BLM

[poppy]

Twice, the article reports that the Taking the Initiative Party said she had received numerous death threats and twice, the article reports the Met police as saying, "There was nothing to suggest that it had been a targeted attack," asking people "to avoid speculating as to the motive or circumstances behind it."

She was shot in the "vicinity" of a house party at 3am, but investigators seem quick to say it wasn't targeted. Her group is saying there were death threats. Typical mess.

 

[maplenpg]

Twice, the article reports that the Taking the Initiative Party said she had received numerous death threats and twice, the article reports the Met police as saying, "There was nothing to suggest that it had been a targeted attack," asking people "to avoid speculating as to the motive or circumstances behind it."

Suggests we still have a long way to go doesn't it?

 

[maplenpg]

She was shot in the "vicinity" of a house party at 3am, but investigatiors seem quick to say it wasn't targeted. Her group is saying there were death threats. Typical mess.

Yup.

 

[barnswallow]

Interesting and revealing article about the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole and describing its parts / structure. The article appears to reveal the pros and cons and growth pains and includes voices from the families of victims of police violence who critique the movement for seeming to take advantage of their loss without necessarily providing assistance where needed. There is criticism of non-transparency but it's not a negative portrayal necessarily. The article is more of an analysis/opinion of where the movement stands at this moment.
From the NYTimes 6.4.21
Black Lives Matter Has Grown More Powerful, and More Divided
Subtitle: 'Since the murder of George Floyd, the racial justice movement has received millions of dollars in donations. But some chapters have questioned how those funds are spent.'

Their influence has been immediate: A local organization helped St. Louis elect a Black woman as mayor for the first time. A longtime activist group in Louisville, Ky., oversaw what became a hub for protests over the police killing of Breonna Taylor. And in Chicago, activists have lobbied the city to fund a program that would dispatch paramedics, instead of police officers, to people experiencing mental health crises.

But the surge in attention has also brought greater scrutiny and exposed tensions and challenges within a movement that saw tremendous growth over the past year, much like other progressive groups such as the Women’s March, which saw three of its leaders step down amid controversy.
In a very public dispute, several chapters within the national organization known as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation broke away, claiming that the group’s national leaders had failed to provide financial transparency or include the chapters in decision-making. And family members of some victims of police killings have openly criticized racial justice organizations, accusing them of raising money in their children’s names but not supporting the families and their work to make change.

...

In the weeks after his [George Floyd's] killing in May 2020, an estimated 15 million to 26 million people participated in about 4,700 demonstrations across America, accounting for the largest movement in the country’s history.

That growth has brought great visibility, but also difficult questions over how to sustain it and how to effect meaningful change, whether through donations to political campaigns, services to families or investments in Black communities — or all of the above.

Chapters that broke from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, calling themselves the #BLM10, issued an open letter in December that said internal attempts at seeking transparency had gone nowhere.

...

Leaders of the global network defended the way it was spending money, and emphasized that the breakaway chapters criticizing the group were not officially affiliated with it. The infusion of funds over the past year will allow the global network to build out its infrastructure so it can become a sustainable operation, said Melina Abdullah, a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter which is affiliated with the global network.
“I think we have to be very, very clear again that we are a power-building organization that works in concert with families,” she said, “but not a social service organization for families.”
As some leaders have risen to international attention, they have faced backlash from activists who see that ascent as a betrayal of the movement’s grass-roots spirit. And activists who once accused legacy civil rights leaders and organizations of being too mainstream and detached from the masses are now facing those same criticisms.
From W.E.B. Du Bois’s criticism that Booker T. Washington was too accommodating to white people, to ministers objecting to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to protest as too worldly, tensions have long been a part of social justice movements.

...

The organization has increasingly sought to be a force in politics and last year created a political action committee to support candidates in November’s elections. It also lobbied against the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and drafted public safety legislation called the Breathe Act that it plans to champion before Congress.

But some activists say the optics are troubling. The families of some victims struggle financially, while the leaders of racial justice organizations oversee large fund-raising hauls that come, in part, from the public’s sympathy for the deaths of their loved ones.

...

