Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

Castro, Harris, Warren declare support for reparations. What does that mean in policy terms?

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Here’s America’s first black president talking about reparations for slavery and systematic discrimination. Obama: Theoretically, you can make, obviously, a powerful argument that centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination are the primary cause for all those gaps. That those were wrongs done to the black community as a whole, and black families specifically, and that in order to close that gap, a society has a moral obligation to make a large, aggressive investment, even if it’s not in the form of individual reparations checks, but in the form of a Marshall Plan, in order to close those gaps. It is … Continue reading →

The American Dream simply does not exist for the majority of black men.

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Researchers at Stanford, Harvard and the Census bureau have recently published a study that takes a broad look at equality of opportunity in the US. The data set they analyzed is enormous. It tracks 20 million people now in their late thirties, evaluating their childhood circumstances across race, class, family structure, neighborhood, school, etc. They evaluate where these individuals ended up, in terms of income, and several other factors (including whether or not they were incarcerated). The results simply eviscerate any argument that there’s a level playing field and equality of opportunity. Across a wide range of factors, it’s clear … Continue reading →

New Jersey church provides sanctuary from ICE for recent winner of 2018 MLK Award & Phil Murphy mobilizes

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You may recall that I was * cough * less-than-enthusiastic about Phil Murphy winning the recent gubernatorial primary in New Jersey. I was, and still remain, skeptical about an ex-Goldman Sachs man who bought the loyalty of local Democrats with large donations and poured $16 million of his own dollars into the primary race. But, since winning the office last November, and replacing Chris Christie, Murphy has made some welcomed moves such as supporting a $15 minimum wage, the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, more funding for public schools, and help for those facing eviction or foreclosure, to name … Continue reading →

1/2 RIP, Erica Garner, But Your Lanterns Remain Lit for Justice

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(image courtesy of Democracy Now!) Erica Garner, just age 27, died over the weekend due to complications from the birth of her son Eric from 4 months ago. Many of us followed Erica in her plight for justice against police brutality because of her dad, Eric Garner, who was essentially choked to death in 2014. As NPR reported, Erica sported a sweatshirt “I Can’t Breathe”, her father’s last words which became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement. She arranged weekly “die-ins” on the sidewalk in front of a beauty supply store in Staten Island, where the incident … Continue reading →

So..about that “DailyNos” post that is still pissing a lot of POC off

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Perhaps you heard about a post on Daily Kos a few days ago that basically went viral on twitter: Black activists unknowingly organized events for Russia, helping effort to create divisions in U.S. Uh oh, “unknowingly”? Black activists needed Russian trolls to tell them that something needs to be done?? It’s also deeply disturbing because it shows the lengths that the Russians are willing to go to in order to wreak havoc in our country. And mainly, it’s infuriating because it shows how black people are once again victimized—even by countries we don’t necessarily live in. As Conrad  James said, … Continue reading →

100th Anniversary of the Silent Parade.

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That large banner has the famous line from the American Declaration of Independence, followed by “If of African descent tear off this corner”. TomP had a diary last month on the 100th anniversary of the East St. Louis massacre that described the events and their causes in detail. Today is the 100th anniversary of the Silent Parade in New York City, organized to protest that massacre which claimed the lives of 100-200, the vast majority of them black people. Google changed it’s doodle today to commemorate the protest. They are also highlighting a documentary project from the Equal Justice Initiative called Lynching in … Continue reading →

10/24 News Roundup

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DemocracyNow! Transcript
Watch The Full Show

Shaun King: Black Lives Matter is Not a Carbon Copy of Black Panther Party, Our Time is Different

AMY GOODMAN: It is the 50th anniversary of the Black Panthers. This week, the British website Spiked published an article in which Elaine Brown, former chair of the Black Panther Party, said, quote, “Black Lives Matter has a plantation mentality.” She added, quote, “The next wave of young people running out here, who are complaining and protesting about the murders of young black men and women by the police all over the country, they will protest but they will not rise up in an organized fashion, with an agenda, to create revolutionary change. … We advocated community self-defense organizations to be formed, so that we would not be assaulted by the police, so that we would bear arms and assume our human rights.” Your response to Elaine Brown’s critique, and then the trajectory from Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter?

