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Police violence

Judge Keeps Freddie Gray Prosecution In Baltimore

September 10, 2015 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org , , ,
By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - In what was the most important pre-trial ruling in the prosecution of the six police offices accused of killing Freddie Gray, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams decided that the trial would continue in Baltimore. He wanted to go to jury selection to see if an impartial jury could be selected in Baltimore saying it was wrong to “assume they cannot be fair.” The judge said that the defense had failed to prove that the officers cannot receive a fair trial in Baltimore city saying in his ruling “The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic. They think for themselves.” Protesters arrived early at the courthouse. There were concerns among protesters that is the judge moved the trial to the suburbs that a conviction would be impossible to achieve. If the decision had gone the other way and the trial had been moved out of the city protests against the decision would have been likely.

Baltimore Protester Arrested At Freddie Gray Court Hearing

September 2, 2015 Nicky Woolf, www.theguardian.com , , , , ,
By Nicky Woolf for the Guardian - At the first pre-trial hearing in the Freddie Gray murder trial. Judge Barry Glenn Williams denied a motion to dismiss the charges and ruled that State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby does not have to recuse herself from the case. These were two of the three demands of the protesters seeking justice for Freddie Gray. The third demand is the critical issue of whether there will be a change of venue. That issue will not be heard until September 10th. There were dozens of protesters outside the courthouse who later marched through the streets of downtown Baltimore. The protests briefly shut down intersections and all was going smoothly until the police arrested one person who was trying to lead the group back to the courthouse.

Drawings Capture Last Words Spoken By Black Victims Of Police

August 30, 2015 Zak Cheney-Rice, www.mic.com , , ,
By Zak Cheney-Rice for Mic.com - In the year that has passed since Brown's death, Barghi has been illustrating and tweeting her own creative depictions of the last words spoken by slain black male victims of state violence in the U.S. The result is a haunting tribute to the dead and a heartbreaking reminder of the toll American racism takes daily on black families and communities. In many ways, #LastWords has assumed a life of its own, she says. Artists and musicians have reached out to her about creating similar series' focused on other topics, like the war in Yemen. Activists in Ferguson have also spoken to her about amplifying the last words spoken by black women who have died at the hands of American police. "I really want other people to continue this work," Barghi says. "First, I'm not black, which I realize influences my perspective. Black pain [in the U.S.] is very real. So the first thing I try to do is educate myself, build an awareness." Barghi moved to the United States from Iran in 2011.

Seattle Protest: Stop Denying White Privilege

August 17, 2015 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org , , , ,
By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - Bring this to your community! On August 17th during lunch hour in Westlake Park, Seattle people coming out to the downtown park for lunch saw an unusual site - an elephant in a living room. The elephant in the living room was so large it could not be ignored. The elephant had a banner across it calling out "RACISM." People were encouraged to sit in the "living room" to have a conversation about the reality of racial injustice. Many of the people wore a "White Privilege" blinder over their eyes. People spread through the area with fliers and began conversations about racism and white privilege. A mic check told the story of racial injustice in US history as well as currently. People were encouraged to commit to take action to fight racism. The point of the protest, put on by primarily white organizers, activists and advocates in support of #BlackLivesMatter, was to show people that racism is the elephant in the living room and white privilege could no longer be denied.

Interrupting Sanders Exposed White Supremacy Of US Left

August 10, 2015 Jamie Utt, www.changefromwithin.org , , , , ,
By Jamie Utt for Change from Within - Hhere’s the thing – what’s powerful about these interruptions from Black women is less how it has changed the tone of the Democratic campaigns and more about what they have exposed in the White left. I see these protests as less about the individual candidates themselves and more about how their White base refuses to center Black lives and Black issues. It’s notable that White Bernie supporters, who consider themselves the most progressive of us all, shouted down and booed Black women who dared to force Blackness into the center of White space. Because let’s be honest, every Bernie rally is White space. When I watch and hear the reaction of a mostly White Seattle crowd to a Black woman naming that the event is taking place in the context of Indigenous genocide, the new Jim Crow, and the everyday violence that Black, Brown, and Indigenous people face in Seattle, I’m ashamed.

