Day An ‘Unfortunate Coincidence’. Considering the origin of the phrase as a direct response to last year’s resurgence of #BlackLivesMatter, I really doubt that. I’m pretty sure there’s a team of people who are supposed to look into such things.
The Yankees may have been ignorant of the date (far too ignorant, in my opinion), but the Blue Lives Matter organization most certainly was not. I’m placing bets on that.
Officials Declare State of Emergency in Ferguson – it’s week-old news, I’m mostly wondering, has it been lifted yet? Mid-week I heard it was extended…
Ferguson Protesters Report Police Opening Fire On Wall of Protesters
So there you have a non-police version of that night’s events.
Bernie Sanders Announces New Policy Platform Aimed at Making Police Reform a Reality – which is all nice and good, right, especially considering his rather… lukewarm stance as posted by Tony just previous.
The article mentions ‘detail’ but I’ve read criticism that it’s mostly rhetoric and little concrete action-planing.
Photos: At Least 2 Protesters Arrested During NYC March For Michael Brown, some more of last week’s news.
[FERGUSON FORWARD]
1-Year-Anniversary of Brown’s Death Marked by Police Shooting, by Jamilah Lemieux, via Ebony.
Serena Williams Looks Stunning on the Cover of ‘New York’ Magazine’s Fashion Issue. Here’s to positive images!
“Ferguson Represents The Shot Heard Around The World…”
“This Year Of Protests Has Been The Year Of Purpose…”
Bernie Sanders Unveils Sweeping Policy Platform To Combat Racial Inequality. Still last week’s news.
Still with last week’s news! Nathan Bedford Forrest statue vandalized.
#BlackLivesMatter Activists Arrested in Ferguson Anniversary Protests
Chicago Police Offer ‘Advice’ On How Not To Get Shot By Them. I bet most readers here can list police advice off the top of your heads. Which seem to work mostly for white people. I’ll test you on this later.
Police organization’s ‘Darren Wilson Day’ in Columbia, Mo., sparks protest, criticism, as mentioned by awakeinmo upthread, too, via the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
For white people to read and ponder to themselves. White people, what’s happening in #Ferguson is life and death. Please share this and think about it #BlackLivesMatter, see attached text for required reading.
Social Media Reacts After 2 Prominent #BlackLivesMatter Activists and Cornel West Are Arrested During St. Louis Protests
Ah, but West…?
Something approaching ally-speak: I think it is best for me to stay ready to respond. If they silence the activists, I’ll be ready to step in for them.
Sheriff taunts clergy keeping vigil at jail where Sandra Bland died: ‘Go back to the church of Satan’
The racism banner suspended on balloons to drape the Arch was inspired. @LBPhoto1 photo 8/10
[rq takes a break for a few days]
Exclusion of Blacks From Juries Raises Renewed Scrutiny
There’s plenty more at the link.
Failure factories, on schools and segregation.
More at the link. TL;DR – segregation is bad.
The Revolution Is Socialized: Organization ‘Live-Tweets’ Watts Riots on 50th Anniversary, a retrospective.
This and that else at the link, but please explain to me, are things so very different in this day and age?
See Julian Bond’s Life in Photos, from Time.
President this AM on the death of civil rights activist Julian Bond, see attached text.
A ‘Never-Ending Nightmare’ in Ferguson
Audio at the link. And her last name is ‘Kendzior’, not Kenzidor.
Oath Keepers to Arm 50 Black Protesters in Ferguson with AR- 15’s for an Epic Rights Flexing March. Is there any way for this to actually end well?
This actually sounds quite terrifying.
Race in the US: Know your history, via Al Jazeera.
A great history lesson over at the link.
Locked in Solitary at 14: Adult Jails Isolate Youths Despite Risk
More at the link.
America’s branch of Amnesty International could do better: Wow. @amnesty this is a WHOLE NEW set of Black folk. Making demands. AGAIN. I hope it makes it into the media again, because there was a lot of eye-opening stuff appearing on twitter re: this.
Worn Dialogues: Gallery Conversations, a ROM event in Toronto.
Freelance writer Sarah Kendzior: ‘Geography is essential to understanding Ferguson’
Interview at the link.
The Wire’s David Simon is feeling (slightly) optimistic for once. Here’s why. He’s making a series about de-segregating housing. Exciting? It just might be.
More on white privilege past and present at the link.
Emails Show Feds Have Monitored ‘Professional Protester’ DeRay Mckesson. Not that he’s making much money off it.
This and that else at the link.
And here’s an interesting perspective: Could black people in the U.S. qualify as refugees?
I encourage you to read it all.
Julian Bond, Former N.A.A.C.P. Chairman and Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 75, his New York Times obituary. Not going to cite much, but here, I’ll pull one problematic sentence that has seen a lot of twitter attention:
See if you can figure out what’s wrong with it. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’d have known if a lot of people hadn’t pointed it out.
Misty Copeland Wants Others to Understand What it Means to Be a Black Dancer, because we all love ballet. And ballet #NeedsMoreWhitePeople… NOT.
I hope I have a chance to see her live one day, before she retires.
Straight Outta Compton and the Social Burdens of Hip-Hop
Of course, there’s a lot else wrong with the hip-hop community, rampant misogyny among that else. So.
Ferguson activists DeRay Mckesson, Johnetta Elzie among those arrested in St. Louis, Washington Post with last week’s news.
My Anger is Justified: Why Black Women’s Rage is Necessary for Change, and not a reason to dismiss their words and/or actions.
This: “We are making history today” First day of school at Hawthorn, Mo’s 1st all-girls public school focused on STEM. Should be in headlines. Somewhere. Everywhere.
What if…?
It’s impressive. There’s something especially poignant about a black man in the role of Captain America.
This is a couple of years old, but probably just as relevant today. Forbes “If I Were a Poor Black Kid”–A Poor Black Kid’s Response
Youtube video; link to original article at the link.
CNN guest blasts police for swarming ‘Straight Outta Compton’ showings: ‘We cannot racially profile movies’, though I’ve heard massive police presence at the movie theatre is the norm in some locations.
Well, those are words I can get behind.
Sanders: Just Because He Has a Record of Civil Rights, Doesn’t Mean He’s Entitled to the Black Vote – nope, he’s not entitled to it. He should fight for it, just as he would fight for any other vote. C’mon, Bernie. You can do it.
Racial bias, it turns out, is everywhere: Racial Bias Affects How Doctors Do Their Jobs. Here’s How To Fix It.
There’s more at the link, but it’s good to see positive steps.
Why the Appeal to “All Lives Matter” is Bunk. Bookmark this to share with anyone who still believes #AllLivesMatter is a legitimate slogan (as used to counter #BlackLivesMatter).
I left the final points out so you can go and read on your own.
Here’s a way to tackle racism, from the UK! Scousers Corner Neo-Nazis At ‘White Man March’ In Liverpool
Photos and tweets at the link. Wasn’t it in BC a few years ago something similar happened?
Here’s some humour with a racist bent, with some good advice within to boot! 10 Ways To Prevent Getting Profiled By The Police If Driving While Black
Numbers 5 to 10 can be visited at the link, but I suppose you get the idea.
Get an education, we tell ’em, it will Make Things Better! Really? Racial Wealth Gap Persists Despite Degree, Study Says
I’m sensing some subtle victim-blaming in there – those huge loans, all that financing, all the fault of those taking those loans! Nary a mention of the predatory nature of banks, and of all those implicit biases that actually got black people and hispanic people a worser deal than their white counterparts.
