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Ferguson

Ferguson: Revolution, Democracy, and Empire

December 14, 2014 Dustin Axe, www.commondreams.org , , , , ,
Berkman says social revolutions do not happen by accident, but the same can be said of empires. They are forged out of the deliberate use of greed, theft, deceit, imperialism, and ruthless terror. The American Empire is no different. Yet the vast majority of Americans prefer to ignore it; foreign affairs are not something most people pay attention to. However, if you pay attention to the weapons and tactics being used by the American Empire for social control at home, you are seeing exactly what it does abroad, as well. This is a sign that our empire is imploding. We do not know for sure if the death of Michael Brown is the event that will ignited a social revolution, but we do know it started a considerable amount of unrest and dissent. I believe many people wonder how one event could do such a thing because they are not fully aware or sensitive to the amount of oppression black people experience. We should not be surprised when victims of The New Jim Crow spill into the streets full of anger. And if proper channels for peaceful change do not exist, we should not be surprise if that anger becomes violent. When inequality, unjust laws, mass incarceration, racism and police brutality among other things, are not addressed then the result is insurrection. Some may see rioting in Ferguson as just that, rioting. I see an empire in decline, seeds of revolution, and a struggle to preserve democracy.

Millions March NYC Shuts The City Down

December 13, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org ,
On December 13, as part of the National Day of Resistance, Wave of Indignation, tens of thousands marched in New York City and shut down major thoroughfares. The march was called #MillionsMarchNYC. It began in the morning at Washington Square Park. There were estimates of 50,000 to 70,000 people at its peak. After marching down 6th Ave., the march split up. Some pushed past a police barricade to take the Brooklyn Bridge, headed into Flatbush and to Barclay's Center. Others took the Manhattan Bridge. One of the most powerful images was a photo of Eric Garner's eyes carried by 8 people.

Mothers Of Slain Black Men Come To DC Seeking Justice

December 13, 2014 Monica Hesse, www.washingtonpost.com , , ,
Since their sons’ deaths, the mothers had collectively been to hundreds of vigils. They’d made buttons and T-shirts with their sons’ faces. They’d formed nonprofit groups in their sons’ names: Mothers Against Police Brutality, Mothers on the Move, Mothers of Never Again. One of the cases was turned into a movie. Some of the moms had gone to an “empowerment retreat” hosted by the mother of Trayvon Martin, killed in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer. Time after time, there would be moments of attention, but then their stories got buried under different news and the mothers disappeared again. Now they were in Washington and hopeful once again. Every day across the country, protesters were holding rallies and marches and die-ins — there was a big march scheduled for Saturday in Washington — in response to the lack of indictments in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

Judge Puts Limits On Tear Gas Use In Ferguson

December 12, 2014 Carey Gillam, www.huffingtonpost.com , ,
A federal judge on Thursday ordered St. Louis area police to issue warnings and give crowds reasonable time disperse before firing tear gas, following complaints by activists over heavy-handed police tactics during ongoing race-related protests. The protests erupted in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in August after white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, an African-American who was unarmed. U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson delivered the ruling after hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by a group of protesters against local and state police officials in Missouri.

Is Shut It Down The New Occupy?

December 12, 2014 Kate Aronoff, www.wagingnonviolence.org , , , ,
As occupying public spaces was to the Occupy movement, “Shutting It Down” is to the new wave of protest around police brutality and systemic racism. “If We Don’t Get It, Shut It Down” has long been a favorite chant of the labor movement, but for the rapidly growing movement saying #BlackLivesMatter, it’s also become a tactical mandate. In the world of protests, “shutting it down” might seem self-evident. Disruption is the point: As Martin Luther King, Jr., famously wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.”

Why Cop Watching Is Still A Game Changer Despite Garner Decision

December 11, 2014 Carima Townes and Erica Hellerstein, www.mintpressnews.com , , ,
Carrying the torch of the original Copwatch through teaching workshops and camera distribution, We Copwatch is spearheaded by Whitt, Crawford, and Blair Crawford, “a Black Panther who lived through COINTELPRO era,” according to the organization’s website. Since his first encounter with Crawford, Whitt has been a key force in getting Cop Watch off the ground in Ferguson, and has since named the program the Canfield Watchmen. We Copwatch has a number of objectives. In addition to filming police, educating people about their civil rights when questioned, stopped, and detained by law enforcement is another goal. Cop Watch now hosts “know your rights” hour-long training sessions.

White House Refuses To Meet Grieving Black Mothers

December 11, 2014 Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, www.blackagendareport.com , , ,
With Washington reeling from the spontaneous uprisings against police terror that continue nationwide, the Obama administration announced the formation of a commission to investigate police terror against African-American communities and especially its men and boys. Not since the 1960’s civil rights movement has the country experienced a popular uprising that cuts across this broad a spectrum of American society's racial and generational barriers. Only two years shy of leaving Washington, the Obama Administration has finally moved to address the most fundamental social and political crises beleaguering the African-American community: police brutality and mass incarceration.

