Black Lives Matter (BLM)

Protests Erupt After Stephon Clark Autopsy Contradicts Police

About 200 demonstrators squared off with police in riot gear overnight in California’s capital and more protests are planned for Saturday, after an autopsy on Stephon Clark contradicted the police account of the shooting of the unarmed black man. Waving signs and chanting the 22-year-old’s name in unison, the protesters gathered at city hall before marching into the Old Sacramento part of the city, filled with bars, restaurants and tourists. Protesters, some with megaphones and black masks covering their faces, shouted “Shoot us down, we shut you down.”

Autopsy: Clark Shot Seven Times In The Back

March 30, 2018 Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), killed by police

The killing of Stephon Clark continues to result in mass protests before and after his funeral. Anger increased as an independent autopsy showed that Clark was never facing the police when he was shot. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and said Clark’s name will not be forgotten until “we get justice.” Sharpton said “This is not a local matter,” responding to a statement made by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about President Trump's silence on Clark’s death. The coroner found that Clark was never looking at the police when they shot at him 20 times. Dr. Bennet Omalu conducted an independent autopsy days after Clark was killed. He reported that Clark was hit by eight bullets, and all but one entered while his back was turned toward police. One bullet entered Clark's left thigh from the front and was probably fired while he was on the ground and had already been shot multiple times. Omalu said the claim "That he was assailing the officers, meaning he was facing the officers, is inconsistent with the prevailing forensic evidence."

Protests In Sacramento Over Stephon Clark Shooting Continue

March 29, 2018 Sarah Ruiz-Grossman, Huffington Post Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), killed by police

More than a week after 22-year-old Stephon Clark was fatally shot by police in Sacramento, California, protests in the city have shown no signs of stopping. On Wednesday, protesters again took to the streets of Sacramento to call for justice in the March 18 shooting death of Clark, a black man who was unarmed in his own backyard when two cops, reportedly mistaking his cellphone for a weapon, shot him 20 times. Protesters with Black Lives Matter rallied outside of the offices of Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, chanting, “No justice, no peace.” The protests were a continuation of several rallies held over the past week. On Tuesday, protesters shut down a meeting at Sacramento City Hall, where Clark’s brother Stevante told the crowd: “The mayor and the city of Sacramento has failed all of you.”

Let’s Not Forget What Happens When Students Walk Out To Save Black Lives

March 16, 2018 Michael Harriot, Theroot.com Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Youth Activism

As I am writing this, thousands of school-age children are walking out of classrooms all across the country to protest U.S. politicians’ unwillingness to enact commonsense gun control. The nationwide demonstration is being hailed as a groundbreaking act of civil disobedience that seeks to protect the lives of America’s most vulnerable citizens. There is no way anyone could object to something so necessary and relevant. Unless, of course, black people do it. The National School Walkout is a 17-minute planned act of defiance, protest and solidarity meant to spark action and commemorate the lives of 17 students gunned down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Let there be no misunderstanding: Nikolas Cruz is a mass murderer, and the massacre in Parkland was a tragedy.

7 Things We Learned From D.C. Area Black Lives Matter Week Of Action In Schools

February 24, 2018 Teaching for Change, Medium.com Resist! Activism, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Washington DC

The Black Lives Matter Movement helps students connect with history in a new way. Talking about the Black Lives Matter Movement allowed students to reflect on the long history of the Movement for Black Lives. For example, a sixth grade Arlington teacher began her lesson on the U.S. Constitution with a discussion of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The class then read Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence, the true story of an enslaved woman in Massachusetts who sued for her own freedom. After the read aloud, students read the preamble to the Constitution and discussed who wasn’t included in the “we the people” phrase. Bringing it to today, they brainstormed how they could use the Constitution to fight for justice on issues in their own lives such as sexual harassment, deportation, the Muslim ban, health care, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

How Black Lives Matter Breathed New Life Into Unions

February 18, 2018 Mike Elk, The Guardian. Organize! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Unions, Workers Rights and Jobs

After decades of decline unions have found a new champion in efforts to organize workers: the Black Lives Matter movement. Unions have suffered as manufacturing has moved south away from their old strongholds in the north of the US. Membership rates were 10.7% in 2016, down from 20.1% in 1983, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time the shift from manufacturing to service industry jobs has hurt them too. But as the Black Lives Matter and other social justice campaigns increasingly focus on economic justice, unions see a new opportunity.