Remember this guy? Fired Ferguson Spokesman Devin James Dubs Himself “Voice of the Voiceless” In New Book.
Speaking of ‘but what about black-on-black crime?’, it’s not like it’s an issue that doesn’t get addressed: If interested, this @300MenMarch is to raise awareness so as to raise money to expand, not just cuz walking’s fun: http://gofundme.com/300emergencyplan …
It’s an issue that doesn’t get media attention: Baltimore men march 35 miles to DC to protest inner city violence; national media hardly notices
I don’t think this is the first such event – maybe the first of such distance, but these people have been out before, to absolutely no media noise.
Now, what are white people doing about white-on-white crime?
95% of Prosecutors Are White and They Treat Blacks Worse
More at the link.
The benefits of colorblindness? What Happens When Minority Kids Are Taught Not to Talk About Race
I guess not so benefits after all.
Administrative error? Difference in priorities? Deliberate omission? Man who hanged himself in Jennings had been on suicide watch
Notable Mississippians join chorus to change state flag. Racist symbol is still racist.
And then there’s basically a repetition of all the ‘heritage-not-hate’ and ‘flags don’t cause violence’ arguments we’ve heard before.
What The Supreme Court Ruled On the False Arrest of Sandra Bland – could be a repost from the previous iteration, but the article is from July 24:
I’m pretty sure he’s still not being held accountable for it.
A Former Cop on the Subculture That Leads to Fatal Police Shootings
Interview at the link.
A blast from the past: Black civil rights activist recalls white ally who took a shotgun blast for her.
Blacks own just 10 U.S. television stations. Here’s why.
If representation in media is important, then media is failing. And people wonder why white people know nothing.
WATCH: 14 police officers take down a one-legged homeless black man armed with crutches in San Francisco. He was also armed with blackness.
What Julian Bond Taught Me
What a loss for the community – for all the communities.
Remembering Kajieme Powell. Him, too.
Live updates: Defense rests in Charlotte’s police shooting case
I kinda have my fingers crossed.
At least 1008 Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been held in the last 395 days, see chart!
Grand Juror in Michael Brown Case Appeals Gag Order on Panel – still fighting that.
And yes, here’s more on Bernie Sanders: Why Are White Liberals Getting So “Berned Up” By Black Women Activists?
Previous in moderation, but I just wanted to add this from the final link in that set:
That’s right, no passes.
Black Lives Matter Charleston: Surveillance started after Walter Scott shooting
“Everybody does it”. Right.
More later.
All 173 Confederate flag rallies since the Charleston massacre, mapped. Check for blatantly racist activity near you.
Here’s a couple by Dana Hunter:
But A White Guy Who Attacks Cops Would Get Shot, Too, Right?
Why Bernie Sanders Could Lose – And How You Can Help Him Win.
Full video of both arrests at tonight’s weekly peaceful #BlackLivesMatter demo. Note chokehold used in second arrest https://youtu.be/6BEZhryd760 Yep, that’s happening.
Prosecutors want subpoenas quashed in Freddie Gray case
That case just sounds dirtier and dirtier the longer it goes on. Courage to Mosby and her team, this is some fight. I’m glad they’re attempting to keep the focus on where it belongs, on Gray as a victim of police brutality – at most positive, police negligence – where his past as a criminal or saint should take a backseat to the fact that he was a human being worthy of care and dignity.
Watson Coleman Statement on AG Investigation of Radazz Hearns Shooting
U.S. Budgets Cash to Treat Heroin Abuse in Northeast
I get the feeling that this funding is available because heroin has become an issue in middle-class communities. The lower classes can go get fucked, eh? And I wonder about disproportionate application…
Study Finds Education Does Not Close Racial Wealth Gap, audio at NPR.
Transcript at the link.
A shattered foundation, “African Americans who bought homes in Prince George’s have watched their wealth vanish”.
Article continues at the link.
40 men walked over 30 miles from Baltimore to DC in one night. Here’s why.
Let’s raise the signal a bit, hm?
300 Men March Walks 35-Miles From Baltimore to D.C. to Address Violence
Just please, please, please don’t let these efforts of addressing issues within the community overshadow those attempting to combat issues from without the community – police brutality against people of colour is a different issue from this one, but I put this here to counter those who believe that black-on-black crime is more of an issue, an issue not receiving attention from within the black community. Let’s face it, they’re both issues, both being addressed by (different members of) the same community. One does not cancel out the other.
Here’s some words about an organization worth supporting. I believe they have a gmail address where they can be reached.
I don’t resent one minute or dollar I’ve spent this past year working in this movement and in the communities we’ve serviced.
However, I do know that some things have to change for the health and well-being of all of @ophelporhush’s “staff” and volunteers.
For the projects we have and the level we want to go to and amount of people we want to service, we need grants.
And over the next 90 days, we’re going to work hard to secure grants. Any info and help with this is much appreciated. @ophelporhush
We want to continue to pay young folks for their work. We want to continue to provide a safe, clean space for them to bond and learn.
We want our workers and volunteers to feel appreciated beyond a “thank you.” So we must locate the real money for the community work we do.
So if there’s anyone reading this and who has advice or experience or anything they’d be willing to share, this might be a good cause.
Incidentally, speaking of new organizations just taking off, Seven Scribes (a writing site for people of colour that I have often linked to and quoted from on these threads) is looking for (a) donations (though they reached their kickstarter goal) and (b) writers (who, thanks to current donations etc., they can now afford to pay). This is a subtle hint to some people on this network.
Here’s The Root on the 300 Men March: 300 Men March Movement Arrives in DC
Faces of the Movement Meet Up, with exhibit of photography. Put a face and a personal story to protestors out on the street.
Here’s more about the project: New Favorite Tumblr: Faces of the Movement
Former Fairfax police officer charged with murder of unarmed Springfield man
He’s already been fired from the force, though, which I find interesting – no longer under the wing of the police union, and possibly a washing of the hands? The officer who shot Christian Taylor was also fired quickly, and while I appreciate the move, I do wonder why.
McCorkle Place’s Silent Sam memorial to the Confederacy has been spray-painted with the phrase “Who is Sandra Bland?”
15 Heartbreaking Drawings Capture the #LastWords Spoken by Black Victims of State Violence, updated version.
Slow Poison, “Even if the police don’t kill me, a lifetime of preparing for them to just might.”
So much more in there worth the reading of. Worth every minute you spend on each word.
Why Sheneque Proctor is NOT the Female Eric Gardner
NYCLU Motion: Garner Grand Jury Records Must Be Public
Noose hanging this morning from prayer tower at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. @deray @Nettaaaaaaaa Everyday racism.
Weelll …
It could be this ubiquitous persecution of Christians we keep hearing about.
Over at Sincere Kirabo’s blog, a commenter asserted that if you obey the law and the police, there will be no problem. One of my responses to him was to point out John Geer was compliant with cops for 50 minutes and was still shot and killed (thankfully the officer has been charged with second-degree murder). I’m likely to go back and ask him is if he thinks police officers are justified in killing a suspect who isn’t compliant. After all, non-compliance takes many forms. This is the story I had in mind:
2 former Georgia copes have been charged with murder for the 2014 tasering death of a handcuffed black man who refused to walk. I wonder if said commenter feels that Towns’ refusal to walk is sufficient grounds for him to be murdered.