This Saturday National Day of Action: Wave Of Indignation

December 10, 2014 Staff, www.millionsmarchnyc.org , , , , ,
This movement for justice has been dubbed a “Wave of Indignation” across the country. What started as an urban revolt of young black people in Ferguson, MO has grown into a national movement for Black lives. The entire nation is awakening to the reality of our broken criminal justice system. We cannot stop or slow down now. This Saturday, we’re taking it to the next level. We’re asking you to join everyone in the streets this weekend and #ShutItDown. It’s our civil disobedience, marching and chanting that got us this far— and we must keep going. When you hit the streets, you’re letting them know: body cameras are not enough. Blue ribbon commissions are not enough. We need broad, decisive action NOW.

Killing Michael Brown Has Made Darren Wilson A Millionaire

December 10, 2014 Quiet Mike, www.quietmike.org , , ,
All is not lost for Darren Wilson of course, this is America, a land where you can capitalize on the smallest of triumphs and the greatest of tragedies. Wilson won’t be able to work as a cop in Ferguson anymore (or anywhere else I hope), but where a door is closed, a palace gate is opened. By the time the dust settles, America will have made him a millionaire. Almost immediately after Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, donations started pouring in from across the country for his defence, a defence that is no longer needed. The amount far surpasses the money that was raised for Michael Brown’s family. With Facebook pages like “We Are Darren Wilson,” “I Support Officer Wilson” and “Support Darren Wilson,” Wilson’s backers have raised over $500,000 for the now former police officer. According to the anonymous woman who reportedly started these pro-Darren Wilson Facebook pages, $500,000 was just a “conservative” estimate.

Dec 13: Millions March NYC Demands Justice Against Police Brutality

December 10, 2014 Millions March NYC, www.millionsmarchnyc.org , ,
A coalition of young activists led by Black organizers in New York has called for a Millions March to take place on Saturday, December 13, gathering in Washington Square Park at 2 PM. The mass rally will take place in Manhattan; tens of thousands have already confirmed their attendance on Facebook. The organizers hope millions of people will go peacefully into the streets all over the country to disrupt business as usual, express their anger, and demand justice for victims of police violence and institutionalized racism. Lead organizer Synead Nichols: “We want people to shut down their cities for justice. We are continuing where the freedom fighters of the Civil Rights Movement left of . We are a new generation of young multi­racial activists willing to take up the torch and we’re not going to stand for this anymore.”

Woman Pleads With NYPD Officers: ‘Where Is Your Outrage?’

December 9, 2014 Alexander Reed Kelly, www.truthdig.com , ,
“I do not believe in your heart you are racists. I think you are afraid, and I’m telling you, if you speak up, we will have your back front and sideways,” a woman told NYPD officers in Union Square during Saturday’s protests against the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner case. On Dec. 3, the Staten Island jury decided not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the killing of Garner. In July, Pantaleo seized Garner in a chokehold minutes before Garner died from a heart attack. Protests swept the streets of New York and cities across the country in response to the Garner verdict and another grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer in the August killing of 18-year-old Ferguson, Mo., resident Michael Brown.

Three Nights Of Protests And Aggressive Policing In Berkeley, CA

December 9, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org , , , , , , ,
The corporate media has described protesters in Berkeley destroying property and being violent, but reports from protesters describe it as a police riot. Police have repeated trapped protesters in kettles and made mass arrests, used billy clubs aggressively to attack protesters and used smoke bombs. They describe an organized protest being turned into confused havoc as a result of the 'police riot.' Protesters have been shutting down roadways and highways. The aggressive policing is not stopping the protests. On the third night of protests highways were shutdown and people laid down in front of an Amtrak train; once again there was police kettling and more than 100 were arrested.

#BlackLivesMatter Protests Continue, Expand

December 9, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org ,
Last night, protests over police brutality continued from coast to coast. In New York City, demonstrators shut down the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn where Prince William and Kate were attending a basketball game. They called it the #RoyalShutDown. In Berkeley and Oakland, thousands turned out to march in response to violent police attacks on protesters the night before. More athletes are using their public platform to raise awareness and show solidarity with the movement. And protests spread across the ocean to London where thousands also marched last night. Below are some tweets from yesterday's actions.

Disturbing Findings By DOJ Of City Police Forces

December 8, 2014 Nick Wing, www.huffingtonpost.com , , , ,
On Thursday, the Justice Department released the results of a 20-month investigationinto the use of force by Cleveland police. The review was unequivocally damning, finding the department responsible for an alarming pattern of excessive and sometimes deadly force, as well as other forms of misconduct and a general failure among supervisors to respond to this behavior. The Justice Department doesn't bring a case against state or local police unless it has reason to believe officers are systematically depriving citizens of their rights -- which means reviews are often compelled by particularly egregious allegations of law enforcement violations, or at the request of an official or a group that has collected complaints from the community.

The Growing Movement For Social And Racial Justice

December 8, 2014 Peter Dreier, www.huffingtonpost.com , ,
Now we can see that, indeed, a movement for social and racial justice has emerged from the Trayvon Martin murder and more recent events -- among them, the tragic killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in NYC, and the outrageous failings of our criminal justice system to indict their killers, and the murders of 19-year old Kendrec McDade in Pasadena and 12-year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland. Protests around the country have escalated over the past two years. Activists have transformed the outrage into local community organizing projects, voter registration drives, and mass protest campaigns like the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina.
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