#NAACP Complicit | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

whitesinhistory · 2 months ago

Text

Lamar “Ditney” Smith knew the dangers of helping Black citizens vote in Mississippi in 1955. He had received death threats, and knew about many Black people who had been lynched in his county. In May, white men had killed another Black activist, the Rev. George W. Lee, for registering voters in Mississippi. State Democratic party chairman Thomas Tubb declared, “We don’t intend to have Negroes voting” in the August primary, and said those who did vote might get “a whipping.” But Mr. Smith, a 63-year-old World War I veteran and farmer, kept at it. He encouraged Black citizens to vote by absentee ballot, a seemingly safer option than going to the polls.

Lamar Smith

On Saturday morning, August 13, 1955, Mr. Smith was home at their farm with his wife, Annie, when someone called and told him to come to the county courthouse in Brookhaven. Mr. Smith was crossing the courthouse lawn at 10 am, absentee ballots in hand, when three white men surrounded him. One pressed a .38-caliber handgun against his ribs and fired. None of the dozens of onlookers came to Ditney Smith’s aid as he lay dying. A white Brookhaven man, Tex Sample, never forgot hearing someone nearby say, “Nobody carries that n—r to no hospital.” The sheriff heard the shots and saw a blood-splattered white man walk away but did not stop him. He took eight days to arrest three white men. They were released after a parade of witnesses, some of whom had been within 30 feet of the confrontation, falsely told a grand jury they had seen nothing. NAACP investigators determined that Mr. Smith had walked into a trap. A half-century later, a witness told the FBI that three men had delivered whiskey to “someone who knew Smith and was instrumental” in persuading him to come to the courthouse. After the murder, a notary public who had assisted Black voters said he was warned to stop, lest he “wind up like Ditney Smith.” Lamar Smith was only one of the many Black leaders murdered in the 20th century in the South, in places where the numbers of Black eligible voters could have changed the outcome of elections. . As was so often the case, no one was held accountable for any of the killings explored in this article. The killers included white policemen, sheriffs, businessmen, even a legislator—all part of the Jim Crow system aimed at disenfranchising Black voters. Local prosecutors usually refused to bring charges even though they knew the perpetrators of this violence. When there were prosecutions, all-white juries acquitted the guilty. The dead were blamed, falsely accused of being “rabble rousers” and Communists. Their families fled North, leaving behind their homes, farms, and businesses.

FBI agents and local police officers examine a pickup truck in Natchez, Mississippi, after a bomb blast killed Wharlest Jackson, an activist and the treasurer of the Natchez NAACP. (AP)

So many civil rights-related killings went unsolved that in 2007, a law named for Emmett Till launched FBI reinvestigations—but many of the cases were deemed not “prosecutable.” Witnesses and suspects had died, and evidence was gone. Those who were murdered were fathers and mothers, teachers, ministers, farmers, undertakers, grocers, and laundry workers—upstanding members of their communities who risked their lives to ensure that Black Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote in places where that right had been denied to them for generations. “Political violence against Black leaders where no one is held accountable was a defining feature of American politics in the 20th century,” said EJI Executive Director Bryan Stevenson. “The failure to hold anyone accountable makes entire systems—state and federal—complicit and implicated in the perpetuation of this kind of violence. And rather than remedy this problem, there continues to be entrenched resistance to even recognizing the problem.” “Lamar Smith was extremely courageous, as were many others,” Mr. Stevenson said. “He gave his life to advance democracy in this country and in return we gave him no justice.”

Lamar Smith’s grandchildren attend a monument dedication ceremony at EJI’s Peace and Justice Memorial Center on April 29, 2019. (Jonece Starr Dunigan)

‘As if they had killed only a rabbit’

On June 12, 1939, Elbert Williams and four other Black citizens of Brownsville, Tennessee, organized their town’s first NAACP branch. They set out to encourage Black residents—who were the vast majority of Brownsville’s 19,000 citizens but had been disenfranchised for decades—to register and vote. When the NAACP branch president and four members visited the local registrar’s office on May 6, 1940, to ask about registering to vote in that year’s presidential election, they were given the runaround and told registration did not begin until August. The next day, a deputy sheriff warned two NAACP members to stop "encouraging Negroes to vote or there would be trouble.” A “mob spirit,” as an NAACP member put it, took hold. On June 15, at around 1 am, some 60 white men led by Brownsville’s night marshal and nominee for sheriff, Samuel “Tip” Hunter, another police officer, and other local officials and businessmen abducted NAACP executive committee member Elisha Davis from his home, drove him to a river bank, terrorized him into naming other members, and ran him out of town under threat of death.

Charter members of the Brownsville, Tennessee, NAACP. Elbert Williams stands at the far left. (The Jackson Sun)

The entire Black community was threatened with reprisals. Milmon Mitchell of the Jackson, Tennessee, NAACP branch, 25 miles from Brownsville, wrote to the national office: “The whites are discharging Negroes from their jobs, threatening to discontinue Negro teachers—merchants and banks are refusing credit to all known members in our organization.” On June 20, 1940, someone told the night policeman,Tip Hunter, that Elbert Williams, a relative of Elisha Davis’s, had been overheard proposing a meeting between the Brownsville and Jackson NAACP branches. Mr. Williams, 32, was a boilerman at a laundry where his wife, Annie, was a presser. That night, the couple had just listened to the radio broadcast of heavyweight champion Joe Louis’s triumphant prizefight at Yankee Stadium and were getting ready for bed when they heard pounding on their door. Mr. Hunter and two other white men were outside. They had Elisha Davis’s younger brother, Thomas, in their car. The three white men forced Mr. Williams into the car barefoot and in his pajamas. At the police station, Tip Hunter interrogated Mr. Williams and Thomas Davis for hours about NAACP activity before releasing Thomas Davis, who left town. By the next morning, Elbert Williams had not come home. When he learned of the escalating terror in Brownsville, NAACP Special Counsel Thurgood Marshall telegraphed President Franklin Roosevelt and pleaded for federal intervention. The NAACP implored Tennessee Gov. Prentiss Cooper to take “immediate action” to protect Brownsville’s Black citizens. Neither federal nor state protection was forthcoming. Two days later, Mr. Marshall sent a telegram to the governor: “We have been advised that the body of Mr. Williams has been found floating in a river near Brownsville.”

A historical marker in Brownsville, Tennessee, honoring Elbert Williams. (John Ashworth)

Summoned by the coroner to the banks of the Hatchie River, Annie Williams identified her husband. His head was swollen to twice its size, he’d been badly beaten and bruised, and there were two holes in his chest that could have been bullet or stab wounds. A rope around Mr. Williams’s neck was tied to a log. A coroner’s inquest, with six white men gathered at the river, concluded on the spot that the death was “caused by foul means by persons unknown.” At the coroner’s direction, the body was buried that day in an unmarked grave. No autopsy was conducted. A Jackson newspaper quoted Tip Hunter as saying he had picked up Mr. Williams and Thomas Davis, questioned them for three hours, and “turned them loose.” He said he’d seen nothing “like a lynching party, either white or Negro." NAACP investigators gave the Justice Department sworn affidavits from witnesses who saw Mr. Hunter and another law enforcement officer abduct Mr. Davis and Mr. Williams. But an all-white grand jury returned no indictments. Finally, after repeated pleas from the NAACP and with the evidence going cold, the FBI investigated. Agents brought Tip Hunter along to interviews with witnesses in Brownsville – and, not surprisingly, came away without evidence to bring charges. No Black citizens of Brownsville registered to vote in the 1940 election—the fear was too great. The Brownsville NAACP dissolved. At least 20 Black families moved away. In a scathing press release faulting the government for inaction—and the ongoing reign of terror against Black voters—Mr. Marshall quoted a local NAACP representative: “Members of the mob that lynched Elbert Wiliams can be seen in Brownsville each day going about their work as if they had killed only a rabbit. Tip Hunter, the leader of the mob, recently took office as sheriff.” In 1942, federal investigators closed the case for what they claimed was lack of evidence. Four years later, I.B. Nichols, assistant director of the FBI, acknowledged that the agency had not adequately supervised the case, that it had dragged its feet and failed to follow up on leads.

White residents target a husband and wife on Christmas

Harry T. Moore and his wife, Harriette V. Moore, both schoolteachers in Mims, Florida, founded Brevard County’s NAACP in 1934. They were fired from their teaching jobs after they campaigned for voting rights and equal pay for Black teachers. It didn’t stop them. As executive secretary of Florida’s NAACP, Mr. Moore helped the organization grow to 63 branches and 10,000 members, and register 116,000 voters—31% of Black voting-age Floridians—in the six years after the Supreme Court’s 1944 decision outlawing white primaries.