Stephanie Zvan: Democrats Can’t Win on the White Vote.
From the CBC:
How #BlackLivesMatter became a worldwide rallying cry
Also from the CBC:
Compton no longer the stuff of gangsta-rap lore;
John Geer shooting: Adam Torres indicted on 2nd-degree murder charge.
Heina Dadabhoy: “Liberal” ≠ Get-Out-of-Everything-Free-Card – yes, with a focus on Bernie Sanders!
From Dana’s post, I’d like to highlight one of the links within: Interrupting Bernie Sanders, because it’s well worth the attention.
And from the comments on Dana’s same post, a couple of articles from Shakesville (which, I’m sorry to say, I do not follow with the fervor it deserves, but that’s an issue of time rather than anything else):
Primarily Speaking, which focusses on Clinton, but has a few things about other candidates.
Also, Hillary Clinton and #BlackLivesMatter: The Videos, which has both videos as well as transcripts. So no, BLM isn’t just going for Sanders. The methods differ, but they’re seeking answers from everyone who might listen and care.
Exhaustive new study finds black jurors struck from juries 300% more than their white peers, Shaun King from DailyKos.
But I’ve seen arguments that there’s no systemic racism, as pointed out by Tony just a couple of comments up. This seems pretty systemic to me.
Racial graffiti written on Haley grave
Revenge graffitti?
Kinfolks: a journal of black expression – Vol. 1 / Issue 3 – there’s a new Clint Smith poem inside, plus an array of other black authors. And you read it like a book on your screen!
It’s certainly worth returning to.
This is a repost: We Are Our Heroes: On Activism In The Age Of Celebrity Worship.
I think there’s something to be said for the opposite, too, esp. re: allies – don’t expect all-star treatment for one action, forever.
Lena Dunham: Sandra Bland had big plans to help women before she died
Interview at the link.
Charleston schools say no to Confederate flag displays
It takes nine dead people for schools to realize it’s a divisive symbol. What the hell are you teaching the kids?
Something a bit more fun, while at the same time, not: 7 Things to Remember If You’re a White Person Dating a Person of Color.
Here’s a few reviews of Straight Outta Compton.
“Dr. Dre straddled me and beat me mercilessly”: Dee Barnes rejects “revisionist history” of “Straight Outta Compton” in powerful essay , which refers to this article from Gawker: Here’s What’s Missing From Straight Outta Compton: Me and the Other Women Dr. Dre Beat Up. TW for sexist violence.
There’s more at the link.
And Ava DuVernay’s review: Ava DuVernay writes the only ‘Straight Outta Compton’ review you need to read
See her review tweets. She seems quite pleased with the film, even with the erasure of women.
Judge: N.M. police officers will stand trial for 2014 fatal shooting of a homeless man
Something approaching justice?
Two former Ga. police officers charged with murder for stun gun death of handcuffed man – is this a developing pattern?
I suppose we’ll have to wait and see how the trials turn out.
‘I don’t want to die in your cell:’ Police release video of Ralkina Jones taken prior to death
So even with all of that, something didn’t quite go as well as it should have.
Here’s a few reviews of Straight Outta Compton.
“Dr. Dre straddled me and beat me mercilessly”: Dee Barnes rejects “revisionist history” of “Straight Outta Compton” in powerful essay , which refers to this article from Gawker: Here’s What’s Missing From Straight Outta Compton: Me and the Other Women Dr. Dre Beat Up. TW for sexist violence.
There’s more at the link.
And Ava DuVernay’s review: Ava DuVernay writes the only ‘Straight Outta Compton’ review you need to read
See her review tweets. She seems quite pleased with the film, even with the erasure of women.
Judge: N.M. police officers will stand trial for 2014 fatal shooting of a homeless man
Something approaching justice?
Two former Ga. police officers charged with murder for stun gun death of handcuffed man – is this a developing pattern?
I suppose we’ll have to wait and see how the trials turn out.
‘I don’t want to die in your cell:’ Police release video of Ralkina Jones taken prior to death
So even with all of that, something didn’t quite go as well as it should have.
Cost of Police-Misconduct Cases Soars in Big U.S. Cities. Yep, having badly behaved police ain’t cheap! Can’t get to the full article, but there seem to be a lot of large numbers in it.
Podcast: We Still Rely On Volunteers To Tally The Victims Of Police Violence
APD officers will stand trial for murder in shooting of James Boyd, as seen previous via different channels.
I think it’s important to have a reasoned response to unethical practice in order to avoid falling into the trap of being accused of being an angry (brown) girl on Twitter.
There’s more at the link, but if you ever wonder why writers of colour just don’t try harder to become visible? Maybe it’s not the writers.
Tombstone Of ‘Roots’ Author’s Grandmother Vandalized: ‘White Lives Matter’, as seen previous.
New book about Danziger Bridge carnage is powerful even for those who know the story: Jarvis DeBerry.
Well, that was new… and horrible. And read on, apparently the police might still get a chance to have their story become the official one.
Two former East Point officers charged in death of handcuffed man, as seen previous.
Three More Transgender Women Of Color Killed. Let’s hear it for all black lives matter.
More on each victim at the link, but I was heartbroken by this:
If she couldn’t use the right pronoun, did she really accept her child’s identity?
DNA Shows Warren Harding Wasn’t America’s First Black President. Didn’t know this was in dispute, but congrats, Obama, you’re still the first!
Ep 48: The Year of Ferguson, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and More!
Audio at the link.
The Short, Hard Life Of Freddie Gray
There’s much more at the link.
Martin Luther King’s hate mail eerily resembles criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement. Plus ca change…
‘Muslim-Free’ Gun Store Now Selling George Zimmerman’s Confederate Flag Paintings – seen around and elsewhere. As the subtitle says, it’s totally not about race, AMIRITE???
‘Muslim-free’ gun shop teams with George Zimmerman to sell Confederate flag prints, that’s just the Washington Post version.
ACLU blasts St. Louis County for belatedly charging Ferguson demonstrators. They’re going after last year’s arrests.
Journalists included in those counts, too.
Important read: Secret aid worker: there is still racism within humanitarian work
And remember, these white-superior attitudes also infest local organizations. Sometimes it’s not inadvertent but an unwillingness to relinquish power to those who might wield it differently, those who are not like you.
Virginia cop’s arrest reveals larger cracks in ‘blue wall of silence’
Undercover Police Have Regularly Spied On Black Lives Matter Activists in New York. Show of hands, who’s surprised?
As a good person recently commented on FB, are they keeping as close tabs on the KKK and flag rallies and sovereign citizen groups?
The Rebellious, Back-Flipping Black Figure Skater Who Changed the Sport Forever, because sports and fun!
There’s more at the link.
16 Trans Women Have Been Murdered This Year. Here’s One Theory Why Cops Haven’t Caught the Killers. The numbers aren’t the same from source to source, either.
So there you go, police microaggressions that aren’t even micro, against transgender people. Do better.
Virginia ex-cop charged with murder for killing compliant man standing in doorway of his home, Raw Story on the John Geer shooting.
‘Everybody’ Arrested In Ferguson Last August Is Being Charged, Lawyers Say. Don’t say why, though.
Velda City recalls all warrants. Small steps forward?
