(Atlanta Blackstar) #BlackLivesMatter everywhere.
This scene sounds familiar: A Black man was stopped and beaten by police, and the attack was caught on video. In response, Black people protested in the streets—not only because of the police attack on that particular man, but as a reaction to years of the systemic racial discrimination, economic marginalization and police brutality they have collectively faced. Tensions have been brewing for quite some time, and the incident was just the spark that set things off. And of course, police responded to the demonstrators with heavy-handed tactics, causing violence to erupt.
This is not Ferguson, North Charleston, Staten Island or Baltimore—this is Tel Aviv, Israel. And to be Black in Israel, not unlike America, is to be treated like a second-class citizen.
Showing posts with label #BlackLivesMatter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #BlackLivesMatter. Show all posts
June 6, 2015
The LaQuan McDonald killing and the problem of criminal police
(theGrio) What happens when the police are the criminals?
The city of Chicago settled with the family of LaQuan McDonald for $5 million, in connection with the October 20, 2014, fatal shooting of the 17-year-old by a police officer. Johnson was shot 16 times, including nine times in the back, and a total of six police officers have been named in connection with the cover up.
Despite news of this settlement, LaQuan’s family will never be made whole, because nothing can replace the loss of one’s child. And we still need to hear more about the police deleting 86 minutes of a surveillance video of the incident from a nearby Burger King. The feds are investigating the killing, as they should, but the investigation, trial and conviction, if any, will not resolve this fundamental question: Why are the police allowed to harbor criminals in their midst?
The city of Chicago settled with the family of LaQuan McDonald for $5 million, in connection with the October 20, 2014, fatal shooting of the 17-year-old by a police officer. Johnson was shot 16 times, including nine times in the back, and a total of six police officers have been named in connection with the cover up.
Despite news of this settlement, LaQuan’s family will never be made whole, because nothing can replace the loss of one’s child. And we still need to hear more about the police deleting 86 minutes of a surveillance video of the incident from a nearby Burger King. The feds are investigating the killing, as they should, but the investigation, trial and conviction, if any, will not resolve this fundamental question: Why are the police allowed to harbor criminals in their midst?
Baltimore’s deadliest month should be as big of a story as Freddie Gray
(theGrio) The city of Baltimore has reached a tragic milestone, as May became its deadliest month in over four decades. Last month, Baltimore experienced 43 homicides, and the city has not seen these numbers since December 1971, when 44 were killed. This news should receive as much attention as the police killing of Freddie Gray, correct? If not, then why not?
The news comes as former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, also former mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007, announced his bid for the Democratic presidential candidacy. In a perfect example of bad timing, O’Malley has come under fire by community activists for installing “zero tolerance” policing and “broken windows” policies as mayor, as well as a data-tracking management tool called CityStat, all of which facilitated a sharp rise in arrests of black people during his tenure.
The news comes as former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, also former mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007, announced his bid for the Democratic presidential candidacy. In a perfect example of bad timing, O’Malley has come under fire by community activists for installing “zero tolerance” policing and “broken windows” policies as mayor, as well as a data-tracking management tool called CityStat, all of which facilitated a sharp rise in arrests of black people during his tenure.
Condemning police violence doesn’t mean we don’t care about other violence
(theGrio) We pay lots of attention when police kill unarmed black people — and we should — but do we care as much when black people kill each other?
We do, and it is ok to care about both at the same time.
In a damning report on the Cleveland Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice takes that city’s police force to task for its excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable use of deadly force. The cops in Cleveland, according to the DOJ, shoot at people who pose no threat, brutalize unarmed people and misuse stun guns. Meanwhile, the CPD has agreed to accept federal oversight and limits on how and when their officers are able to use force.
We do, and it is ok to care about both at the same time.
In a damning report on the Cleveland Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice takes that city’s police force to task for its excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable use of deadly force. The cops in Cleveland, according to the DOJ, shoot at people who pose no threat, brutalize unarmed people and misuse stun guns. Meanwhile, the CPD has agreed to accept federal oversight and limits on how and when their officers are able to use force.
May 22, 2015
Philadelphia Congregations Lead in the Struggle for Social Justice
(HuffPost Black Voices) The recent events in Baltimore -- including the killing of Freddie Gray in police custody, and the protests and unrest that followed -- point to the need for community-based movement building. Baltimore, like many other cities in America, is hurting, and black people in particular are feeling the pain.
Meanwhile, a little over 100 miles to the north, Philadelphia -- the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection -- is offering a model for communities of faith to seek justice and transform the place in which they live. POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness Power and Rebuild) is a grassroots interfaith coalition of congregations across the city. Part of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, they are dedicated to bringing people together around social justice issues such as jobs with a living wage, fair funding and democratic, local control of the public schools and an end to police practices such as "stop and frisk."
POWER is an example of the type of coalition building that cities need.
Black artist will burn, bury the Confederate flag across the South on Memorial Day
(theGrio) Can you think of a better way for a black man to spend Memorial Day than to burn a Confederate flag?
As was reported in the Orlando Sentinel, an artist will do exactly that, with plans to make it happen in all the states throughout the former Confederacy.