Harriette V. Moore and Harry T. Moore in the late 1940s. (Getty Images)

He led a successful campaign to overturn an all-white jury’s wrongful convictions of four Black men in a 1949 rape case. When a sheriff shot two of the defendants, one fatally, before they could be retried, Mr. Moore called for him to be suspended and charged with murder. Six weeks later, on Christmas night, 1951—the Moores’s 25th wedding anniversary—a bomb exploded under their bed. Harry died that night, Harriette nine days later. The couple’s activism had made them a KKK target. The FBI learned that one of four implicated Klansmen had drawn a floor plan of the couple’s home, but no one was ever charged in the case.

‘Somebody had to lead’

In the Mississippi Delta town of Belzoni, George and Rosebud Lee were a success story. She ran a small printing business out of their house. He preached at four churches, owned a grocery store, and belonged to Mississippi’s Regional Council of Negro Leaders. He became the first Black voter to register in Humphreys County in decades. Along with some 60 other residents, he and his friend and fellow grocer Gus Courts founded an NAACP branch in 1954. Within a year they registered 92 Black voters. Thanks to the Jim Crow system, less than 5% of Mississippi’s voting-age Black citizens were registered to vote in 1955. In 14 of 82 counties, a civic group reported, none were registered. Local white officials told Mr. Lee that if he would stop trying to help other Black citizens vote, he and his wife would be allowed to vote. He politely declined their offer. He and Mr. Courts received threatening calls. Other Black residents’ windshields were smashed. One rock had a note attached: “You n—-rs...this is just a token of what will happen” for registering. Rosebud Lee beseeched her husband to lower his profile, but “he said somebody had to lead."

The Rev. George Lee (Mississippi Today)

On the night of May 7, 1955, Mr. Lee was driving home from a meeting with Gus Courts when a convertible swerved past. People on the block heard a shotgun’s blast, then a car crash. The shots tore Mr. Lee’s face apart. The white sheriff claimed the crash killed Mr. Lee. When an autopsy found lead pellets in his face, the sheriff said these might be dental fillings. Finally he theorized that Mr. Lee was a “ladies’ man” who had been shot by a rival. No one was ever charged in Mr. Lee’s murder. Rosebud Lee—like Emmett Till’s mother, months later—insisted her husband’s casket be open at his funeral. Two thousand people attended. Jet Magazine and the Chicago Defender ran photos of George Lee’s mutilated face. Six months later, Mr. Courts was wounded by a shotgun blast fired into his store. He survived, moved North, and testified before a Senate subcommittee about how “the blood began to run in Mississippi.”

Gus Courts in critical condition at a hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, after being shot on November 26, 1955. (Library of Congress)

A white legislator’s deadly anger

Herbert Lee, 49, knew the perils he and other Black farmers in the Mississippi Delta faced if they tried to vote. Mr. Lee, who had seven children, had helped found the county NAACP branch in 1953 and by 1961 was helping another civil rights group,the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, register voters. There was talk that his efforts had angered a white man he’d known since childhood, state Rep. Eugene H. Hurst Jr. A Justice Department lawyer investigating white attacks on civil rights workers was planning to visit Mr. Lee’s farm on his next trip to Mississippi when he heard that Eugene Hurst had shot Mr. Lee to death. The killing occurred at a cotton gin in Liberty, Mississippi, on September 25, 1961. Mr. Lee had arrived with a truckload of cotton. Witnesses saw Mr. Hurst shoot him. The legislator claimed he’d been arguing with Mr. Lee over a $500 debt, and that his gun had discharged accidentally when he struck Mr. Lee in self defense. A Black witness, Louis Allen, corroborated this, and an all-white inquest jury swiftly exonerated Mr. Hurst. Months later, Mr. Allen, a logging operator, admitted he had been pressured to testify falsely. The truth, he told the FBI, was that Eugene Hurst killed Herbert Lee for registering Black voters. His recanting made Mr. Allen a target of harassment, much of it from the white local sheriff, Daniel Jones. In 1962, Mr. Jones arrested Mr. Allen for “interfering with police business”—a charge the sheriff later admitted was flimsy—and broke his jaw with a metal flashlight.

Louis Allen

In 1963, after the sheriff arrested him again, a white businessman warned Mr. Allen: “Louis, the best thing you can do is leave. Your little family, they’re innocent people…All of you could get killed.” Mr. Allen made plans to move to Milwaukee on February 1, 1964, but the night before, as he arrived home in his logging truck, a white man ambushed him. Mr. Allen dived under his truck but was killed by shotgun blasts. His last stop that day had been to seek a reference letter from a white employer who knew his work. The letter was found in his glove compartment. Sheriff Daniel Jones spoke to reporters at the scene. Mr. Allen’s son Hank heard the sheriff tell his mother, “If Louis had just shut his mouth, he wouldn’t be layin’ there on the ground.” In 2006 the FBI reopened the case. Sheriff Jones denied involvement in the murder and cited his Fifth Amendment rights when asked if he was a Klan member. He died in 2013. Two years later, the FBI closed the case, saying “the most viable theory” implicated him and two other deceased men in Mr. Allen’s murder.

Another NAACP activist, another bomb

Wharlest Jackson, 36, a Korean war veteran and father of five, was treasurer of the NAACP in his hometown, Natchez, Mississippi. In 1967, Armstrong Tire and Rubber Co., where he’d worked for 11 years, promoted him as its first Black employee to become a mixer of chemicals. The promotion came with a raise of 17 cents an hour. Some of Mr. Jackson’s white coworkers were members of the Ku Klux Klan. Mr. Jackson and his wife Exerlena had helped care for Black coworker and Natchez NAACP president George Metcalfe, after he was disabled in 1965 by a bomb rigged to his car’s ignition.

Wharlest Jackson’s widow, Exerlena Jackson, looks at family photos with her children following her husband’s killing. (AP)

On the night of February 27, 1967, Mr. Jackson was almost home from work when a bomb under the driver’s seat of his pickup truck exploded. Eight-year-old Wharlest Jr. was riding his bicycle nearby and found his father’s mangled body. While the governor called it “an act of savagery,” investigations ended without prosecutions. Decades later, federal prosecutors who reviewed the case said they still could not “conclusively” identify the killers.

The Battle Goes On

Resistance to Black voting has continued in the 21st century—and not just in the South. In 2013, the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holdereffectively gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by striking down the requirement that states with histories of voter discrimination obtain “pre-clearance” from the federal government before changing their voting laws. States across the country have since enacted voting restrictions and engaged in illegal purges of voting rolls and other voter suppression tactics that, as the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice has said, “fall hardest on communities of color.”

A woman stands outside the U.S. Supreme Court on February 27, 2013, ahead of oral arguments in Shelby County v. Holder. (AP)

Some states disenfranchise people for felony convictions; Mississippi includes offenses such as shoplifting, and disenfranchises a far greater share of Black citizens than white. The fearless work of Black activists who were murdered led to historic victories in Congress and the courts. Millions of Black citizens registered, voted, and helped elect the first generation of Black officeholders in the South since Reconstruction—and the first Black president.

0 notes

dragoni · 6 years ago

Link

New Knowledge, a cybersecurity firm found Russian accounts heavily targeted African Americans during the 2016 election in a bid to suppress votes for Hillary Clinton.

Facebook was COMPLICIT #DataBreach #CambridgeAnalytica #RussiaGate

#LogOutFacebook #LogOutInstagram #LogOutWhatsApp for one week... better yet...for ever

A report commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee obtained by The New York Times on Monday read that a group known as the Internet Research Agency (IRA) sought to exploit racial divides during the 2016 election and make an impact on Facebook and Instagram.

The report stated that at least 30 pages created by the IRA targeting black voters gained 1.2 million followers, The New York Times reported. It also targeted Bernie Sanders supporters and those who were likely to vote for then–Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “The most prolific IRA efforts on Facebook and Instagram specifically targeted black American communities and appear to have been focused on developing black audiences and recruiting black Americans as assets," the report obtained by the Times stated.

“Facebook’s engagement with partisan firms, its targeting of political opponents, the spread of misinformation and the utilization of Facebook for propaganda promoting disingenuous portrayals of the African-American community is reprehensible,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO, in a statement.

“NAACP has returned a monetary donation we recently received from Facebook, and we are calling on supporters to log out of Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday, December 18. We implore you, our partners, friends, and supporters to join us. #LogOutFacebook”, NAACP @NAACP - Dec 17, 2018

“The #LogOutFacebook is a protest—a way to signify to Facebook that the data and privacy of its users of color matter more than its corporate interests, and that as the largest social network in the world, it is Facebook’s corporate social responsibility to ensure that people of color are well represented in their workforce and recognize that users of color have a right to be protected propaganda and misinformation,” read the statement from the NAACP.

9 notes · View notes

ashandboneca · 4 years ago

Text

Paganism’s problem with racism

Let me make myself very, very clear: Black lives matter. I am not here to take up space and talk about my white feelings about the #BLM protests. But I 100% support everything the protestors are doing, and I 1000% support defunding the police (like actually dismantling the policing structure, not just clawing back funding). If you want to help and can’t protest, donate to bail funds and the NAACP. Donate to your local Black Cultural Organization. Uplift and elevate black voices, and call out your racist fucking uncle.