Ultimately, the public tussle over the Black Lives Matter movement may serve to strengthen it, said Daniel Gillion, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies protest movements. The conflict allows a broad cross-section of people to have a say in shaping the movement, which bolsters the democratic principles upon which it was founded, he said.
“This isn’t Nancy Pelosi talking with congressional members behind closed doors,” he said. “It’s not that. It is truly grass roots, involving multiple people chiming in. And that’s what you want.”

 

[poppy]

^^ Related article. No doubt "movements" are messy, but they are needed. BLM and related groups should be sensitive to the families going through these murders. Some people can't take/don't want their loved one's name to be a hashtag for years, I can understand that.

https://www.thecut.com/article/samaria-rice-profile.html

Stop Hustling Black Death
Samaria Rice is the mother of Tamir, not a “mother of the movement.”

 

[poppy]

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/its-very-hard-mother-of-tamir-rice-talks-about-life-without-her-son-importance-of-cudell-recreation-center-with-3news-russ-mitchell/95-773b7165-a1c4-4842-9c11-51b32608db1e

'It's very hard': Mother of Tamir Rice talks about life without her son and importance of Cudell Recreation Center
"America has taken away from me what my son would look like as a teenager, a young man, and even an old man."

In 2015, an Ohio grand jury declined to charge Loehmann. He was fired in 2016 after an investigation showed that he lied on his application to become a police officer. Earlier this year, an appeals court upheld Loehmann's firing. No member of the Cleveland Division of Police was ever charged as a result of Rice's death.

With the assistance of the Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association, Loehmann has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court to get his job back. On Monday, attorneys representing Samaria Rice and her family filed an amicus brief to try to stop Loehmann from being reinstated.

"I'm appalled. Even if it's the union's (CPPA) money, why would you keep wasting your money on this bad officer? I don't think he should ever get a job in law enforcement again because he lied on his application," Rice told Mitchell. "So how can you trust him?"

 

[RodeoSchro]

Here's the REAL scoop on how non-violent BLM protesters have been. Feel free to throw these numbers straight in the face of the racists on that other site, should you still be torturing yourself by visiting it:

Black Lives Matter Protesters Were Overwhelmingly Peaceful, Our Research Finds | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

The Black Lives Matter uprisings were remarkably nonviolent. When there was violence, very often police or counterprotesters were reportedly directing it at the protesters.

www.radcliffe.harvard.edu

In short, our data suggest that 96.3% of events involved no property damage or police injuries, and in 97.7% of events, no injuries were reported among participants, bystanders or police.

These figures should correct the narrative that the protests were overtaken by rioting and vandalism or violence.

Such claims are false. Incidents in which there was protester violence or property destruction should be regarded as exceptional – and not representative of the uprising as a whole.

In many instances, police reportedly began or escalated the violence, but some observers nevertheless blame the protesters.

 

[barnswallow]

NYTimes, 6.18.21: Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

The law went into effect immediately, making Friday the first federal Juneteenth holiday in American history.

From the NYTimes, 6.17.21:
So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth

On June 17, 2021, it became the 11th holiday recognized by the federal government. The Senate on June 15 passed a bill to recognize the day, and the House approved the measure the next day. President Biden signed the bill into law the day after that, immediately giving federal employees the day off this year.

About Opal Lee, also in the NY Times, 6.21.20:
Opal Lee's Juneteenth Vision Is Becoming Reality

In 2016, at the age of 89, she decided to walk from her home in Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., in an effort to get Juneteenth named a national holiday. She traveled two and a half miles each day to symbolize the two and a half years that black Texans waited between when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, on Jan. 1, 1863, abolishing slavery, and the day that message arrived in Galveston, where black people were still enslaved, on June 19, 1865.

 

[barnswallow]

Here's the REAL scoop on how non-violent BLM protesters have been. Feel free to throw these numbers straight in the face of the racists on that other site, should you still be torturing yourself by visiting it:

Black Lives Matter Protesters Were Overwhelmingly Peaceful, Our Research Finds | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

The Black Lives Matter uprisings were remarkably nonviolent. When there was violence, very often police or counterprotesters were reportedly directing it at the protesters.

www.radcliffe.harvard.edu

In short, our data suggest that 96.3% of events involved no property damage or police injuries, and in 97.7% of events, no injuries were reported among participants, bystanders or police.

These figures should correct the narrative that the protests were overtaken by rioting and vandalism or violence.