John Sims, an artist from Sarasota, Florida, is honoring the constitutional right of self-expression by staging burnings and burials of the Rebel flag, that troublesome symbol of the Old South that many, particularly African-Americans, associate with slavery, white supremacy and state-sponsored terrorism and lynchings.
“We are in America, and people have the right to fly whatever flag [they want],” Sims said. “And I have the right to bury whatever flag, and to burn whatever flag.”
As was reported in the Orlando Sentinel, an artist will do exactly that, with plans to make it happen in all the states throughout the former Confederacy.
John Sims, an artist from Sarasota, Florida, is honoring the constitutional right of self-expression by staging burnings and burials of the Rebel flag, that troublesome symbol of the Old South that many, particularly African-Americans, associate with slavery, white supremacy and state-sponsored terrorism and lynchings.
“We are in America, and people have the right to fly whatever flag [they want],” Sims said. “And I have the right to bury whatever flag, and to burn whatever flag.”
Massive Texas biker gang shooting gets soft coverage, but we shouldn’t be surprised
(theGrio) One dead. Eighteen injured. Nearly 200 arrested.
But apparently, not much to see here.
Looking at the media coverage of the May 17 massmurder among Texas motorcycle gangs, you would get the impression that it is not a big deal.
Rival gangs started shooting at each other, and at the police, outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas. Police described the scene as “gruesome.”
If the Texas biker gangs were black, the media would be on this thing like white on rice. Yet even though they were armed, because they were white, they were treated as human beings, with dignity.
But apparently, not much to see here.
Looking at the media coverage of the May 17 massmurder among Texas motorcycle gangs, you would get the impression that it is not a big deal.
Rival gangs started shooting at each other, and at the police, outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas. Police described the scene as “gruesome.”
If the Texas biker gangs were black, the media would be on this thing like white on rice. Yet even though they were armed, because they were white, they were treated as human beings, with dignity.
The dangerous militarization of our police
(CNN) As Philadelphia comes to terms with the train derailment that has left six people dead and some 200 injured, it's also worth remembering another tragic event that took place in the city exactly 30 years ago. It was an incident that claimed the lives of almost a dozen people, including five children, and destroyed 61 homes. And it was undertaken by the city's own police force.
Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the infamous MOVE bombing, in which police fired 10,000 rounds of ammunition into a row house on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia. The police then dropped military-grade explosives on the house, burning an entire city block to the ground.
Fast forward to today, and that deadly, violent chapter provides valuable lessons for a society that so far has decided to ignore them.
Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the infamous MOVE bombing, in which police fired 10,000 rounds of ammunition into a row house on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia. The police then dropped military-grade explosives on the house, burning an entire city block to the ground.
Fast forward to today, and that deadly, violent chapter provides valuable lessons for a society that so far has decided to ignore them.
April 14, 2015
Dirty ex-cop Louis Scarcella’s framing of innocent black men is costing NYC millions
(theGrio) Louis Scarcella was considered one of New York’s finest, then the word fine leaves much to be desired.
By all accounts, the former NYPD detective is a bad man who helped put innocent people behind bars for decades, used phony witnesses to get the job done, and even beating some suspects into false confessions. And he is costing the city millions of dollars. You know you’re bad when you have a reputation among prisoners for being crooked or when the district attorney begs the judge to throw out the convictions of people you arrested.
Scarcella, 62, was on the force for nearly three decades, stationed in Brooklyn. And he had an impressive record of nabbing killers, doing whatever it took to get suspects to talk. As Sean Flynn reported in GQ magazine, the heavily decorated Scarcella received Chief of Detectives’ Award for Outstanding Police Investigation for the cases he purportedly solved.
By all accounts, the former NYPD detective is a bad man who helped put innocent people behind bars for decades, used phony witnesses to get the job done, and even beating some suspects into false confessions. And he is costing the city millions of dollars. You know you’re bad when you have a reputation among prisoners for being crooked or when the district attorney begs the judge to throw out the convictions of people you arrested.
Scarcella, 62, was on the force for nearly three decades, stationed in Brooklyn. And he had an impressive record of nabbing killers, doing whatever it took to get suspects to talk. As Sean Flynn reported in GQ magazine, the heavily decorated Scarcella received Chief of Detectives’ Award for Outstanding Police Investigation for the cases he purportedly solved.
Grappling With Today's Realities From a Black-Jewish Perspective
(Jewish Exponent) As an African-American who is a member of the Jewish community by choice — and is also raising a Jewish child of color — I have a unique experience. And yet, I view my experience as part of the future direction of the diaspora. My link to Judaism involves multiple identities, a passion for social justice and a commitment to nonviolence.
NYPD cop killings must not be allowed to derail the movement
April 11, 2015
What Walter Scott's death reminds us
(CNN) On Tuesday, a white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, was charged with murder for shooting an unarmed black man in the back. Officer Michael Slager was arrested after raw video surfaced showing him firing numerous shots at Walter Scott as Scott ran away from a traffic stop.
The video footage contradicts Slager's statement that he felt threatened after Scott allegedly took his stun gun during a scuffle. The Post and Courier reported that the FBI has opened an investigation into the shooting death along with the State Law Enforcement Division, while the South Carolina attorney general is investigating possible civil rights violations.
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