Okay. Strap in, this is gonna be bumpy, and long.

I am so unbelievably disappointed, but so massively not surprised at the response of many during this incredible time of revolution. I am disappointed in the pagan and witchcraft community for continuing to excuse and practice cultural appropriation, including ATR and Voudou. I have seen some NASTY arguments and racist backpedaling.

I am also, as someone who reads a lot of books, am really pissed off at most of the occult publishers right now. Let’s talk about why, one by one:

Llewellyn: Llewellyn as a publisher makes a lot of money from white folks writing about ATR and cultural practices that don’t belong to them. They spent Blackout Tuesday promoting their own magazine and events, and did not mention #blm in any capacity until JUNE 11. They made the following statement:

“Llewellyn Worldwide stands together with all those who have been working tirelessly to enact the changes needed to eradicate racial injustice and systemic racism here in our hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul, across the country, and around the world. We are, as we have always been for our 100-plus years, deeply committed to elevating a diversity of voices and to act as a conduit reaching and teaching their respective audiences. We stand with our employees and authors, our local community, and our readers, who are united in the effort to build and sustain a more inclusive world. However, words are often not enough, and we are looking at what we can do better as a company. Inspired by the progressive work of our late President and Chairman Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, we have recently donated to the NAACP, and to “We Love Lake Street” and “The Hamline Midway Coalition” - two organizations working to rebuild the neighborhoods and cities our company and our employees call home. We hope that our small steps for change join with many others to create a large and lasting global footprint for generations to come.“

Which is nice, I guess. But unless you’re changing your practices and publishing more books by BIPOC authors and stop letting lily white men write about African diaspora traditions, it’s performative as hell. I mean, The money is nice, but how much did this multi-million dollar publishing house donate? $100? We don’t know because they didn’t tell us. Be accountable, and if you’re a multi-million dollar company that is HQ in Minneapolis, show the damn receipts.

They also had some horrible comments on their FB page stating that occult subjects are generally white. Wow.

Red Wheel/Weiser: I was pleased to see they’ve been promoting Lilith Dorsey’s work, as of June 10, as she’s a black author who writes about Voodou and ATR. They generally have a more balanced catelogue, and most of the books written about Voodoo and ATR are by actual BIPOC practitioners. However, they’ve made no mention of #BLM specifically on their social media, which is disappointing. I think in these times, you need to be very clear, very direct about your support. I wish they would just come out and say they support black folks and support organizations that help people fighting for rights.

Troy Books: They haven’t been active on social media since April.

Anathema Publishing: Very active promoting their own authors, but nothing about what’s going on in the world. Their stance is completely apolitical (which is BS).

Moon Books: They don’t seem to have any social media I can find, but their website says nothing.

Three Hands Press: Not active on social media since 2016, nothing on their site, and all of their authors are white.

Scarlet Imprint: Active on social media, nothing mentioned.

Avalonia Books: Active on social media multiple times a day, nothing mentioned.

I’m sure I missed some publishers, but this is a big chunk of them.

So, why is this a big deal?

It’s a big deal because it means that the majority of the information going out (specifically by Llewellyn) about ATR and Voudou is being written by white authors. It means that what should be a black led discussion about their diasporic traditions is a white led discussion. It’s a big deal because many BIPOC don’t feel at home in the pagan community, and are often told things like ‘you should just practice things from Africa’. It’s a big deal because white people have already done enough to silence and obfuscate black voices, and the last place we should be doing this is in our spiritual communities, which are supposed to be built on understanding and acceptance.

Now is not the time for pretty words and fence sitting. You are either unequivocally behind Black Lives Matter, or you are complicit. You need to directly, loudly, and authentically support BIPOC fighting for their rights. You need to join the fight.

What do I suggest? Start putting pressure on these publishers to uplift and promote BIPOC voices. Speak with your wallet. But truly? Read more writing by BIPOC. Follow people on here like @witches-ofcolor, @borinquenaqueer, @hellboundwitch and @blackwitchspace. Read more blogs from folks like Bri the Hoodwitch, Crystal Blanton, and Black Witch. Elevate those voices and really, really listen.

AND TELL OFF YOUR RACIST UNCLE.

#Ash and Bone #ashandbone.ca #witchcraft #traditional witchcraft #heathenry #The Crooked Path #black lives matter

1K notes · View notes

astrofiree · 11 days ago

Note

I'd like to point out that the whole "being silent is being complicit" is racist and homophobic. And you speak from a weird point of privilege.

Maybe do some research into silent protests. Especially with the one done in the 1920's by the NAACP. Also look up the signficicance of the Day of Silence that was done by the LGBTQA community before the weird pro-fetus people took it over. And look up silent protests happening in Hong Kong, China and Iran. Not all protests have to vocal, and a lot of times people don't have the ability /to/ speak.

Perhaps it's time for the younger generation to learn this lesson from their predecessors and do the silent protests again.

Why is it that I'm expected to take the kind of hate you spew and am expected to be supportive, but you aren't held to that same standard? Do you want equality or not? Lash out at individuals who are trying to take your rights away and kill you. But don't then turn that vitriol to every other person that looks like them in some arbitrary tirade against fascism and transphobia. That's just stupid. You're only hurting the cause by driving away people who are on the fence about supporting you. Seeing you treat everyone like shit is the best way to push people to the other side. It's amazing that people don't understand that. Like seriously, hate on the haters but leave the allies alone. Fuck's sake it's not that hard.

12 notes · View notes

revelations-zine · 4 years ago

Text

Revelations Zine’s List of Charities and Resources

Hello, everyone! As stated earlier this week, we’ve decided to make the zine free upon publication and instead, encourage everyone to offer their support to various charities and initiatives. Here are our picks. Revelations of the Goddess Zine’s Choice of Charities and Resources

BLM

Black Lives Matter - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund - https://www.naacpldf.org/

Southern Poverty Law Center - https://www.splcenter.org/.

Each organization listed is, and has always been, dedicated to protecting the lives of marginalized groups, with a focus on Black and Brown populations (BLM is mainly concerned with Black people, obviously). Each group also provides resources to LGBT+ populations and takes part in activities that extend or protect their rights as citizens and human beings.

COVID-19

COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund - https://covid19responsefund.org/en/. This is the official COVID-19 response fund organized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Funds go to researching the virus and the development of a vaccine.

First Nations Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund - https://www.firstnations.org/covid-19-emergency-response-fund/. First Nations groups have been hit the hardest by COVID-19, but are the least visible. Though they have been rightfully showered with donations, there is no way to tell how long that will last as we’re still very early into the year and there’s no definite end to the effects of the pandemic here in the US. The funds are distributed between multiple native communities (including Alaskan and Hawaiian).

Center for Disaster Philanthropy - https://disasterphilanthropy.org/funds/cdp-recovery-funds/. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy was the initial fund this zine was dedicated to and we still highly recommend donating to it. Recovery efforts are still active for the 2019 hurricane season, and there is now a COVID-19 fund, a fund dedicated to protecting civil rights in the US (https://disasterphilanthropy.org/blog/about-cdp/a-statement-in-response-to-these-times/), and many others.

Other Organizations of Interest

George Floyd Fund - https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd. The official GoFundMe for George Floyd, organized by his brother Philonise Floyd. The funds go to the family of George Floyd, including George’s estate and the education of his children.

Gianna Floyd Fund – https://www.gofundme.com/f/gianna-floyd-daughter-of-george-floyd-fund. The official GoFundMe for George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna Floyd. This GoFundMe is organized by the legal counsel Gianna’s mother, Roxie. The money will go to providing mental counseling and grief support for Gianna; lodging and travel for all court proceedings; and assisting Roxie with continuing to provide for Gianna’s education and well-being.

Justice for Breonna Taylor – https://www.gofundme.com/f/9v4q2-justice-for-breonna-taylor.The official GoFundMe for Breonna Taylor. This GoFundMe is organized by Breonna’s aunt, Bianca Austin. All funds go to supporting Breonna’s family.

Community Bail Fund - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd. This conveniently pulls together bail funds across 38 states, saving people time from having to search and donate to them individually. Extremely important as many protesters are people who do not have the means to pay bail.

The Navajo Nation Department of Health COVID-19 Fund - https://www.nndoh.org/donate.html. The Navajo Nation is one of the groups hit hardest by COVID-19, but the least visible even prior to the protests. Though they have already met their goal, there’s no telling how long COVID-19 may persist especially while our top elected officials remain cruel and irresponsible. They also take supplies, if you have any.

Resources

5calls – https://5calls.org/. Can also be downloaded as a phone app. 5calls provides those interested in contacting their elected officials directly with pre-written scripts. This is extremely useful for those who have never contacted an elected official before, suffer from social anxiety, or are just bad at talking on the phone. The website also provides phone numbers for your Senate and House representatives; we recommend calling ALL of the numbers listed. It is more effective than just calling all of them.