Such claims are false. Incidents in which there was protester violence or property destruction should be regarded as exceptional – and not representative of the uprising as a whole.

In many instances, police reportedly began or escalated the violence, but some observers nevertheless blame the protesters.

I've seen footage that suggests that there are nefarious actors who descend on these protests and try to incite violence and looting. I saw video footage at one BLM protest (can't remember which) of a guy, dressed in black, masked I think, driving into an area, taking a tire iron or some such implement and walking rapidly from his car to an Auto Zone store, or the equivalent, violently smashing huge picture window, and, when approached by a peaceful protester who asked what he was doing there, turned and quickly retreated from the area with the fellow following, continuing to question him. There are people out there trying to corrupt and turn the peaceful protests violent.

Coincidentally to the post Rodeo made, I had come across this article.
Officers resign from Portland, Oregon, protest response unit
The title and content of the article aren't what caught my eye. It was the video at the very top of the article showing two 'antifa' protesters, in shadow and without revealing identities, speaking to a reporter about their goals. I was surprised that there is continuing violence in Portland, Oregon, more than a year after the BLM protests. They aren't connected with BLM. This is the first time I've heard members of Antifa speak about their purpose and the first time I've heard their commitment to violence as a tool. Check out the video. fyi, the video may appear as just a photo at the top of the article. It is a video.

This thread is for BLM topics and this post doesn't necessarily belong here because it doesn't have to do with the BLM movement. I'm putting it here because it relates to other groups piggy-backing on the BLM protests for their own purposes.

 

[poppy]

I've seen footage that suggests that there are nefarious actors who descend on these protests and try to incite violence and looting. I saw video footage at one BLM protest (can't remember which) of a guy, dressed in black, masked I think, driving into an area, taking a tire iron or some such implement and walking rapidly from his car to an Auto Zone store, or the equivalent, violently smashing huge picture window, and, when approached by a peaceful protester who asked what he was doing there, turned and quickly retreated from the area with the fellow following, continuing to question him. There are people out there trying to corrupt and turn the peaceful protests violent.

Umbrella Man - He is a white supremacist who was identified.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/us/u...ite-supremacist-group-george-floyd/index.html

 

[poppy]

Woman Who Allegedly Attacked Black Teen in Soho Hotel Pleads Not Guilty to Hate Crime Charges

Miya Ponsetto, 22, pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, aggravated harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child

people.com

Woman Who Allegedly Attacked Black Teen in Soho Hotel Pleads Not Guilty to Hate Crime Charges
Miya Ponsetto, 22, pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, aggravated harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child

 

[poppy]

Andrew Brown Estate files federal lawsuit alleging excessive force | CNN

The administrator for the estate of Andrew Brown, Jr. filed a federal lawsuit alleging that deputies violated Brown's Fourth amendment rights by using excessive force while they were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants on Brown.

www.cnn.com

The administrator for the estate of Andrew Brown, Jr. filed a federal lawsuit alleging that deputies violated Brown's Fourth amendment rights by using excessive force while they were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants on Brown.

Brown, a 42-year-old Black man, was fatally shot on April 21 by Pasquotank County deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

 

[barnswallow]

Andrew Brown Estate files federal lawsuit alleging excessive force | CNN

The administrator for the estate of Andrew Brown, Jr. filed a federal lawsuit alleging that deputies violated Brown's Fourth amendment rights by using excessive force while they were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants on Brown.

www.cnn.com

The administrator for the estate of Andrew Brown, Jr. filed a federal lawsuit alleging that deputies violated Brown's Fourth amendment rights by using excessive force while they were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants on Brown.

Brown, a 42-year-old Black man, was fatally shot on April 21 by Pasquotank County deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

View attachment 896

Will the court case force the release of the video evidence from the body cameras? In the article, I only saw that North Carolina law prevents its release.

 

[poppy]

Will the court case force the release of the video evidence from the body cameras? In the article, I only saw that North Carolina law prevents its release.

I don't know, some was edited and released. It was a judge who quashed the rest, so don't think it's exactly a law. This is a federal as opposed to state case, the district attorney concluded that "no criminal law was violated", so no one was charged. The FBI announced a federal civil rights investigation in April.