When Oppression Is The Status Quo, Disruption Is A Moral Duty

August 10, 2015 Bree Newsome, www.theroot.com , ,
By Bree Newsome for the Root - I’m struck by the way society can commemorate the movement of the past while condemning the movement of the present. Or how it can continually celebrate social progress in the most abstract of ways while ignoring the realities of what is required for social progress to occur. Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the Voting Rights Act happened only because there were black Americans refusing to comply with oppression, creating disruption and posing direct challenges to the United States’ racial caste system. In 1963, Birmingham, Ala., was one of the most segregated cities in the United States of America. Black citizens faced brutal racial and economic oppression. If they protested, they faced violence from police and local authorities. To ask, “Was the Birmingham campaign of 1963 really necessary?” seems like a ridiculous question to most people today. Yet some of those very same people whose 20-20 hindsight never fails them seem blind to the present.

One Year Later: Reflections On The Ferguson Uprising

August 8, 2015 Pamela Merritt, www.rhrealitycheck.org , , , , , ,
By Pamela Merritt for Reproaction - It was through a series of tweets sent by a friend who lives in Ferguson that I learned a young man had been shot and killed by a police officer. Additional tweets relayed the shock of people who gathered at the scene and looked on in horror as Michael Brown lay dead in the street for hours. What followed is best understood as the Ferguson Uprising, an almost unbearable public display of grief, anger, frustration, and disgust that spilled out into the streets to confront an over-the-top militarized police force and the callous disregard of a legal system as unfamiliar with justice as it is with accountability. It felt as if the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, was the last straw, as if we hit the breaking point and collectively decided to make our stand for justice. Protests broke out all over the nation, as communities rose up and declared Black lives matter.

This Weekend Remember #MikeBrown & The #FergusonUprising

August 8, 2015 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org , , , , , , , ,
By Staff for Popular Resistance - Since the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson one year ago the #BlackLivesMatter movement has swept the nation. Tomorrow, there will protests in many parts of the country to remember his death and the uprising that has followed. Michael Brown was not the first person to be killed by police, this is a long, historic reality of US policing of black and brown communities, nor was his death the first to be protested. Popular Resistance has reported on protests against police violence throughout its existence and in our earlier incarnation as the Occupation of Washington, DC at Freedom Plaza. Historically, riots in urban areas have often been ignited by police violence. Something is different now, the #BlackLivesMatter movement has created an organized revolt against police violence. It is developing a broad base in communities of color with many Caucasin communities participating, standing with #BlackLivesMatter leaders. Postive changes have been made in the last year and we expect escalation of the #BlackLivesMatter over the next year and will do all we can to support it.

Black Lives Matter Gets Laws Passed In 24 States

August 4, 2015 Staff, www.ap.org , , , ,
By Staff for Associated Press - Since the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, legislators in almost every state have proposed changes to the way police interact with the public. The result: Twenty-four states have passed at least 40 new measures addressing such things as officer-worn cameras, training about racial bias, independent investigations when police use force and new limits on the flow of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Despite all that action, far more proposals have stalled or failed, the AP review found. And few states have done anything to change their laws on when police are justified to use deadly force. National civil rights leaders praised the steps taken by states but said they aren't enough to solve the racial tensions and economic disparities that have fueled protests in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York and elsewhere following instances in which people died in police custody or shootings.

Newsletter: Their Greed Is Our Ally

August 2, 2015 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org , , , , , , , , ,
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flower for Popular Resistance. The radical transformation that is needed is not on the agenda of anyone running for president in either the Democratic or Republican primary. The reality is that nothing offered by mainstream politics will achieve the transformational change that is needed. A normally mainstream Democrat, Robert Kuttner writes: “This is one of those moments when there is broad popular frustration, a moment when liberal goals require measures that seem radical by today’s standards. . . . Muddle-through and token gestures won’t fool anybody.” Consciousness is rising and with that so will the demands and actions of an organized populace. Sometimes it will take the shape of protests, other times a rebellion, sometimes cities will be shut down and there will be riots. The system is not responding to the reasonable demands for social, economic, racial and environmental justice.