19 Science-Fiction And Fantasy Novels By Women Of Color You Must Read, because no matter how much we talk about them, they never seem to get enough exposure.
The Bernie Sanders Kerfuffle, #blacklivesmatter, and White Progressive Colorblindess. At least we’re talking about Bernie, eh?
More at the link.
St. Louis Cops Kill Another Teen, Massive Protests Sweep The Streets, with pictures of the streets last night (tear gas and armed cops). The anniversary of Kajieme Powell’s death.
NYPD and NYC Transit Used Undercover Officers to Monitor Black Lives Matter Protesters: Report, The Root on protestor surveillance.
Yes, It Is Time Teachers Start Actively Challenging Racism in the Classroom, and no, it’s not just the job of teachers of colour, but white teachers, too. Especially white teachers.
More at the link.
Here’s three different fundraising links to the same Ferguson organization, Millenial Activists United. Currently raising money for their legal defense fund. They’ve been out on the streets protesting and working for awareness since last year.
any and all funds donated to our fundrazr account is strictly for legal defense.
http://fnd.us/c/d120f1/sh/754Mq8 …
or you can donate via Paypal for organizational support or legal defense. Paypal: millennialau@gmail.com
Crowdrise: https://www.crowdrise.com/millennialactivistsunitedlegalassistancefund/fundraiser/mausupport …
Maybe someone out there can help them out a bit.
St. Louis police fatally shoot teen while trying to issue search warrant, hopefully more and clearer information coming up about this, as police version is currently being doubted by protestors who were nearby when it happened.
Note: escalation included smoke bombs from police. Ghastly pictures.
If you have any outrage left, muster it up now: Officer’s Lawyer: Sanders Death Not Racial
Sounds like an idiot.
ICE Officer Will Not Be Charged In Death Of Terrance Kellom, Killed During Detroit Arrest
A, but armed with a hammer he surely deserved to be killed, right. Still not inclined to believe the police.
Police shoot and kill suspect in north St. Louis – he’s an 18-year-old who just graduated high school, and he is a ‘suspect’. Everywhere.
Oh, that ‘near the suspect’s body’ is apparently way up the street, according to witnesses who were nearby or present. And considering VonDerrit Myers, I think people have doubts about whether it was actually on the victim.
In other words, police shot two young men, killed one of them, wounded the other, because they may have raised what could have been a gun. What if it was a phone, to film the police…?
Somerville hangs ‘Black Lives Matter’ banner at City Hall. ANy bets on how long it will stay up? How many complaints do you think they’ve had by now…?
Somebody seems to get it. I wish him courage in the days to come.
The White Folks Who Need “Proof of Racism”, yes, more white-folk reading! This is our issue!
There’s more at the bottom from Toni Morrison. Stop asking for proof, white folks. Listen to what is being said to you, accept it, strive to do better, be the change you want to see. Don’t deny the experiences of others, especially if they’re so radically different from yours that you have trouble relating. You don’t have to relate, you have to listen and believe.
Protesters march through downtown St. Louis to renew focus on killing of Kajieme Powell – this is prior to the shooting, of course.
Holmes v. Garvey, from the ACLU.
Civil War re-enactment canceled after Charleston slayings. That actually seems like a kind thing to do. Cue whiterage!
‘We’re surrounded by murders’: a day in St Louis’s most dangerous neighborhood, the kind of neighbourhood everyone loves to put down and point to as being what’s wrong with the black community, and never wondering what they can do to help.
Rawlings-Blake says arrests up amid ‘domino effect’ of Baltimore crime. Did the police start working again?
Zachary Hammond lawyer: police may need federal oversight after teen’s death. So it takes a white boy dying for police to need oversight and for this to be mentioned in a way that seems to be taken seriously? I mean, I agree, I definitely agree, but… maybe some earlier voices could have been listened to…
Amy Poehler’s brand of feminism just urinated on black women worldwide
Cross-posted to the discussion on feminism.
How Black Reporters Report On Black Death
Please read. So much in there. SO MUCH.
Vultures, from Seven Scribes, in partnership with Kinfolks: a journal of black expression.
Keep reading.
NOPD officers convicted in Danziger Bridge shootings will get new trial, mentioned in passing in the previous article about the book on the Danziger Bridge shooting.
Mike Huckabee: MLK would be ‘appalled’ that #BlackLivesMatter is magnifying race issues. Yes, let’s appropriate MLK some more.
In Mississippi, defenders of state’s Confederate-themed flag dig in. They would, wouldn’t they. Heritage not hate!!! Sickening.
16 Trans People (That We Know Of) Have Been Murdered this Year, “At least 14 of them were black or Latina women.”
A Curious Case: 9 Mysterious Details About Kendrick Johnson’s Death That Will Make You Go Hmmm…(LIST) No word yet on how the investigation into that is going.
Family questions medical care in Pemiscot Co. jail after 33 year old dies
Decision soon in police shooting of Terrance Kellom. This came prior to the previous article posted here, which states that there will be no charges. Justice at work, eh?
The Number of Cops Indicted for Murder Spikes Upward
More at the link.
Private Prison Company Employees Profited From Unpaid Prisoner Labor, Former Inmates Say. Slavery by any other name…
<a href="
Before Ferguson, white cop shot black former athlete; jury weighs fate:
Conservative assholes have targeted Black Lives Matter activist Shaun White (who blogs at Daily Kos) with accusations that he is lying about his race and is really white:
King has written a long, detailed piece at Daily Kos refuting the accusations, and revealing personal details of his life that he would have preferred to keep secret.
Among them:
Darnit. There’s a comment in moderation about the shitstorm brewed up from conservatives about Shaun King. I forgot there are words that will trip the filter in the post.
African-Americans discriminated against in access to public services:
Tony
In 141, you call him Shaun White, not Shaun King – bit of a slip. :/
+++
ACLU, other activist groups blast county decision to charge protesters a year after events – because it makes sense, don’t it. To wait a whole year. :P
Two different worlds. Two different scenes in #STL tonight: #SFvsSTL game at Busch .(via @nickpistor). #PageandWalton (via @Rebeccarivas). (Last night = two nights ago.)
After Fatal Police Shooting, St. Louis Police Use Tear Gas on Late Night Protestors
People on the ground say the bricks and bottles were thrown after the teargas was deployed.
In a residential neighbourhood.
With children playing in nearby streets.
With elders at a church.
With people on their porches and in their backyards.
Teargassed bad enough that yesterday, when they went to mow their lawns, the residue was lifted up and was enough to irritate anew.
Ball-Bey was eighteen. “Appeared to be in his early 20s”. Well, I guess that’s close.
#MansurBallBey. This is him.
#MansurBallBey was the very first straight male friend that treated me like a human being while knowing i was gay. A true thug, indeed, neh? The police are pushing the drugs-and-crime narrative pretty damn hard, but the family seems to be resisting. Of course, the one does not negate the fact that he may have been a good human, too. But I think it’s important to remember the person behind these kinds of tweets, instead of the caricature the police are trying to paint.
The cops shot #TyroneHarris the same day they killed #MikeBrown. When pol came together for #KajiemePowell the cops executed #MansurBallBey.
A sick sort of anniversary.
Here is Jason Flanery, the officer who killed #VonDerritMyers, in N. STL today after a black boy was killed by police.
And on the subject, We received this an hour ago via email. It’s an unverified letter claiming that Flanery was put on duty in order to provoke protestors into violence. It also claims that the fires were set by police plants. About those fires, there’s a comment on that coming up.