Zoe Amira’s “Help BLM with no money and without protesting” Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM. If you are unable or do not want to be on the front lines, but do not have the cash on hand to donate directly and have petition burn-out, this video is a godsend. Carefully follow the instructions to maximize the amount of revenue generated from the video. You do not have to physically watch the video; simply having it on in the background while you go about your day is fine, but I do recommend at least listening to it.

If you see any advertisements asking for your support of Trump or any other bigoted, complicit authority, please let Zoe Amira know. She will update the video to remove these advertisements.

Stand with Breonna Taylor - https://go.theactionpac.com/sign/stand-with-breonna?akid=s179256..DhUKd-. Breonna Taylor was murdered by Louisville police when they stormed her home and shot her eight times. She and her boyfriend were both asleep. Breonna was an EMT and a COVID-19 frontline workers.

COVID 311 - https://risefree.org/covid-19-help/. COVID 311 is a portal for college students seeking COVID-19 help. College students are another vulnerable group, as they usually do not have the means to pay for testing and treatment, and they were one of the groups exempt from the stimulus checks.This is a small fraction of the most relevant initiatives. If you live in the US, we urge you, if possible, to reach out to your city council representatives and demand that they take a stance if they have not done so already, and prepare to vote this November if you can. If you live outside of the US, we’re extremely thankful for your support. Stay safe and take care of yourselves.

#announcement #mod roxy #blm #covid 19 #coronavirus #black lives matter

42 notes · View notes

hezzasims · 4 years ago

Photo

“Silence is not neutral. Silence is looking the other way and protecting your privilege - thus continuing to uphold white supremacy. White silence is violence. White silence protects the system. [...] When you stay silent, you stay complicit.” - Layla F. Saad, Me and White Supremacy Workbook

I made this piece yesterday to share on Instagram (which uses my real name and therefore won’t be linked here), but TBH my following on tumblr is much larger so I wanted to speak up here as well. Earlier this week, I planned to be silent online about the current events in Minneapolis, Louisville, Atlanta, Brooklyn and beyond. I had anti-racist conversations at home and we donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund as well as the NAACP Legal Defence Fund. I thought that I didn’t need to add another white voice to the online discourse; I wanted to listen. As this week progressed, it became clear to me that this was not enough. Silence is complicity. Black lives matter. It is not black people’s responsibility to educate white people; we must do that work ourselves.

Below are some resources I’ve found helpful in educating myself and that I would recommend any of my white followers look into for themselves as well (and not just those in America! Other countries are not exempt from racism):

Read (and buy from local bookstores, not Amazon):

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (especially if you live in the UK or Commonwealth countries)

Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard (especially if you live in Canada like I do)

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Follow on Instagram:

nowhitesaviors

laylafsaad

rachel.cargle

ihartericka

theconsciouskid (especially if you have or interact with children)

shishi.rose

My inbox and chats are always open if anyone wants to talk about this further. 🖤

42 notes · View notes

1-800-i-ship-it · 4 years ago

Text

Black Lives Matter. Period.

Alright I know that my blog is basically just ToG stuff and random stuff here and there, but I thought that maybe I could speak out about this a bit. In light of recent events (which really shouldn’t be happening by now), and also events that have happened 5, 10, 100, 200, 400 years ago, America still has countless racism issues that seriously need to be addressed.

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on this subject. I am simply sharing what I have learned, and some actions that I have taken. I am still learning everyday, and these are just some of my thoughts, as well as some resources for you all to check out. I admit that I am not as educated about this subject as I should be, so I am actively working on learning how to be an ally, actively be anti-racist, and more. The reason why I am sharing this is because this is a very important subject and if I could even get one person to take action because of this, then my efforts will be worth it.

Why is this important, you may ask? What does this have to do with me? This is not a political matter. It’s a human rights matter. It’s not white vs. black. It’s everyone vs. racists. We are all equal and should be, under the law right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Police brutality has shown that black people are often targeted and murdered for no. good. reason. and then blamed. It is a tragedy that so many black people have died at the hands of policemen, and for no good cause but racism. Too many victims. Say their names. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. David McAtee. Tony McDade. Iyanna Dior. And many countless other victims of injustice. And the fact that it’s been going on for so long shows just how unjust the system is. We need to fight for our black sisters and brothers. We need to support the black community. We need to address the fact that black people are oppressed, that they are less privileged than we are, recognize that, and work towards making sure they have their rights.

It’s also important to recognize and accept your privilege as well. If you are not black, you benefit from white supremacy. Be actively anti-racist. I know this may be uncomfortable, and I admit that it was for me to recognize and accept it, but I am now actively working towards being anti-racist. (this part is based off of one of Schuyler Bailar’s posts (@pinkmantaray on insta))

By the way, about all lives matter. Saying all lives matter right now is like saying all ecosystems matter when there’s a specific rainforest that needs saving. Yes, all ecosystems matter. But the rainforest is the one that needs saving.

The good part? These issues are being addressed, with protests, social media posts, petitions, donations, supporting black-owned businesses, etc... the list goes on. Some people post on social media, some are protesting on the streets, some are silently donating and signing petitions, some are educating themselves, some are talking to friends and family about this issue. There are many ways you can contribute–you do not have to do all of them. Be kind to yourself and others. Empathy is essential right now. The important thing is to keep moving forward and do what you can. Don’t stop after this is all over. Keep educating yourselves, keep working towards becoming ant-racist, keep advocating for the black community. Vote. Amplify the voices of the black community. Know anyone who disagrees with you? Don’t simply just shut them out. Talk it out. Talk to them about it, have the uncomfortable conversation. Encourage them to educate themselves. We are all in this together, and we are stronger united, not divided, fighting amongst ourselves. Only then can we make a stronger impact.

Now, many people at this point may think, how do I help? How can I make a difference when I don’t have any money to donate? Well, here’s some good news for you!!

1. Check out this link that has petitions, places to donate to, resources to educate yourself, and much much more. It also includes a couple zip codes you can use if you’re international. I’ve spent all of today reading the petitions and signing all of them. I highly encourage you to read and sign these petitions. You can also sign more than once if you have another email. Share with your family and friends! Like I have said above, it is also super important to educate yourself.

2. Speak out. Don’t be scared to call out racist behavior. Do not be afraid to make others uncomfortable by addressing their racist actions or how they are being complicit.

3. Don’t have money to donate? Watch these videos and turn your adblockers off so that the ad revenue can go to support black movements! Also, I am aware that this is a playlist, but I thought it’d be more convenient to have everything in one place (which someone has kindly done so), so make sure that when you watch them, please search them up and then click the vid to watch (something about the youtube algorithm, more tips attached below).

Here’s some tips that I’ve obtained from a comment on one of the videos:

For these fundraisers to work you need to do the following 1. Do NOT put this on loop or repeat once it's done. YouTube will see it as s / p / 4 / m and won't show you ads. 2. Watch it through once. Then, watch 3 to 5 videos after of any length. Then, research this video manually and watch it through again. Make sure to watch different videos every time. 3. Do NOT watch in a playlist or a browser app. Use the youtube app. 4. Turn off ad block or youtube premium (you can make a new account or use an incognito tab) 5. Watch on at least 480p and at at least half volume. Do NOT pause or fast forward the video. 6. Watch through videos and do NOT skip them. You can click on ads as well! 7. Comment and like this video - it will tell YouTube this is something people like. Be careful with your wording, though, and avoid emojis 8. Do not clear playback or search history 9. Share this on social media! Spread the word!

Another link that includes other issues you can learn about as well.

Additionally, the NAACP is having a moment of silence: 8 minutes and 46 seconds in recognition of George Floyd’s funeral. It will be on June 4, 2020, 3:45PM ET.

I hope this helps! Please remember that actions absolutely do make a difference. It is imperative that each of us take it upon ourselves to support this movement, through any means that you are able to.

If you read this far, thank you. I hope you will take action, are taking action, or have done so already, and I hope this post has also given you some more resources to work with.

#black lives matter #blm #i cant breathe #george floyd #breonnataylor #justice #justice for breonna #tony mcdade #stand up #david mcatee #fight for justice #fight for whats right #police reform #support black voices #iyanna dior #protest #sign petition #blacklivesmatter

6 notes · View notes

sleepysera · 3 years ago

Text

5.20.22 Headlines

WORLD NEWS

Ukraine: Says it repels Russian attack as war grinds in east (AP)

“Ukrainian authorities said Friday that their troops repelled a Russian attack in the east, as Moscow struggled to gain ground in the region that is now the focus of the war even while intensifying its campaign there. Battered by their monthslong siege of the vital port city of Mariupol, Russian troops need time to regroup, Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an assessment — but they may not get it.”