SHAUN KING: Well, you know, I love the Black Panther Party. I spent some time over the past few weeks with Bobby Seale, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party. And he loves the Black Lives Matter movement and has been immensely supportive, encouraging, not only to me but to many activists. So I was disappointed in what—in what Elaine said. And I know Elaine. I’ve talked with her many times.

When Elaine got involved in the Black Panther Party, it was about two years old. And that’s where we are in the Black Lives Matter movement, as well. And so, I think some of what she did was she evaluated the totality of the Black Panther Party and all that it accomplished in 10 years, and compared it to where we are right now in year two. And so, it’s an unfair comparison to say where we are in year two compared to where the Black Panther Party was in year two. Two years in, it literally only had 4,000 or 5,000 people, the Black Panther Party, that were committed to it, to its practices. And it was still trying to determine where it went and what it would do. And so, I think if you look at where we are now versus where the Black Panther Party was at this same time, I think we’re doing well.

I understand her criticism saying, you know, what are they doing compared to what they accomplished. But even some of us look at the dangers of what happened to Black Panther leaders, from targeted assassinations to COINTELPRO, and some of the lessons that we learned from them has caused us to change our methods. And so, the Black Lives Matter movement is not a carbon copy of what the Black Panther Party did. How we do what we do will be uniquely different. Our time is different. So, I respect her, revere her and admire her, but I was disappointed to read some of what she said.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And more importantly, the Black Panther Party was an organization, Black Lives Matter is a movement, which has come up, really, in a spontaneous fashion from all around the country, whereas the Panthers started in one place as a disciplined organization. It’s a very different form of attempting to achieve social change.

SHAUN KING: Sure. And what I found is, not just with Elaine, but with many of our elders, is that they are unaware that the Black Lives Matter movement does have a comprehensive platform, that there are hundreds of organizations that see themselves as a part of this movement in all 50 states all across the country, and they have the own policy platforms. And it’s difficult for one person, her or anybody else, to wrap their mind around the specific fights and battles that we are fighting. So a lot of people just aren’t informed to how organized this movement really is.

AMY GOODMAN: Shaun King, before we wrap, injustice boycott initiative, explain what it is in this last minute.

SHAUN KING: Yeah, on December the 5th, hundreds of thousands of us are coming together to boycott injustice in this country. And what we mean by that is, we believe there are not only cities and states which continue to underwrite the cost of injustice, that continue to back it and support it, be it police brutality or racial violence, but also corporations that are behind it and either say nothing or do nothing or, even worse than that, are specifically backing the police departments which continue to be brutal all over this country. So we’re launching a targeted boycott on December the 5th, not for a day or two days, but our model really is the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for 381 days until they saw change. So—

AMY GOODMAN: Do you have corporations targeted?

SHAUN KING: We do, and we’ll be announcing those on December the 5th. And we’re holding our cards close to our chest until then, but we do have corporations we’ll be targeting, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: So, Shaun King, we want to thank you so much for being with us, Black Lives Matter activist, senior justice writer for the New York Daily News. And we will link to your columns at democracynow.org.

SHAUN KING: Thank you.

What’s Going On OUTSIDE the DNC Convention in Philly-Event Schedule-LIVESTREAM UPDATE-TYT March for Bernie with DNC delegates

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This is a long list folks…click on the events to go too an event’s homepage for more info: Events   OFFICIAL SCHEDULE speakers, rally / marches MAJOR EVENTS   NOTE:  The City of Philadelphia has informally told us that camping will be “tolerated” around the city, including in FDR Park at night.  Please fold/pack up your tents during the day – it will be crazy full with activities at FDR Park.   Bernie delgates – need help/donations. Donations – for Bernie DNC delegates     Philly.FYI had an amazing man donate large-scale stage/equipment. Come help organize this production. All day, Sat/Sun – FDR Park, Zone … Continue reading →

Outside RNC, Cornel West has inspiring words for the Palestinian people

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by Wilson Dizzard, mondoweiss.net (snip) West said, “Palestinians need to know that there are Americans in this nation including American Jewish brothers and sisters who love them, who are committed to their struggle against Israeli occupation and are concerned about them being able to live lives of decency and dignity. And there’s a growing number of young people… the Israeli occupation today for the younger generation is what Vietnam was for my generation and what South Africa was for the 80s and that includes precious young Jewish brothers and sisters as well as blacks and others.” (snip) A reporter carrying … Continue reading →