Being a good ally definitely DOES NOT include setting shit on fire, breaking anything in the presence of black people facing the police. Mm, lost the actual tweet I thought I had, but there were several, from several people, saying that all fires set that night were set by white people running away from the scene once things were burning.
The police, of course, are using the fires as a convenient excuse to show how unruly and rowdy them there black folks are.
It’s disgusting.
Four different types of chemical warfare being used in St. Louis city right now against black bodies. If anyone wants to look at the pictures and tell us more.
This family and all these kids were all tear gassed. Their crime. Living there. Not protesters, just living there. But the police just don’t care! I wonder how many of these people are more willing to stand up with the protestors now?
STL City Police are shooting smoke bombs at protesters! Just a short video of what it looked like.
rq and Tony, thank you for keeping this thread going. I don’t comment, but I do read.
Missouri Supreme Court upholds release of internal police investigation documents – in other words, rules in favour of police transparency and possibly accountability.
Justice Dept. Presses Civil Rights Agenda in Local Courts. This is good.
May this initiative find great success and little work.
“1 Shot Fired by Officer”, “The shape-shifting story of a cop who pulled over a driver and ended up shooting himself.” Except he’s blaming the driver he stopped, of course.
Danny And The Human Zoo, upcoming entertainment.
Bail set at $1M for officer charged with attempted murder – just as an example of the privileges you get when you’re an LEO. Because he got the money paid, and is now out on bail. Or bond. However that works.
Nice.
Not.
Second man sues Michael Slager, North Charleston over alleged wrongful use of Taser. Cops with a history of violence will continue to be violent unless they are explicitly stopped. But funny how nobody believes they are wrongfully or excessively violent until someone dies.
Won’t be on CNN. Beautiful vigil for #CaryBall tonite on 2-year anniversary of murder #Ferguson
Are Bernie Sanders’ Supporters His Biggest Problem? Some signs do point to Bernie himself being his own problem…
There’s more at the link, but gadsdamn white progressive liberal Sanders supporters who are not fervent BLM supporters, get your shit together.
The alarming effect of racial mismatch on teacher expectations
The question is, how do you point people towards this and then explain to them that they themselves are part of the problem, and then have them introspect deeply enough to change things?
Murder suspect sought after San Jose cops kill 2 cohorts. Let’s pretend for a moment he is a murderer, not just a suspected one – did he really deserve to die?
So, was the woman actually in danger, if he took off running? Did he really deserve to die?
And here’s another example of police excess: Police fired 600 ‘unnecessary’ shots, killed hostage in unprecedented car-chase shootout. The whole stories has echoes of ‘Brelo’ all over it.
Ah, police can release this video: Police Video: Protesters Throw Rocks, Bricks at Police, but not the scenes prior that show them launching smoke bombs and tear gas at protestors. Skewed much?
Why does a black person who reads & thinks have to be labeled “conscious”? As if the default for black is stupidity. The tweet links to a tweet with a link to the article itself, but I just wanted to put that thought out there. I’d never thought about that. Which is rather sad.
Police Group Makes A Big Admission About ‘Justifiable’ Police Shootings
It seems a small admission, but given the general culture and atmosphere, it’s a big thing… and there’s a nice chart comparing how many hours they spend training in what, and firearms gets a whopping 58 hours (with self defense at 49), while first aid training takes up 16 hours, and de-escalation – 8. Frightening really.
A Young Leader Gets Real on Ferguson, Police Brutality, and Why #BlackLivesMatter. Johnetta Elzie.
Netta’s story continues at the link. Please read. She has not only faced down the systemic racism of police and the justice system, but the rampant sexism within activist ranks themselves.
Photos from last night. #MansurBallBey #STL
‘Death of My Career’ “What happened to New Orleans’ veteran black teachers?”
Obama Will Travel To New Orleans To Commemorate Hurricane Katrina Anniversary. I guess Obama does care about black people?
Can’t believe it’s been 10 years already.
Quiet start 1 day after fires, tear gas in wake of St. Louis police shooting of teen. They say Mansur Ball-Bey pointed a gun at police, and that’s why he died:
(Current newest info is that he was shot in the back… and still a danger to police.)
Well check this out under #CrimingWhileWhite: Standoff ends at St. Charles home where armed man barricaded himself in basement
Oh and look he’s alive. This is bullshit, all this shooting of young black men. BULLSHIT.
Times Regrets ‘Slave Mistress’ in Julian Bond’s Obituary
Cue anti-PC outrage.
Breaking: Grand jury votes not to criminally charge two #SouthJersey cops in car stop shooting death of #JerameReid.
Youth on bike seems to text in disbelief at police response to protests in North St. Louis. @LBPhoto1 8/19 Just a neat photo.
St Louis 8/19/2015, a Storify of Antonio French’s tweets from that night.
Teen killed by St. Louis police was in wrong place at wrong time, not a criminal: family
He was 18, for fucks’ sake.
Photos of Last Night’s Rainbow Reveal St. Louis’ Cultural Divide
Two worlds, I say. Two separate worlds.
Could A Middle-Aged White Man Ever Become President? *Facepalm* It’s about O’Malley.
It’s going to be some tough questions about his time in Baltimore.
August is the month of our discontent, by Deray McKesson. Not sure if it’s a video or what but it’s not showing up for me.
Slay, Dotson call for calm, peace after St. Louis police shooting. Call off the cops, that might help.
St. Louis judges want sculpture to honor slaves who sought freedom here
The Loud Silence When Trans Women of Color Are Killed. This article gets its own comment.
Cited in full.
Florida bill would ban confederate flag on government property. About time.
6 Police Officers Across the US Were Charged with Murder This Week, Proving Strength of Protests. Ill consider protests as ‘working’ once actual convictions start rolling in. A “bad week for killer cops”, indeed. Boo. Hoo.
Justice Department reports on Ferguson could cost more than $1 million.
And another example of getting it right, Nashville Hotel Boots White Supremacists!
A Tale Of Two Cities. Same protest. Different neighborhoods. Different police response. via @oregon_girl3
Yep, they took protest to a white neighbourhood, just six blocks away.
I think they should do this first thing, next time.
Because we all know there will be a next time.
Response to Reports of Excessive Force by St. Louis Police Department Against Protesters – though AI has been criticized for a rather late and tepid response.
The article includes background from last year:
I may be out for the weekend, I don’t know yet, but if I am, have a good one!
Some behind stuff from Friday:
Seattle Protest: Stop Denying White Privilege
Study shows African Americans discriminated against in access to US local public services, from the University of Southapton.
The article contains a link to the actual paper.
Alabama officer accuses police chief of ordering black cops to work black protests
Protesters call for police board to fire cop acquitted in fatal shooting. As if they will.
Birmingham News lays off last black reporter. It’s not so much that they should keep them just because they’re black, but the fact that they’ve never hired enough other black journalists for this to not be an issue. In Birmingham.
All that power? What Should Black Lives Matter Do with All That Power?
So that’s where that was going. Funny how, though, he never mentions anything about treatment programs or support programs for those who want to quit drugs. Needle-exchange programs and stuff. Sure, people can do the drugs they want – it’s their body – but they also need a network of support in case they want to get off the drugs and can’t do it on their own. And they should have the opportunity to do them safely – legalization does not necessarily mean regulation or adherence to health codes and the like.