Monkeypox: African scientists baffled by monkeypox cases in Europe, US (AP)

“Scientists who have monitored numerous outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa say they are baffled by the disease’s recent spread in Europe and North America. Cases of the smallpox-related disease have previously been seen only among people with links to central and West Africa. But in the past week, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, U.S., Sweden and Canada all reported infections, mostly in young men who hadn’t previously traveled to Africa.”

North Korea: US, South Korean leaders meet in face of N Korea nuclear threat (AP)

“When the U.S. and South Korean leaders meet Saturday, North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program, already a major focus, may receive extra attention if intelligence predictions of an imminent major weapons demonstration by the North, which is struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak, are right.”

US NEWS

Gun Violence: Chicago shooting leaves 2 dead, 8 wounded (AP)

“Two people are dead and another eight wounded following a shooting near a fast food restaurant just blocks from Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile shopping district that sent bystanders scattering, authorities said. The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. Thursday near a McDonald’s on the city’s Near North Side. One person was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered, police said in statement.”

Buffalo Shooting: NAACP civil rights leaders pitch anti-hate plans (AP)

“Specifically, the plan calls for holding accountable any corporation that is complicit in the spread of bigotry and racism through news media and on social platforms, for enacting gun violence prevention measures that keep mass-casualty weapons out of the hands of would-be assailants and for reforming police practices so Black Americans experience the same de-escalation tactics often used to peacefully apprehend murderous white supremacists.”

Biden: Approval rating dips to lowest of presidency (AP)

“President Joe Biden’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point of his presidency in May, a new poll shows, with deepening pessimism emerging among members of his own Democratic Party. Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings a month earlier.”

#current events #news #ukraine #russia #war #monkeypox #africa #north korea #south korea #united states #gun violence #buffalo shooting #biden

1 note · View note

franklong12 · 3 years ago

Text

Morgan Wallen ACM Embrace Criticized by NAACP Leader Morgan Wallen's heat reception on the AC... Read the rest on our site with the url below https://worldwidetweets.com/morgan-wallen-acm-embrace-criticized-by-naacp-leader/?feed_id=154074&_unique_id=6228d9163dca8

#Entertainment

0 notes

whitesinhistory · 3 months ago

Text

On June 21, 1940, a 26-year-old Black man named Jesse Thornton referred to a passing police officer by his name: Doris Rhodes. When the officer, a white man, overheard Mr. Thornton and ordered him to clarify his statement, Mr. Thornton attempted to correct himself by referring to the officer as “Mr. Doris Rhodes.” Unsatisfied, the officer hurled a racial slur at Mr. Thornton while knocking him to the ground, then arrested him and took him into the city jail as a mob of white men formed just outside. Mr. Thornton tried to escape and managed to flee a short distance while the mob quickly pursued, firing gunshots and pelting him with bricks, bats, and stones. When Mr. Thornton was wounded in the gunfire and eventually collapsed, the mob dumped him into a truck and drove to an isolated street where they dragged him into a nearby swamp and shot him again. A local fisherman found Mr. Thornton’s decomposing, vulture-ravaged body a week later in the Patsaliga River, near Tuskegee Institute. Dr. Charles A.J. McPherson, a local leader in the Birmingham branch of the NAACP, wrote a detailed report on Mr. Thornton’s lynching. NAACP lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall provided the Department of Justice with the report and requested a federal investigation. The Department in turn instructed the FBI to determine whether law enforcement or other officials were complicit in the lynching, but there is no record that anyone was ever prosecuted for Mr. Thornton’s murder.

Mr. Thornton's death certificate (Alabama Center for Health Statistics)

#history #white history #us history #Black history #Jesse Thornton #am yisrael chai #jumblr #republicans #democrats #Doris Rhodes #Patsaliga River

1 note · View note

sotina886 · 3 years ago

Text

lawmakers and activists decry police response to attack on US Capitol

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden, civil rights leaders and activists blasted law enforcement agencies for their slow response to rioters at the U.S. Capitol, noting the massive show of police force in place for Black Lives Matter demonstrations last ear over police killings of unarmed Black men and women.

Biden said his granddaughter pointed out the unfair difference in images that showed the violence wielded against Black Lives Matter protesters versus the seemingly muted response against those who attacked the U.S. government.

"No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol," Biden said in remarks to the nation Thursday.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Thursday the actions of law enforcement Wednesday highlighted the "two systems of justice" in the U.S.

"We have witnessed two systems of justice: one that let extremists storm the U.S. Capitol yesterday, and another that released tear gas on peaceful protestors last summer," she said on Twitter. "It's simply unacceptable."

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio and former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, also questioned law enforcement officials' security efforts.

"The Capitol police were unprepared, ineffective and some were complicit. All of them should be held to account," Fudge, who was still in lockdown by the evening and who has been tapped by Biden to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told USA TODAY Wednesday night.

Fudge said there's "no question" the response was different than at last year's Black Lives Matter protests at the Capitol. She shared a picture of a row of police standing guard on the steps of the Capitol.

"There is a double standard,'' she said.

As thousands of people of color and allies took to the streets last year to protest police brutality — most of them peacefully — law enforcement often clashed with demonstrators, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, bruising faces and bodies, and, in one incident that went viral, pushing an elderly man to the ground.

But as thousands of President Donald Trump supporters, mostly white, marched from a campaign-style rally to the Capitol Wednesday and broke into the building as lawmakers were convening to count presidential electoral votes, forcing lawmakers and staff to shelter in place, crowds of law enforcement were notably absent.

Trump, who previously characterized Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs," said on Twitter that the people involved in the riots Wednesday were "great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long."

Get the Coronavirus Watch newsletter in your inbox.

Stay safe and informed with updates on the spread of the coronavirus

Delivery: Varies

Your Email

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he applauded Capitol police officers who bravely stood in the line of duty against the "failed insurrection."

"With that said, yesterday represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government," he said in a statement. "A painstaking investigation and thorough review must now take place and significant changes must follow."

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police defended Thursday his agency’s response from criticism that officers did not stop the incursion. Chief Steven Sund said his agency "had a robust plan" for what he anticipated would be peaceful protests, but what occurred Wednesday was "criminal riotous behavior."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, called for Sund's resignation and said that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, another key security official, had already submitted his resignation. He reports directly to Pelosi, while Sund answers to both the House and Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’ll fire the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger once he takes control of the Senate for the GOP later this month.

D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said the mob of Trump supporters came to Capitol Hill "following the president's remarks" and was "intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police to force entry into the United States Capitol."

But only a small group of riot police stood outside the back of the Capitol building in the early afternoon, and as rioters called for breaching the building, hundreds started swarming into the area, reporters at the scene noted Wednesday.

As people began climbing up the side of the building and on the back balcony, police appeared to retreat. After the break-in, police attempted to secure one section outside the building but were quickly overwhelmed, according to reporters at the scene.

One video posted to social media showed several people in D.C. Capitol Police jackets removing barriers outside the Capitol building, allowing rioters to pass through to the building. Videos posted to Twitter also showed at least one person who appeared to be an officer taking selfies with people who had breached the Capitol. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the identities of the people in these images.

By Wednesday afternoon, Army Gen. Mark Milley said the D.C. National Guard had been fully activated. "We have fully activated the D.C. National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement as they work to peacefully address the situation," Miller said in a statement.

Several videos shared to social media Wednesday afternoon showed officials slowly escorting people out of the building. One officer in riot gear could be seen helping a white woman in a Trump hat down the Capitol steps, holding her hand, according to a CNN livestream.

By Wednesday evening, nearly a full day after the rioters first clashed with police Tuesday night, officers began using tear gas and percussion grenades to begin clearing crowds, ahead of a 6 p.m. curfew. In the moments before, there were violent clashes between the police and rioters, who tore railing for the inauguration scaffolding and threw it at the officers.

One woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound inside the capitol, Contee said. At least 13 people were arrested, and five firearms were recovered.

By comparison, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked last year's protest movement, more than 100 people were arrested over the course of three days in Minneapolis. In subsequent days, cities across the country arrested dozens of people in a single night, with Los Angeles arresting more than 500 in one day.

"When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets," Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, said in a telephone interview. "We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating."

'A fanciful reality':Trump claims Black Lives Matter protests are violent, but the majority are peaceful

Johnson questioned why the Capitol police and other local law enforcement agencies weren’t prepared for thousands of Trump supporters, including the Proud Boys. There had been plenty of warnings on social media and talk shows about the potential for riots, he said.

"We should not be witnessing what we are witnessing today in this nation,'' he said. "It is a global embarrassment.”

Johnson said tens of thousands of people joined protests at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington without this level of violence. "None of this took place," he said.

The majority of Black Lives Matter-affiliated protests over the summer were peaceful, according to a report by the U.S. Crisis Monitor, a joint effort including Princeton University in New Jersey that collects and analyzes real-time data on demonstrations and political violence in the United States.