The tapes are key because the cops say he was using the car as a weapon, not just to flee. Some of them never turned on their body cams. Good on the protestors who have kept up for 85 days now.

 

[barnswallow]

Independent Report Criticizes Aurora Police in Elijah McClain’s Death (Published 2021)

A panel commissioned by the City Council of Aurora, Colo., found “serious concerns” with an internal police investigation into the 2019 death of Mr. McClain.

www.nytimes.com

Independent Report Criticizes Aurora Police in Elijah McClain’s Death​

A panel commissioned by the City Council of Aurora, Colo., found “serious concerns” with an internal police investigation into the 2019 death of Mr. McClain.

...The report’s authors criticized Fire Department paramedics as slow to help the man, Elijah McClain, before injecting him with an improper dose of ketamine, a tranquilizer. Mr. McClain went into cardiac arrest on the way to a hospital. He died a few days later.

The panel also said that an investigation by local police detectives “raised serious concerns” for failing both to rigorously question the officers involved and to examine the circumstances of Mr. McClain’s death. In November 2019, three months after Mr. McClain’s death, the Adams County district attorney announced that criminal charges would not be filed, saying there was not enough evidence that the officers had broken the law when they used force on Mr. McClain....

Elijah McClain: Colorado grand jury indicts five over Black man's death

The attorney general, Phil Weiser, said all five officers and paramedics were charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, while some also face additional charges.

Facing pressure during a nationwide uprising for racial justice and an end to such egregious killings, the Democratic governor, Jared Polis, ordered Weiser to open a new criminal investigation.

A district attorney had said in 2019 that he could not charge the officers because an autopsy could not determine how McClain died.

 

[poppy]

Elijah McClain: Colorado grand jury indicts five over Black man's death

FINALLY

 

[poppy]

Elijah McClain indictment: Case against Aurora police officers and paramedics comes down to intent, experts say

The criminal case against three Aurora police officers and two paramedics who have been indicted in connection with Elijah McClain’s death two years ago likely will come down to intent, legal…

www.denverpost.com

The criminal case against three Aurora police officers and two paramedics who have been indicted in connection with Elijah McClain’s death two years ago likely will come down to intent, legal experts said Wednesday.

“The fact that Elijah McClain died is not in dispute and how he died isn’t in dispute,” said Stan Garnett, Boulder County’s former district attorney. “The issue is: What’s (the officers’ and paramedics’) mental state? What did they intend to do and what risks did they disregard as they acted in this situation? That’s the focus of the case.”

McClain family
Elijah McClain

 

[GemInEye]

Elijah McClain indictment: Case against Aurora police officers and paramedics comes down to intent, experts say

The criminal case against three Aurora police officers and two paramedics who have been indicted in connection with Elijah McClain’s death two years ago likely will come down to intent, legal…

www.denverpost.com

The criminal case against three Aurora police officers and two paramedics who have been indicted in connection with Elijah McClain’s death two years ago likely will come down to intent, legal experts said Wednesday.

“The fact that Elijah McClain died is not in dispute and how he died isn’t in dispute,” said Stan Garnett, Boulder County’s former district attorney. “The issue is: What’s (the officers’ and paramedics’) mental state? What did they intend to do and what risks did they disregard as they acted in this situation? That’s the focus of the case.”

McClain family
Elijah McClain

This makes me sick. Look at that face. He did nothing wrong.
And what right do they have to inject him with something? That's BS.
It's so heartbreaking.

 

[barnswallow]

Ahmad Aubrey, the unarmed jogger whose murder was filmed by the killers is another horrific one. It happened before George Floyd and was kind of lost in the media.

All I can say is at least here we are allowed to have this thread instead of trolls getting it taken down, or a crazy mod that doesn't like the topic.

I don't really know the significance of this. I just came across it and I'm kind of tired. So, I'll just post it and try to figure out exactly what she's accused of later. Or, if you know, chime in.

 

[barnswallow]

Meanwhile,....
Minnesota State Patrol Purged Emails, Texts After George Floyd Protests [HuffPost; 9.7.21]

and, meanwhile, ...

So, you get stuff like this:

And, ...
oh... have to go... wanted to add something about a journalist from the washington post who was shot at by the police... but can't find it right now... maybe later