Anyway.
14-Year-Old Shot By Cops After Fleeing Now Faces Assault Charge. Waistbands and guns.
The kid is lucky to be alive! Oh, and he’s black. In case you hadn’t guessed.
Protesters unveil demands for stricter US policing laws as political reach grows – all that protesting? It’s changing something. Still can’t say how much or how significantly, but it’s making change happen.
More on the platform at the link.
At Hurley High, Confederate battle flag is everywhere and means everything. What a bunch of rebels, eh?
Remembering the lynching of Leo Frank, 100 years later – kinda missed the actual anniversary day.
Chief Dotson defends tactics during unrest; autopsy shows Ball-Bey died of wound to his back – and the official story has changed over the weekend while I was away. Surprise, surprise. Locations have changed from alleys to backyards and now it appears that Ball-Bey wasn’t even at the property purportedly being investigated.
About those burnings, too. No word on what witnesses were saying about white people lighting them and running away.
Police patrol Rosedale neighborhood after man who waved Confederate flag charged in assault. Just a flag. Heritage not hate!
Chris Ball-Bey wept for his brother Mansur at his vigil at Page & Walton in St. Louis. @LBPhoto1 photo 8/20
March for Jamyla Bolden to Mike Brown memorial in Ferguson. @LBPhoto1 photo 8/20
NEWS ROUNDUP: #BlackLivesMatter Activist Denies Lying About Race, Former President Jimmy Carter Has Brain Cancer…AND MORE I point you downstream towards the article that reads:
Isn’t that a conflict of interest?
From “teen” to “man”. From “pointed a gun” to “flourished”. The changing language of a public relations campaign. Re: language used in media to ref. Mansur Ball-Bey.
Man killed by St. Louis police died from gunshot in the back. Note: “man”, not “teen”.
It doesn’t have to be a conspiracy, but this has been a suspicious coincidence in the minds of many: Cumberland County settles suit over alleged jail assault of man later killed by police
Are Traumatized Students Disabled? A Debate Straight Outta Compton
Now that’s the kind of caring attitude I expect from educational institutions. :P Fuck them.
Here, in tweet format, more comparison in the Ball-Bey shooting story: #MansurBallBey. (Short video there.)
In original version, officers were in alley. In new version, they are in 2 diff positions in backyard.#MansurBallBey (Side-by-side text comparison.)
Police union slams circuit attorney over investigation into officer-involved fatal shooting. Well waddayano, the police union is being an asshole.
You can read her response, too: Statement from Circuit Attorney Jennifer M. Joyce in response to SLPOA
A fine statement.
Black Man Shot by Police in St. Louis Died From Bullet to Back, the New York Times.
Science Fiction Is Really, Really White. But we already knew that.
False alarm, Sad and Rabid Puppies, false alarm!
New York over the weekend:
#NicholasHeywardJr’s father speaks about his son, shot & killed by a NYC housing cop at 13-years-old.
Five facts about #NicholasHeywardJr, a 13-year-old shot & killed by a NYC housing cop who was charged with NOTHING.
It’s a police shooting dating back to 1994.
One year ago: 2014: #Utah Cops Killed Black Anime Cosplayer With Toy Sword http://bit.ly/1WLBqAc #opDarrienHunt #BlackLivesMatter
St. Louis Police Wives Association seeking donations. Maybe they can raise some funds and make some lunches for the black community, too. That would be a nice gesture.
First Kerrick juror speaks after mistrial, so a mistrial there – not the result people were hoping for.
There’s more at the link. But I guess that’s the typical thing, isn’t it, paint the victim in such a way that it looks like they deserved death in some way. Ugly.
Appeals Court: Woman Pepper Sprayed by NYPD Can Sue for Excessive Force. Hope she wins!
Rapper Wiz Khalifa Violently Arrested by Cops at LAX for Using a Hoverboard
Neither money, nor education, nor social standing, nor fame…
St. Louis cop union mouthpiece Jeff Roorda’s idea of a “media” release. Note “To” line.
I still don’t like Roorda.
Angola Prison and the Shadow of Slavery
More at the link.
Last year, the phrase repeated the most at #afropunk was “Hands up, dont shoot.” This year, it’s “Black trans lives matter.” #AfropunkFest15
Mixon: “I stand with marginalized groups who seek merely to be seen as fully human. Black lives matter.” #HugoAwards
Poll: Most black people prefer ‘all lives matter’. Though if you read, there’s no mention of how many black people were actually interviewed (as there were 1000 respondents, total). Just mentions a percentage: 64. Which, essentially, is meaningless.
Group of black women ‘humiliated’ and kicked off Napa wine train for ‘laughing too loud’. The way the article presents it, it seems as if they were being awfully rowdy. I have a suspicion that they were being too happy and carefree for some of the white passengers – would they have been called out like this if it was a group of white women, out having fun together?
MSNBC host crushes Huckabee: ‘Unsophisticated manipulation’ of MLK can’t stop ‘Black Lives Matter’
Video at the link.
How The Hugo Awards Saboteurs Actually Disproved Their Own Best Argument – mostly tangentially related, but worthy of remembering, esp. since it was an official award that refused to acknowledge the attempts of white people to keep things white.
Bernie Sanders meets with black voters in South Carolina: ‘We are going to end institutional racism’. How about he get that message out to his fan-base first? I mean in the sense that they better shut up and acknoweldge that institutional racism is an issue, period, and that black people have a right to be pissed off about it.
Somerville Mayor Explains Why City Hung Up ‘Black Lives Matter’ Banner
Families seek answers about loved ones’ deaths in police shootings. Story from the Indy Star, but it could be Anywhere, USA.
I walked into a prison expecting to meet criminals. Instead, I found a community of men. By Clint Smith III. The video is a repost from a longer article, but the shorter description is well worth reading again.
Who Won Science Fiction’s Hugo Awards, and Why It Matters. If you think it doesn’t matter, it does.
And there’s a lot more reading to do there. It’s fun and informative!
DuBose murder prompts college police force reviews
Campaign Zero: Solutions, worth a read. Campaign Zero is a new anti-police-brutality campaign launched by the same amazing people who brought you We the Protestors and the newsletter.
American Airlines workers say they face racial taunts, discrimination. This feels like a repost. I feel like airline workers have recently been under scrutiny.
Prominent Ferguson protesters publish anti-police violence policy platform. Oh, hey, it’s more on Campaign Zero!
More at the link, and at their website itself.
Proposal to rename Prairie View A&M thoroughfare ‘Sandy Bland Parkway’. It would be a nice gesture!
Here’s What Black Lives Matter Activists Want Politicians To Do About Police Violence, Huffington Post on Campaign Zero.
Fairfax, Va., police officer charged with murder in shooting of unarmed man
Probably reposted information.
St. Louis, Missouri Slave Patrols Kill “Moor” After Racially Profiling him as “Black”
Just a different, interesting perspective.
11 members of the Sisters of the Reading Edge Book Club were kicked off the Napa Valley Wine Train. Apparently, one guest thought they were too loud what with their laughing and having fun. And somehow the wishes of this one guest were treated as more important than the 11 women who were having a good time:
Some people have taken to Yelp to complain:
I wonder why they deleted that FB comment…
I checked the Napa Valley Wine Train’s terms and conditions, and while they do state:
I find myself bothered by the fact that the managers appear to have kicked out these women based on complaints from one woman. Again, why was she treated so preferentially?