Kofi Ademola, a local Chicago activist who helped organize civil rights protests throughout the summer, said he was not surprised Wednesday by the police response.

"It's not any shock that we see this huge contradiction that we can storm a capitol ... break into elected officials’ offices, the chamber, and create other chaos trying to perform a fascist coup, and we see little to no consequences,'' he said.

"But Black protesters here in D.C. and Chicago, we’re heavily policed, brutalized, for literally saying, 'Don’t kill us.' There was no planned insurrections. We were literally just advocating for our lives. It speaks volumes about the values of this country. It doesn’t care about our lives."

CNN commentator Van Jones highlighted the discrepancy in a tweet Wednesday.

"Imagine if #BlackLivesMatter were the ones who were storming the Capitol building," he wrote. "Thousands of black people laying siege to the seat of government – in the middle of a joint session of Congress? Just imagine the reaction."

At the Capitol Wednesday, some lawmakers were holed up in their offices and other places. Several would not say where they were for safety reasons. Staffers were cleared out of the press galleries and the Capitol by the afternoon.

"The after-action review will determine what failures occurred and why,'' said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "The plans should have anticipated the potential for what happened today."

Black Lives Matter Global Network called the law enforcement response to Wednesday's riots hypocritical.

"When Black people protest for our lives, we are all too often met by National Guard troops or police equipped with assault rifles, shields, tear gas and battle helmets,'' the group said in a statement. "When white people attempt a coup, they are met by an underwhelming number of law enforcement personnel who act powerless to intervene, going so far as to pose for selfies with terrorists, and prevent an escalation of anarchy and violence like we witnessed today."

"Make no mistake, if the protesters were Black, we would have been tear-gassed, battered, and perhaps shot,'' the group wrote.

The chaos that unfolded Wednesday stands in particularly harsh contrast to the law enforcement presence seen when U.S. and military police drove protesters out of Lafayette Square, located between the White House and the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, shortly before a presidential photo op with a Bible at the church on June 1. Officers used smoke canisters, shields, pepper balls and horses to force demonstrators from the park.

As violent Trump supporters climbed the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, Trey Williamson, of Burke, Virginia, stood nearby while straddling his bike, arguing with those who would listen. He wore a helmet with Black Lives Matter written on it.

Williamson, a food safety director at a large restaurant, was in Washington, D.C., last year when Trump had the streets cleared so that he could take his photo in front of St. John's. "I got tear-gassed and all I was doing was riding my bike trying to see what was going on," Williamson said.

Lafayette Square photo op:How police pushed protesters aside

He said the police response at the Capitol was lukewarm in comparison to what he experienced during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. "If there were nothing but Black people up there, there would’ve been a lot of injuries," he said. "It sucks, but I know that this is how it is. I know that because Trump people have felt more comfortable to be at ease with their racism."

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., was holed up in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday as rioters continued their assault on the Capitol. During a Zoom call with reporters, said he and his staff were safe and weren’t leaving. Kind said he intended to return to the House chamber to continue the debate over the certification of electoral votes.

"Things are still not in control, unfortunately," he said.

Kind blamed Trump, who has been reluctant to denounce white nationalists and fraudulently insisted he won the November election, for encouraging the violence Wednesday.

"When he was encouraging the demonstrations, tweeting out that this was going to be quote 'wild.' I mean, what would he expect the reaction would be, especially when you're talking about the Proud Boys, militia groups, white supremacists coming into our nation's capital today," Kind said.

Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., put out a series of statements on Twitter Wednesday calling on law enforcement to engage rioters "with the same humanity and discipline with which they should have engaged people who were outraged by a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck."

"What many are saying is true: If this were Black Lives Matter storming the Capitol, tanks would have been in the city by now," she wrote. "The response tells the story of our nation’s racist history and present. How can we stop it from being the future?"

Contributing: Will Carless, Marco R Della Cava and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

0 notes

ameliacareful · 7 years ago

Text

Uneasy with Boys will be Boys

SPN posted a gag video recently called Initiation I. SPN has a reputation for being a great set. People have been working production for decade which is kind of unheard of—for one thing shows don’t usually last a decade. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are famously friendly.

I admire Jared Padalecki’s work raising awareness of mental illness and both J’s charitable work. I also admire the distance they keep from the Hollywood celebrity machine.

I don’t like pranking. This is a personal thing. I know a lot of people get a kick out of pranking and being pranked. But the video of pranking Alex Calvert makes me uncomfortable. Actors are usually not the top of the hierarchy, power-wise. That’s not always obvious of course because actors are the face of the show. But Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are unusually important to Supernatural because the show is important to the CW and because only Singer has been there as long as the leads.

When they prank a supporting actor, they are in a position where it’s very difficult for the supporting actor-Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard when he was on the show, Osric Chau, now Alex Calvert, to really protest. It’s J2’s set. As a woman I’ve been on the receiving end of listening to guys say things that make me embarrass or uncomfortable, jokes and comments, and knowing that if I say anything someone will say, ‘It’s just a joke, lighten up.’ I never wanted to be That Woman. The Uptight Bitch who is touchy. I can’t help feeling there is an aspect of that to the pranking.

It’s no coincidence the video is called Initiation. There’s a degree of hazing going on. It feels like Alex Calvert has to show he can ‘take it’. The joking sexual aspects of it—Osric Chau has talked in an interview about how he can tell if Jared Padalecki doesn’t have many lines in a scene because he gets bored and then puts his socked foot on Osric Chau’s balls to mess with him—feel like a power move. I don’t get the sense that Jared Padalecki is making sexual overtures. I get the sense he’s fucking with him. But notice the way ‘fucking’ works in this context.

Since Harvey Weinstein was revealed the news has been a daily parade of powerful men harassing and abusing women and men (James Levine and Kevin Spacey were both allegedly inappropriate with young men). I am not saying that the video Initiation was evidence of abuse. I don’t know anything about the set, the atmosphere, people’s expectations. But I will say that in the wake of the reveal of systematic, pervasive harassment in Entertainment, Publishing, the Restaurant Business, Tech companies, and, of course, politics, the video feels really tone deaf.

I write to figure out what I think and feel and this post is partly me working things out for myself. It is also a truth that silence is complicity. I feel a little complicit in something I find squicky.

I don’t have a course of action. I’m not going to say that J2 shouldn’t prank. But I wish they would be aware of the way that video feels weirdly dated. It reminds me of when I was growing up and my friend’s parents, who were from Virginia, referred to black people as ‘colored’. There was a time when ‘colored’ was respectful because it was so much better than n*gg*r. The NAACP was a powerful force advocating for blacks and that acronym stands for ‘National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. But by the 70’s it was clearly racist. And weirdly creepy.

The video feels that way to me. Much of the way Supernatural deals with masculinity already feels dated and weird. The obsession with the classic car, the mullet rock, the guys who drink beer and whiskey. As fans we tend to leap on any evidence opposing that. Dean loves to cook. But he’s actually the classic masculine cook—burgers and beer. I’m not saying that Sam and Dean are masculine caricatures. The characters are richer and more complex than that. But as characters, the Marlboro cowboy is clearly a not too distant ancestor.

Nor should Supernatural necessarily change. For me, one of the pleasures of the show is the way that masculinity gets friction against current culture. Part of the appeal of Sam and Dean is the way they both accede to and resist the social roles they inherited.

But I really don’t like that video.