At Sandra Bland’s Funeral, A Mother’s Call To Action

July 26, 2015 Marwa Eltagouri and Maggie Angst, www.chicagotribune.com , , , ,
By Marwa Eltagouri and Maggie Angst for the Chicago Tribune - Sandra Bland's mother was the last to speak at her daughter's funeral. Geneva Reed-Veal’s voice didn't break as she addressed the hundreds before her; she didn't shed any tears. She spoke clearly and decisively, determined to raise a call to action with each word. “I'm the mama, and I'm telling you that my baby did not take herself out,” she said. “The fact is, I'm the mama. And I still don't know what happened. You think you're mad? I'm mad too.” She recalled the last words her daughter spoke to her, in which Bland said, even before she received a job interview, that she wanted to go to the South and stop the injustices against blacks. “Sandy knew what her purpose was,” she said. “Some call it a tragedy. Some call it a travesty. But I've got to call it testimony.”

Newsletter: Prejudice, Racism, Privilege In The US

July 25, 2015 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org , , , , , , ,
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. Black Americans, Indigenous peoples and immigrants who are standing up to highlight the injustices they suffer on a daily basis are creating a long overdue teachable moment for whites in the United States. Whites who believe in equality, an end to prejudice and equal justice for all are standing with them; together we can make transformational change on racism and prejudice. Got White PrivilegeA term like “white privilege” is becoming understood by more whites, not as a slur but as a description of reality, and is being more easily used in conversation by people of color. Whites who get the reality of racism are standing up when other Euro-Americans behave in racist ways and speaking out.

Build July 25th March Against Police Violence In Newark

June 28, 2015 Staff, www.laborfightback.org , , , , ,
By Staff, Labor Fightback Network. Police brutality, especially as directed against young Black and Brown men, is one of the most pressing issues in the U.S. today. Organized labor can and must take the right stand on this issue and join with the People's Organization for Progress (POP), #Black Lives Matter, Moral Mondays, and hundreds of other organizations committed to racial and economic justice in calling for mass actions against police brutality. The Labor Fightback Network (LFN) voted at our recent conference in Rutgers, New Jersey to make building the Million People’s March Against Police Brutality, Racial Injustice and Economic Inequality in Newark, N.J.called for by POP our first priority campaign. July 25 is barely over a month away. We need to work quickly to maximize labor participation. Why is this a priority for a labor-based network? The better question would be: why would it not be our priority?

15 Most Outrageous Responses By Police Who Killed Unarmed People

June 25, 2015 Bill Quigley, www.PopularResistance.org , ,
By Bill Quigley for Popular Resistance. 2015 Has Been Another Year of Outrageous Killings of Unarmed People by Police Across the Country Police kill a lot of unarmed people. So far in 2015, as many as 100 unarmed people have been killed by police. Here are fifteen of the most outrageous reasons given by police to justify killing unarmed people in the last twelve months. First, a bit of background. So far in 2015, there have been around 400 fatal police shootings already; one in six of those killings, 16 percent, were of unarmed people, 49 had no weapon at all and 13 had toys, according to the Washington Post. Of the police killings this year less than 1 percent have resulted in the officer being charged with a crime. The Guardian did a study which included killings by Tasers and found 102 people killed by police so far in 2015 were unarmed and that unarmed Black people are twice as likely to be killed by police as whites.

Louisville Police Blockaded, Cop Calls Protestors ‘Race-Baiters’

June 23, 2015 DFH Local No 420, www.dailykos.com , , ,
By DFH Local No 420 for Daily Kos. It began with a cop killing a man armed only with a metal pole. The people wanted justice. The local police union guy wasn't about to have any of it. First, the offending Cop Statement Calling himself an “activist,” the head of Louisville’s police union defended a letter he wrote to the city’s citizens, threatening to bring the wrath of the law down on the “sensationalists, liars and race-baiters” who criticize the efforts of the police department. Protesters block Louisville police station after union letter threatening ‘race-baiters’ Dozens of demonstrators forced the temporary closure of the Louisville Metro Police headquarters on Monday afternoon in a protest that sought the firing of the local police union leader for his reaction to an officer-involved fatal shooting.
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