There’s also the fact that they said they talked to the women several times and told them to quiet down, when the women themselves say they were only spoken to once.
+++
NJ admits police killed Jerame Reid with his hands up, but he moved a bit, so, you know, no charges. Shaun King on Jerame Reid.
After Hurricane Katrina, a Man-Made Disaster in New Orleans
The article continues at the link.
‘This Week’ Transcript: Donald Trump , notable for this part:
And this:
Family of man killed by Bridgeton police demands federal civil rights probe
I do hope they get it.
Dear White America: I know it’s hard, but you have to acknowledge what’s happening in this country
There’s more at the link, a great discussion on privilege.
America Has Freaked Out Over Birthright Citizenship For Centuries, because eliminating it is a form of racism.
There’s more on other ethnicities and when they were considered worthy of citizenship by birthright at the link.
“A little girl is dead” – Frustrated mom’s #BlackLivesMatter Facebook rant goes viral
Just so you know, there have been at least 2 marches now for the 9-year-old girl. Ball-Bey wasn’t a thug, he wasn’t even at the drug house (as per the changing police story, turns out he was sitting on the porch of a house two houses down). I can understand this woman’s pain and frustration in general, but that doesn’t mean she’s right about the protestors marching for the wrong people. And anyway, if Black Lives Matter, then ALL Black Lives Matter, even those of suspected criminals.
Predicting police misconduct before it happens
I believe there is audio at the link, too.
Arrests for minor crimes spur resentment in some Baltimore neighborhoods
Esther J. Cepeda: Ending the school-to-prison pipeline
More at the link.
Black pitmasters left out of US barbecue boom
Why does he think so? Read on at the link.
Why We Do What We Do to Make the SLMPD Great, from Chief Dotson’s blog!
And he keeps insisting no investigations are necessary that are external to the police force. Nope, everything fine here!!!
White supremacist convicted in plot to kill Obama with ‘death ray’ device, just, you know, to point out that it’s not black people who are posing a threat.
The Worlds on Wheels: A Narrative Essay
ACLU says hearing on Officers’ Bill of Rights stacked against reform advocates, which just means the battle be that much more difficult.
Tension escalates in a St. Charles County subdivision after a new neighbor moves in. Get this:
White flight and all that.
Autopsy indicates officer shot unarmed teen William Chapman from distance – in other words, not close enough to be a threat.
Black people should just get pants with no waistbands. Apparently they’re a danger to police. Or something.
Misleading title. I’m actually discussing how I allowed I stopped catering to the white gaze. Links to great Salon article with terrible title.
Here’s the previously mentioned article: I’m black, but I’m uncomfortable around black people
How internalized racism can be psychologically damaging, I insist that you all read the rest of the article.
“Stop F**king Crying!” SWAT Raids Wrong Home, Holds Naked Mom at Gunpoint in Front of Children, an example of the fine policing the SWAT team does sometimes.
White people in New Orleans say they’re better off after Katrina. Black people don’t. Interesting how that works.
More at the link, but also a link coming up with more numbers and graphs.
How Solitary Confinement Became Hardwired In U.S. Prisons, from NPR, audio and text at the link.
How The U.S. Is Neglecting Its Smartest Kids, also from NPR, with text at the link.
Ferguson Judge Orders Withdrawal Of All Arrest Warrants Before 2015. Recently nearby Velda did the same. A good first step.
Shaun King on American Airlines: American Airlines being sued by African-American employees for overtly racist patterns and practices.
Sandra Bland’s Death Launches Hearings
More on Texas jails at the link.
Sandra Bland: Texas records show racial breakdown of those stopped by same trooper
I bet they’re going to spin it so that the arrest itself had no racial motivations whatsoever.
But so what? Acting like an entitled asshole while in uniform is also not cool.
Michael Slager, officer charged in Walter Scott’s death, likely to wait longer for bond hearing. I thought that was already done.
Note acceptance of official police version as fact. The struggle over the taser.
60 years ago today, Emmett Till whistled at a white woman — and he was executed for it four days later – from yesterday. Trigger warning for a recap of the events, including violence and mutilation.
St. Louis’ longest-serving jail inmate has been sentenced after 7 years in limbo. Can’t imagine 7 years like that.
That’s a long time to be waiting.
Comment in moderation.
Two transgender murders, one city: US fails to track new ‘state of emergency’. Referring to Kansas City, where Tamara Dominguez was recently murdered, number 17 for the year. :(
What a horrendous attitude. I wonder how hard they’re actually trying?
Here’s a pledge, of a sort: TAKE THE PLEDGE
Where Black Lives Matter Began – bringing it back to Hurricane Katrina.
There’s not a lot left in between to read, just a few more statistics and the glaring difference in perspectives by race.
Powerful visual representation of what mainstream America wants to do with #BlackLivesMatter
WATCH: White school board crowd boos NAACP, call blacks ‘racist’ over objection to ‘Dixie’ fight song
Katrina Washed Away New Orleans’s Black Middle Class, anotehr retrospective.
Much more at the link, including those graphs I mentioned earlier.
New Ferguson judge orders all arrest warrants issued before 2015 withdrawn, as seen previously.
Campaign Zero: Black Lives Matter activists’ new, comprehensive policy platform, explained
As the introductory tweet said, your move, Clinton.
Analysis Finds Higher Expulsion Rates for Black Students, something that isn’t surprising given other articles in how they are perceived by teachers and other disciplinary actions.
Do not be fooled, though, as this does not mean the North isn’t racist. Just maybe a little less obviously so.
Dyett parents in 8th day of hunger strike to save school
#PeoplesMonday has taken over the TKTS steps in Times Square to read the facts of #HenryGlover’s murder to the masses
Five facts about #HenryGlover. NOLA cops shot & killed him, then burned his remains, as he fled Katrina.
Putting this one up at the top of the comment: #BlackLivesMatter organizers to rally for black transgender women
Sorry for the late notice.
Book club kicked off Napa Valley Wine Train, another article on that incident.
As of Today, Black Lives Matter Activists Can Point to a Thorough Police Brutality Reform Plan, Slate on the Campaign Zero platform.
Post-Dispatch Deletes Mention of Fingerprints, DNA Evidence from Coverage of Police Shooting, because the police story keeps changing.
Some signs point to Roorda emailing advance (and false) information to a particular journalist.
Here’s How Black People Actually Fare in Bernie Sanders’ Home State, because we’re still keeping an eye on him.
Cop Fired For Being KKK Member, But Now He’s Working At Florida Elementary School, because teaching kids is exactly where they want him… right?
The Black Lives Matter policy agenda is practical, thoughtful, and urgent.
From the Washington Post.
****
Don’t want to ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train? Here are 5 black-owned wineries.
****
Oh, and look at this!
Napa Valley Wine Train admits they were 100% wrong for kicking black women off:
****
Will an apology be forthcoming for a group of Latina women who were kicked off the Napa Valley Wine Train?
White people who get together to drink and celebrate can be just as loud. I wonder how many instances can be found of any such group being kicked off…
#SayHerName | Chapel Hill, NC
Maryland attorney general recommends profiling standard for police
I love how the police union is all ‘no need for this’. Just being contrary, I suppose.
Laclede Cab Fired Me for Black Lives Matter- My Response
Ferguson Announces an Amnesty on Warrants, via the New York Times.