#spn #j2 #meta #toxic masculinity

104 notes · View notes

orbemnews · 4 years ago

Link

Corporations, Vocal About Racial Justice, Go Quiet on Voting Rights As Black Lives Matter protesters filled the streets last summer, many of the country’s largest corporations expressed solidarity and pledged support for racial justice. But now, with lawmakers around the country advancing restrictive voting rights bills that would have a disproportionate impact on Black voters, corporate America has gone quiet. Last week, as Georgia Republicans rushed to pass a sweeping law restricting voter access, Atlanta’s biggest corporations, including Delta, Coca-Cola and Home Depot, declined to weigh in, offering only broad support for voting rights. The muted response — coming from companies that last year promised to support social justice — infuriated activists, who are now calling for boycotts. “We are all frustrated with these companies that claim that they are standing with the Black community around racial justice and racial equality,” said LaTosha Brown, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter. “This shows that they lack a real commitment to racial equity. They are complicit in their silence.” On Thursday, hours after the Georgia voting restrictions were signed into law, Ms. Brown joined protesters at the Atlanta airport calling for a boycott of Delta, Georgia’s largest employer. In front of the Delta terminal, they lobbied for employees to pressure their employer and urged the airline’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, to use his clout to sway the debate. Delta is a major corporate supporter of the gay community, and was among the many major companies that last year said it stood with the Black community after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police. At the time, Delta said it would look for ways to “make an impact and take a stand against racism and injustice, from programs to policy changes.” But last week, Delta declined to comment on the Georgia legislation specifically, instead issuing a statement about the need for broad voter participation and equal access to the polls. “It’s a double standard,” Ms. Brown said. Coca-Cola, another major Atlanta employer, faced similar pressure as the new law took shape. Last summer, Coca-Cola’s chief executive, James Quincey, said the company would “invest our resources to advance social justice causes” and “use the voices of our brands to weigh in on important social conversations.” But last week, rather than take a position on the then-pending legislation, Coca-Cola said it was aligned with local chambers of commerce, which were diplomatically calling on legislators to maximize voter participation while avoiding any pointed criticisms. That smacked of hypocrisy to Bishop Reginald Jackson of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who spoke at a rally outside the Georgia Capitol on Thursday. Speaking into a bullhorn, Mr. Jackson quoted Mr. Quincey’s statements from last summer as a point of contrast to the company’s tepid engagement with the legislation. “We took him at his word,” Mr. Jackson said. “Now, when they try to pass this racist legislation, we can’t get him to say anything. And our position is, if you can’t stand with us now, you don’t need our money, you don’t need our support.” Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a Black pastor who was elected in January, called out companies for their muted responses in an interview with CNN on Sunday. “I’ve seen these corporations falling over themselves every year around the time of the King holiday, celebrating Dr. King,” Senator Warnock said. “The way to celebrate Dr. King is to stand up for what he represented: voting rights.” Corporate America’s guarded approach to the partisan issue of voting rights stands in stark contrast to its engagement with other social and political issues in recent years. When legislatures advanced “bathroom bills” that would have discriminated against people who are transgender, many big companies threatened to pull out of states like Indiana, Georgia and Texas. And over the past four years, many big companies spoke out against President Donald J. Trump on issues including climate change, immigration and white supremacy. “It’s not as though corporations are unwilling to speak powerfully about social justice issues,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. “It seems to me perfectly legitimate for Black voters in Georgia to expect them to speak just as powerfully and directly about what is an unwarranted attack on the ability of Black voters to participate in the political process.” In recent weeks, only a few consistently progressive corporations publicly addressed the new laws head on. “A person’s right to cast their ballot is the foundation of our democracy,” Salesforce said on Twitter. Criticizing an early version of the Georgia bill, it added: “Georgia H.B. 531 would limit trustworthy, safe & equal access to voting by restricting early voting & eliminating provisional ballots. That’s why Salesforce opposes H.B. 531 as it stands.” Patagonia, which has worked to increase voter participation, condemned the new bills and called on other companies to get more involved. “Our democracy is under attack by a new wave of Jim Crow bills that seek to restrict the right to vote,” Ryan Gellert, the chief executive of Patagonia, said in a statement. “It is urgent that businesses across the country take a stand — and use their brands as a force for good in support of our democracy.” Those were the exceptions. For the most part, big companies declined to comment on the Georgia legislation as it came together. Even chief executives who have made names for themselves by championing diversity chose not to get involved. Tim Ryan, the senior partner at PwC and a founder of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, declined to comment for this article. “The voice of individual leaders is oddly muted,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management who regularly gathers chief executives to talk about controversial issues. “For the most part, they are not yet taking the same courageous stands they have taken on election ballot counting and the election results this fall, let alone on immigration, gun safety and the infamous bathroom bills.” After four years of responding to the often extreme policies of the Trump administration, many companies are seeking to stay out of political fights. And the voting bills are being driven by mainstream Republican lawmakers, rather than lesser-known right-wing figures. Companies that take a stand might have a harder time currying favor with those lawmakers on other issues down the line. “This is not the fringe members trying to push bathroom bills,” said Lauren Groh-Wargo, the chief executive of Fair Fight, a voter-rights group founded by Stacey Abrams. “This is a priority for the party at the national level. For companies to speak out and work against these bills is very different.” Ms. Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund said there was another factor at play as well: race. “Why is it that corporations that could speak so powerfully and unequivocally in opposition to discrimination against the L.G.B.T.Q. community and immigrants are not speaking as clearly about the disenfranchisement of Black people?” she said. “It’s the same thing. This is a race issue.” Companies have effectively squashed bills at the state level before. In 2016, when lawmakers were advancing the bathroom bills, major corporations said they would move jobs out of states that adopted such measures. Responding to one such bill in Georgia in 2016, the Walt Disney Company said, “We will plan to take our business elsewhere should any legislation allowing discriminatory practices be signed into state law.” The tactic was effective. Many of those bills were tabled as lawmakers responded to the threats of lost business. This time around, however, the entertainment industry has taken a more guarded approach. When asked for comment, Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and ViacomCBS either said they had no public comment or did not respond to queries. The Motion Picture Association, Hollywood’s lobbying organization, declined to comment, as did Amazon Studios, which six months ago released “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” a documentary about efforts by Ms. Abrams and other activists to tear down voting barriers in Georgia and elsewhere. The fight in Georgia is likely a preview of things to come. Lawmakers in dozens of states have proposed similar voting bills, and activists are planning to ramp up the pressure on corporate America as the battle over voting rights goes national. Companies, meanwhile, are trying to maintain a delicate balancing act. Though the Georgia law passed Thursday was less stringent than initially proposed, it introduced more rigid voter identification requirements for absentee balloting, limited drop boxes and expanded the state legislature’s power over elections. After its passage, Delta and Coca-Cola appeared to take some credit for helping soften the bill’s restrictions. Delta said it had “engaged extensively with state elected officials” in recent weeks and that “the legislation signed this week improved considerably during the legislative process.” Coca-Cola issued a similar statement, saying it had “sought improvements” to the law and that it would “continue to identify opportunities for engagement and strive for improvements aimed at promoting and protecting the right to vote in our home state and elsewhere.” Those words were cold comfort to activists who had worked against the efforts to curb voter rights. “They have made soft statements rather than stepping out,” Ms. Groh-Wargo of Fair Fight said. “It’s ridiculous.” Brooks Barnes and Nicole Craine contributed reporting. Source link Orbem News #Corporations #Justice #Quiet #Racial #Rights #vocal #Voting

0 notes

levelbar · 6 years ago

Text

7 Aspiring Lawyers of Color Want You to Pay Attention to the DA Race

This piece was written by the seven Scholars in the 2018 LevelBar cohort.

No position in America, no single individual has a bigger impact on the criminal justice system ― including police brutality, but the whole crisis of mass incarceration in general ― than your local district attorney.

--Shaun King, founder of the Real Justice Movement

Lady Justice might hold the scales, but there are surprisingly few checks and balances in our U.S. criminal justice system. While judges have recently been the focus of media attention, another figure in the courtroom wields similarly unchecked power over the impartment of justice, yet we don’t seem to pay her the same attention. One single person has complete authority to decide which crimes are to be prosecuted, what charges will be filed, and whether a child will stand trial as an adult. Likewise, she decides who receives a plea deal. One person can recommend probation over prison and decide whether or not a police officer must answer for his or her crimes. That often-overlooked figure is the District Attorney, and her reach is unparalleled.

No law mandates the DA to pursue certain cases. In fact, there is no clear oversight of the DA’s decisions. The responsibility to limit or oversee a district attorney rests solely upon ALL OF US. Only the voters have the power to hold district attorneys accountable to the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and compassion. In 2002, about 79,000 more residents in San Diego county voted for governor than they did for district attorney, meaning many of us have willingly given up the most important tool to influence our criminal justice system. By emphasizing both the power of our vote and the role of the DA, we take a step forward toward reforming the current justice system.

If you’ve never had a run-in with the law, it may seem easy to ignore to the race for district attorney, but the stakes are too high for young people of color to do so. According to the NAACP, “the United States makes up about 5% of the world’s population and has 21% of the world’s prisoners.” Representing 32% of the population, African Americans and Latinos made up 56% of the prison population in 2015. African American men in particular, are being incarcerated at five time the rate of white men. In a report submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union writes, “These racial disparities result from disparate treatment of Blacks at every stage of the criminal justice system, including stops and searches, arrests, prosecutions and plea negotiations, trials, and sentencing. Race matters at all phases and aspects of the criminal process, including the quality of representation, the charging phase, and the availability of plea agreements, each of which impact whether juvenile and adult defendants face a potential LWOP sentence.” Further details of the report demonstrate the active role that the district attorney, as the lead prosecutor, plays in creating these disparities:

Racial disparities in sentencing also result in part from prosecutors’ decisions at the initial charging stage, suggesting that racial bias affects the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to certain crimes. One study found that Black defendants face significantly more severe charges than whites, even after controlling for characteristics of the offense, criminal history, defense counsel type, age and education of the offender, and crime rates and economic characteristics of the jurisdiction.