Rest In Power: Black Lives Matter Charleston Remembers Muhiyidin D’Baha

February 9, 2018 Black Lives Matter Charleston. PopularResistance.org Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Charleston, Protests, Racism

In life, there are a few select people that make a difference wherever they go. Muhiyyidin D'Baha was one of those people. As a social justice warrior, he taught us all about courage, self-reliance, and most of all love. He brought his passion for people, especially children, wherever he went. His Ba'hai faith opened him up spiritually to so many. To meet him was an experience, to know and love was a privilege. He never really thought of himself as a leader. However, his willingness to stand up to injustice brought him to that realm for many of us in the community. Muhiyyidin worked tirelessly to continue on a long line of people who dedicated their lives to fighting for freedom and equality, and we are committed to this being at the forefront of his legacy.

‘Violence’ Becomes ‘Unruliness’ When It’s Sports Fans, Not BLM Protesters

February 7, 2018 Eoin Higgins, Fair.org Educate! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Riots, Sports, Super Bowl

After the Philadelphia Eagles mounted an exciting and improbable underdog victory over the New England Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday, Philly fans poured into the city’s streets to celebrate. Fires were set, some stores were broken into, and drunk people fought and caroused across the city. Crowds of (overwhelmingly) white male fans climbed poles, leapt off of building awnings, uprooted lamp posts and generally caused mayhem and havoc across the City of Brotherly Love. The celebration ended Monday morning with only four arrests, and with what NBC Sports (2/5/18) described vaguely as “vandalism and injuries.” The muted reaction from city officials to the unrest was noted by a number of media outlets on Monday morning. Newsweek(2/5/18) noted “the difference in how the public and officials reacted to riots by fans compared to those prompted by civil unrest.”

Super Bowl Protests For Economic, Racial and Immigrant Justice

February 5, 2018 Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Immigration, Police abuse, Worker Rights and Jobs

With the attention of the country focused on Minneapolis, MN people seeking economic and racial justice used the opportunity to get their message out through protest and resistance actions. Rebel Z showed a live video of a "Take a Knee" protest over racism against black people in the United States. Unicorn Riot covered a series of protest. As people were heading to the Super Bowl they provided live coverage of a Black Lives Matter protest that blocked the light rail going to the stadium. On the eve of the Super Bowl youth in Minneapolis held a youth march calling for police out of their schools. Water protectors used the Super Bowl as an opportunity to protest against US Bank for their support for pipelines and other fracked gas infrastructure project. Three days before the Super Bowl activists focused their attention on the Minneapolis mayor calling for investing in communities, not in police. "Dozens of community members blockaded the streets around Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s condo to implore the mayor to divest resources from the police and invest into communities. Another Super Bowl protest focused on labor and worker rights and protecting immigrant workers with a protest at Home Depot.

Black Lives Matter Gearing Up To Fight For Net Neutrality

December 22, 2017 By Aaron Morrison, Mic.com Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Net Neutrality

Imagine if, in the moment when Philando Castile was shot by a police officer in Minnesota, his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, wasn’t able to livestream it on Facebook. What if Missouri residents could not tweet, in the moments after a Ferguson officer shot Michael Brown? Social media is, in part, the reason these cases of police brutality are known worldwide. That’s why a broad coalition of activists in the Black Lives Matter movement says it plans to fight the FCC, after the policy keeping the world wide web accessible to all communities changed Dec. 14. Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to repeal Obama-era rules that discouraged internet service providers from discriminating against customers and censoring information to support their bottom lines.

NYPD Has 30 Days To Turn Over Surveillance Of BLM Protesters To Court

November 30, 2017 Stephen Rex Brown, nydailynews.com Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), NYPD, Protests

By Stephen Rex Brown for The Daily News - The NYPD has 30 days to turn over surveillance videos of Black Lives Matter protesters after a Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday that the department flouted his previous order to disclose the records. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez, who issued the contempt of court ruling, stopped short of immediately imposing sanctions on the police. Instead, he said the NYPD could "purge" the contempt ruling by turning over more material related to the monitoring of protesters at Grand Central Terminal in November 2014 and January 2015 within a month. Mendez first ordered the NYPD to turn over records in February — but thus far the department has only turned over one blurry cell phone video and other limited information. The NYPD's interpretation of the term "multimedia records" was "disingenuous," Mendez wrote. The NYPD chose "to use their interpretation over what this court actually stated," Mendez wrote, adding that the department "failed to substantially comply" with his order. The city’s Law Department immediately cried foul, saying it is reviewing its legal options and is “deeply concerned with this ruling and the dilemma in which it places the city.” “On the one hand, we are constrained by genuine security concerns from explaining publicly how disclosure could endanger the lives and safety of undercover officers,” a Law Department spokesman said. “On the other hand, we were not afforded an opportunity to explain those concerns to the court in a non-public setting.” The case, brought by protester James Logue, challenged the NYPD's denial of a Freedom of Information Law request for information on its monitoring of rallies after the police killings of Eric Garner in Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