Police Union: Circuit Attorney’s Investigation Undermines Police – yup, still unhappy!
I’m all for unions, but police unions just have to go. Or need a heck of a lot of reform.
Here’s more union stuff, this time from Seattle: The President of the Seattle Police Union Believes the Obama Administration Has Created a “War on Cops”
All the bells and whistles.
San Jose police launch FAQ page for officer-involved shootings
Link to the FAQ page itself is there. Not a bad idea.
Mansur Ball-Bey was innocent bystander in police raid, family attorneys say
Eh. I wanted to post this yesterday. #TransLiberationTuesday (August 25) Masterpost
A list of events and other things happening at the link.
Amid national law enforcement debate, Md. attorney general condemns police profiling, Baltimore Sun on the new profiling standards.
Marked as IMPORTANT: 24 Actions You NEED to Take to Help Trans Women of Color Survive
There’s another 12 items on this list at the link. Most of it regular common sense stuff that can be boiled down to ‘treat us like people’.
I would never date a man who hates Beyoncé, a bit of a fun read.
Lonnie Johnson, Creator of the Super Soaker Awarded $72.9M in Royalties, article from April.
Whoa.
10 Years Later, There’s So Much We Don’t Know About Where Katrina Survivors Ended Up
More on this New Orleans diaspora at the link.
white person: *reaches to the outer borders of our known universe* See attached. Remind you of any other arguments you may have heard around?
Donald Trump gets a boost from former Klansman David Duke, which of course is a stellar endorsement. Actually, it gives a pretty good idea of the scary attitudes that will be legitimized if he does end up president. Or even actual Republican candidate.
St Louis’ sons, taken too soon
50 years ago today, 58,000 new black voters registered in 4 Southern states after passage of Voting Rights Act on 8/6
City of Prairie View weighs renaming street after Sandra Bland, possibly a repost.
Unify or Die: Revolutionary Struggle and American Gangs
It’s pretty dense, but there’s a lot of great information in there.
(2/3) Minimums are often related to firearms & drugs. Possessing a gun during a crime can lead to decades in prison.
(3/3) Some states have revised their sentencing policies. The results are dramatic.
I lost (1/3) somewhere.
David Duke On Trump: He’s “Certainly The Best Of The Lot” Running For President – yeah, yeah.
WATCH: ‘Not racist’ Louisiana man warns that renaming street for MLK will unleash his ‘racist ways’, because it’s the quiet, polite behaviour of his black neighbours that keeps his racism in check. So long as they behave according to his standards, he’ll be the least racist man you know!
Ben Ferguson: Hispanics don’t under English
Racist Fliers Reading ‘Let’s Get the Blacks Out’ Spark Outrage in Mich. Community. I certainly hope there’s outrage!
No one seems to be taking responsibility. How strange. You’d think all those white pride people would be ready to step up and be accountable.
Despite strict voter ID laws, Alabama is in the process of closing 45 of 49 driver’s license offices, because who needs ’em, amirite?
There’s a small update appended saying this may be an empty threat due to budget cuts upcoming, but still… I can just imagine the lines at these 4 locations.
LAPD Police Commission Acts Like it Wants to Incite Riots. It’s a police commission. You were expecting a better attitude?
But nope, apparently they’re not worth his time, patience, or respect. More at the link.
BREAKING: #BlackTransLivesMatter protestors block traffic at 12th & Figueroa in #DowntownLA. Photo from last night.
Iconic Ferguson Photo Subjects Are Being Charged A Year Later – we’ve read about the year-old charges being brought, but there’s more in the article on who, specifically, is being charged, and it’s not just those journalists.
Why Ending Birthright Citizenship Would Be Terrible For Silicon Valley
I can’t help but think that this particular support for immigrant reform has racist under/overtones of its own. I may just be reading into it wrong at the moment, though.
Pa. Judge Sentenced To 28 Years In Massive Juvenile Justice Bribery Scandal
That is some vile human trafficking right there. “Kids for cash” – and this is why outsourcing prisons to private companies and signing contracts with them about how many spaces should be filled – it’s just wrong. WRONG.
Keep an eye out for a new comment 179, I think I put in eight links instead of the maximum six.
Road to Sandra Bland’s alma mater named for her. So they did it, yay!!
‘The wave has reached us:’ EU gropes for answers to migrant surge. Read within for a flavour of racism, European-style.
Mom forced to quit as volunteer after complaining about youth cheer coach’s KKK shirt – shouldn’t the cheer coach be leaving? Let’s see:
So far so good. But then:
Aha. What a great way to treat people who point out insensitivity and possible outright hatred within the community: ostracize them, too! Great decision there, McCracken. Stellar.
High-profile STL cabbie says he was fired for political stances. I posted from his personal blog previously.
Union on officer charged in shooting: ‘We could all be Adam Torres’. Yes, you could, and I wish you would all be charged in those situations where you shoot unarmed men for no reason at all. And convicted, too – you say it like it’s a bad thing!
Well, that’s police unions for ya. They take it so personally.
Police brutality in America should come as no surprise – Bryan Stevenson | Comment is Free , youtube video. Careful, though, it’s part of an automatic playlist. :)
Judge rejects subpoenas for prosecutors to take witness stand at first Freddie Gray hearing. Well done, judge. That first hearing is coming up fast, too.
How companies make millions off lead-poisoned, poor blacks. That sounds like a headline way too dated to be a thing in this modern world… unfortunately…
There’s more to read, but it’s just so damn depressing…. Ruining families and honestly these people don’t give a shit. Gray was one of their victims, too, as was his sister, but this company just brushes it off with declarations of a good relationship with the family.
It’s revolting.
What We Don’t Know About Policing, Race and Mental Illness
More background at the link.
Defense attorney says teen not under arrest after officer involved shooting
Assault? Well, he did, apparently, reach for his waistband….
Woman dies in county jail; investigation under way. Another lengthening list.
Phantoms Playing Double-Dutch: Why the Fight for Dyett is Bigger than One Chicago School Closing. Those parents are, as far as I know, still on hunger strike.
Keep reading at the link.
And see if there’s anything you can do to help save the school.
Something in this comment won’t post, here’s hoping it’s only in moderation because it has some excellent links.
Judge rejects subpoenas for prosecutors to take witness stand at first Freddie Gray hearing. Well done, judge. That first hearing is coming up fast, too.
How companies make millions off lead-poisoned, poor blacks. That sounds like a headline way too dated to be a thing in this modern world… unfortunately…
There’s more to read, but it’s just so damn depressing…. Ruining families and honestly these people don’t give a shit. Gray was one of their victims, too, as was his sister, but this company just brushes it off with declarations of a good relationship with the family.
It’s revolting.
What We Don’t Know About Policing, Race and Mental Illness
More background at the link.
Defense attorney says teen not under arrest after officer involved shooting
Assault? Well, he did, apparently, reach for his waistband….
Woman dies in county jail; investigation under way. Another lengthening list.
Phantoms Playing Double-Dutch: Why the Fight for Dyett is Bigger than One Chicago School Closing. Those parents are, as far as I know, still on hunger strike.
Keep reading at the link.
And see if there’s anything you can do to help save the school.
I appreciate the yeoman’s effort required by rq and Tony to keep this thread current. It is heartbreaking though. The sheer volume of racism is awful. In my wandering around the ‘net I discovered the site