Available data also suggests that there are racial disparities in prosecutors’ exercise of discretion in seeking sentencing enhancements under three-strikes and other habitual offender laws. For instance, a 1995 legal challenge revealed the racially biased role of prosecutorial discretion in the application of Georgia’s two-strikes law. Georgia prosecutors have discretion to decide whether to charge offenders under the state’s two-strikes sentencing scheme, which imposes life imprisonment for a second drug offense. They invoked the law against only 1 percent of white defendants facing a second drug conviction, compared to 16 percent of Black defendants. As a result, 98.4 percent of prisoners serving life sentences under the law were Black. In California, studies similarly show that Blacks are sentenced under the state’s three strikes law at far higher rates than their white counterparts.

The evidence that prosecutors contribute to systematic inequalities in criminal justice is nothing short of damning. It is clear that “equality under the law” is far from reality, and yet, we as voters fail time and time again to exercise our power to bring our country closer to this ideal. When officials are elected by the people, they must conform to the values of the electorate. Right now, we’ve shown our leaders that we are complicit in racial inequality, that we don’t value justice or equality, and that we will continue to elect them despite their racist sentiments and actions. What message will you send with your vote?

Many of us already know the lifelong impact of convictions. This impact compounds itself not only on people of color but on immigrants as well. It is all too common that formerly incarcerated individuals encounter unreturned calls for interviews and are denied public services or assistance and immigration relief. Those convicted of a felony are ineligible to vote in many states, contributing to a cycle of disenfranchisement and recidivism. Only racially diverse prosecutors who respect human rights above all else can remediate this crisis in the penal system. The District Attorney influences the level of prosecution, sways police action, and dictates the sentencing for the person being prosecuted. Therefore, the DA race is inescapably important. No matter where you live, it is in your best interest to be informed of what the DA’s track record has been within your community.

As today’s immigrant population faces attacks from the highest levels of the government, the DA race gives us an opportunity to respond. The DA’s prosecutorial choices can lead to even greater threats of deportation. Such was the case for Roland Sylvain, a Haitian immigrant who faced deportation from the U.S. due to a “aggravated felony” conviction which stemmed from his use of a false name while receiving a speeding ticket. Harsh prosecution practices are part of the current war on the immigrant population and our choice for DA directly impacts the lives of individuals and the integrity of families.

The authors of this piece all reside in Alameda County. For the fiscal year 2017-2018, 17% of Alameda county’s budget went towards incarceration and responding to crime. That number becomes disproportionately high when you compare it to the 1.2% of the county’s budget that went towards prevention services for at-risk youth. We would like to see a significant shift in these statistics. The upcoming election for the District Attorney in Alameda County involves two democratic candidates, Pamela Price and Nancy O’Malley. Pamela Price has been running her campaign as a progressivist as well as a reformist. Her goal is to unseat the incumbent District Attorney Nancy O’Malley by incorporating a humanitarian approach of “justice with compassion.” Incumbent O’Malley runs with support that relies “heavily on police unions, attorneys from all over the bay area,” Governor Jerry Brown, and Senator Kamala Harris. O’Malley has been denounced by the East Bay Citizen, who opined that “Price’s campaign has been boosted by an outpouring of support from progressives in Alameda County, who believe O’Malley is ambivalent toward convicting police officers for wrongdoing.” The election is complex, as many powerful figures endorse O’Malley despite her less progressive appeal. Senator Harris has, according to Rockridge Patch, “formerly worked with O'Malley in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office before becoming a district attorney herself in San Francisco,” which may explain her endorsement of DA O’Malley. However, in addition to the substantial support O’Malley is receiving, Rockridge Patch has also acknowledged that “billionaire George Soros backs challenger Pamela Price.” This endorsement from Soros might level the playing field, giving Price the chance to compete, or weaken her campaign due to public distrust of billionaires and large individual donors.

The election of a District Attorney requires a fundamental evaluation of our values. We must make an informed choice. To be complicit in these races is to ensure the status quo. It is to say that we do not feel empowered to choose who we elect to hold our community and, importantly, our police accountable to the law. To vote can mean so much more. It can voice the pain of millions of American residents, especially those groups most disproportionately entwined in the criminal justice system. It can make clear that we not only expect but we demand that our prosecutors act without bias in choosing which cases to indict, plea deals to offer, and sentences to recommend, that they hold police officers to the highest of ethical standards and stand firm in prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law when they abuse their authority. We cannot stay silent in underscoring the importance of electing not only a just DA in areas with high concentrations of people of color, but a just DA who has the boldness and courage to ensure that her functionaries are just as well. A vote can demand that no one be above the law and that everyone be treated equally under the law, one county at a time. What are your values? Do you know the values of the District Attorney whose sole discretion determines the direction of justice for your community? Why not?

Juan Martin Cabrales : “As the son of immigrants and a person of color, I care about the DA race because of the influence the office holds over my community. For several years I have worked professionally with numerous immigrants and can attest to fact that families have been torn apart due to low level crimes. A DA who is informed about the severe consequences certain convictions have on an individual’s immigration case is extremely important. Minor crimes such as possession or petty theft can create a catastrophe for a family unit. Our DA should be compassionate towards individuals who clearly do not pose a threat to the community. Furthermore, the DA has the power to sign certifications of cooperation, which are required for an immigrant obtain certain immigration benefits, such as a U Visa for victims of crimes. The DA race is a vital role in the criminal justice system and we should do our parts to be informed on the power they hold and who it will effect.”

Ausjia Perlow : “When I was younger, I always valued fairness above all and was taught that the American justice system did as well, that justice was blind treated everyone fairly. This illusion culminated in my aspirations to practice law. That naivete has since been replaced with a determination to be a changemaker, one who meaningfully brings that system closer to the ideals of equality and fairness that we purport to hold so dear. One of the easiest ways that we can all accomplish this is simply by electing District Attorneys who are also committed to being changemakers. We need more people willing to reject the status quo and to instead to adopt new methods to strive toward these higher aims of fairness, compassion, and justice.”

Gabriela Arroyo : “As a person color I have always felt unrepresented in politics. I also feel that the experiences of people of color are not taken into consideration properly, thus when DAs use their discretion they are not always aware of the impact their decision has on a person who is already at a (structurally) racial disadvantage. Therefore, It is essential to make changes by electing DAs who can relate and understand the communities that they are involved with. DAs should be able to understand the full effect of a cyclical approach, and should hold values that incorporate rehabilitation, reintegration, and community-based programs.”

Kimberly Anne Verzano : “Race, power and privilege are factors that perpetuate the problem of structural inequalities within the American Legal Justice System. As a woman and a first generation Filipino American, I understand and relate to the struggles that people of color face. Minorities are not always at the forefront of power but are more often crushed by those who possess it. Historically, people of color have been exploited for their labor or victimized by the legal system because they cannot afford exceptional legal aid. In the 21st century, police brutality especially in Oakland is a major contributor to social injustice. The police need to be held accountable and the only way we can do this is by electing the right District Attorney [DA]: someone who is aware of the racial inequality within the American Justice System and is willing to be the main advocate for underprivileged communities. Take Oakland, for example, a city of diverse cultural backgrounds, where minorities from impoverished communities have been disproportionately represented. Historically, Oakland’s reputation in incarceration has heavily been focused on specific minorities such as Black and Brown bodies.”

Ashley Lopez Figuera : “I care about the DA race because the District Attorney’s decisions help determine the fate of my Latino and immigrant community. Is it one filled with fear of authority? Or with a sense of safety and tolerance? Can I see people from disadvantaged backgrounds beating the odds and rising to powerful positions? Or wasting their untapped potential in a jail cell? I want my loved ones to have an equal opportunity to live life to the fullest, and I am sure you do too.”

Feven Ezra : “The DA race is the most important sector in this primary election simply because of the effects it brings to the Alameda County. Without an individual with integrity and understanding of the community in which they operate, the city that I live in will not encourage and support the folks that have lived here for generations but rather will accommodate people and corporations that choose to criminalize and equate humans with profitable gains. I am eager to participate in the 2018 DA elections because I want to decriminalize the youth and people of color that are facing incarceration for petty crimes.“

Hideyasu Kurose : “When I was living in South Central, people of color from my neighborhood were arrested, sequestered, and ultimately incarcerated on a moment by moment basis. I recall that many were labeled gang members and profiled as gang members but these hard-working men and women were simply blue-collar workers lacking sufficient funds to pay basic parking fines, car registration, or exorbitant tax assessments. Functionaries of the LA District Attorney would ensure that these hard-working men and women spent the maximum amount of time in prison so that their resolve would be broken prior to their trial. There is no doubt that many among them who had never encountered gang members before, certainly encountered them in LA County jail. Therefore, the rapid apprehension and incarceration of my neighbors by the LA County DA’s office not only promoted prejudice, it fueled gang recruitment by putting hard-working men and women of color in prison side-by-side with established gang members. If poor people could afford bail, then gang exposure awaiting trial would be limited but as the searing op-ed of Kamala Harris and Rand Paul in the NY Times confirms, most poor people of color cannot afford bail.”

#levelbar #district attorney #election #oakland

1 note · View note