Envisioning The US Without Police Violence & Control

October 29, 2017 Rashmee Kumar.theintercept.com Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Police Abolition, Police abuse, St. Louis

By Rashmee Kumar for the Intercept. Starting with the “original police force,” the London Metropolitan Police, Vitale provides a succinct historical framework to understand how police in the U.S. were created to control poor and nonwhite people and communities. The modern war on drugs can be traced back to “political opportunism and managing ‘suspect populations’” in the 20th century. The increasingly intensified policing of the U.S.-Mexico border today stems from nativist sentiment and economic exploitation of migrant workers starting in the 1800s. Surveillance and suppression of political movements takes root in imperialist Europe, when ruling powers used secret police to infiltrate and eliminate the opposition. “The End of Policing” maps how law enforcement has become an omnipresent specter in American society over the last four decades. Police are deployed to monitor and manage a sprawling range of issues: drugs, homelessness, mental health, immigration, school safety, sex work, youth violence, and political resistance. Across this spectrum, current liberal reforms are intertwined with upholding the legitimacy of police, courts, and incarceration as conduits to receive access to resources and care. Vitale’s approach goes beyond working within the carceral system to propose non-punitive alternatives that would eventually render policing obsolete.

‘White Lives Matter’ Rally Canceled After Resistance In Tennessee

October 29, 2017 Christopher Mathias, Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Nazis, Racism, White Supremacy

By Christopher Mathias for Huff Post. White supremacists, neo-Nazis and fascists descended on a Middle Tennessee town Saturday for a “White Lives Matter” rally, striking fear into communities desperate to avoid the kind of violence that visited Charlottesville, Virginia, nearly three months ago. But it was met with a heavy police presence and resistance from counterprotesters. A second rally planned for the afternoon in the larger college town of Murfreesboro was abruptly canceled by organizers. Saturday’s White Lives Matter rally felt like an extension of all that hate, said Dr. Saleh M. Sbenaty, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University who is a member of the mosque. “It’s that you are living like a hostage in your own town and city that you’ve lived in and loved so many years,” he said of the rally. “This is not the U.S. we know of, and I hope this is not the way from now on. It’s unbelievable.”

BLM Partners With Organizations To Halt Jail Expansion

September 29, 2017 Kirsten West Savali, www.theroot.com Organize! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Prison Industrial Complex, Racism

By Kirsten West Savali for The Root - Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Black Lives Matter co-founder, veteran organizer, artist and freedom fighter, has partnered with more than 30 organizations to launch JusticeLA, a human rights and abolitionist coalition organized around the collective goal of halting a proposed $2 billion jail-expansion plan in Los Angeles County. The coalition’s first action took place Tuesday morning with a powerful demonstration in front of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration ahead of the weekly Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting. Though the board’s Sept. 26 agenda included finalizing the county’s 2017-2018 budget, supervisors first approved, in 2015, the expansion plan, which outlines the construction of two new jails, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the coalition, the amount will be more in the ballpark of $3.5 billion once construction is completed and any additional expenses accounted for—$3.5 billion, which coalition members say should be reclaimed, reimagined and reinvested in the oppressed and occupied communities for whom the jails are being created.

Driver Speeds Through ‘Convict Stockley’ Protest in Kirkwood, Mo

September 17, 2017 Sarah Fenske, www.riverfronttimes.com Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Police abuse, St. Louis

By Sarah Fenske for Riverfront Times. A protest in Kirkwood last night took a potentially ugly turn when an SUV barreled through the crowd, horn honking. The protesters had assembled in the St. Louis suburb to advocate for the conviction of former police officer Jason Stockley, who has been tried on a charge of a first-degree murder. The city is now in its fifth week of waiting for a verdict, a decision in the hands of a judge after Stockley waived his right to a jury. "Stand up! Fight back!" the protesters shouted, with some brandishing signs reading, "Black Lives Matter." The protest appeared to be well under control; the video shows police lights flashing nearby. But one driver in a white SUV got fed up with the chanting and took off into the crowd.

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