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SPRINGFIELD At the funeral Tuesday of city councilor, Democratic activist and civil rights pioneer E. Henry Twiggs, the biblical words from the Second Epistle to Timothy reminded mourners of the man who has run his race and fought the good fight.

And I have kept the faith, the Apostle Paul wrote so long ago.

And on Tuesday, longtime friend of Twiggs, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal had a slight turn on the familiar verse.

You have run your last campaign, Neal said.

Twiggs, 80, died Thursday, Nov. 21, at Mercy Medical Center due to complications from surgery. A native of Georgia who moved to Springfield in 1958, Twiggs returned to the South and marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the famous March on Washington in 1963 and the Selma to Montgomery March two years later.

His funeral was marked by a look back, and a call to continue Twiggs work.

Facing tear gas, police truncheons, and attack dogs, E. Henry was one of those who crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge during the Selma to Montgomery, Alabama march, his family wrote in his obituary. He worked with Dr. Martin Luther King and many other prominent activists helping organize voter registration drives, sit-ins, marches, and other actions throughout the region. He was an active participant in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom and strove to keep Dr. Kings dream alive as the Northeast Coordinator of the 1968 Poor Peoples Campaign March on Washington.

Twiggs served as manager of Riverview Projects during the late 1960s and developed housing through his work with Inner City Rehab. He was state Rep. Ben Swans chief of staff and a a longtime member of, and chairman, of the city Democratic Committee who campaigned for tirelessly for Democratic candidates.

Neal said he and Twiggs spent so much time campaigning together they could finish each others sentences.

The congressman recalled Twiggs humor. One day as the two were campaigning for Al Gore in the bitter New Hampshire cold, they found house after house with the lights on and a television blaring but no one answered the door.

Neal said he wondered why they were being turned away

Twiggs said it was because folks thought Neal was campaigning with the Rev. Al Sharpton, who shared a passing resemblance to Twiggs.

Neal said they eventually found someone to answer a door. And that Twiggs loved the work in precincts, the knocking on doors.

There would be no Deval Patrick, no Barack Obama without the paths that were paved by Henry Twiggs, Neal said.

Patrick, who is running for president, didnt attend Tuesdays funeral. But the former governor did share his sentiments with The Republican and MassLive at the time of Twiggs passing.

Henry was a source of encouragement, guidance and wisdom when I was first a candidate and throughout my years as governor, Patrick said. His high-pitched calls to action fired me and others up more than once.

Neals line about Obama and Patrick garnered applause from the scores of friends, family and political associates at St. Johns Congregational Church on 45 Hancock Ave.

As did Councilor Jesse Lederman when he asked current and former council members to stand and said its now their job to carry on with Twiggs work.

One of many councilors who considered Twiggs a mentor, Lederman said it had been hard for Twiggs in recent months to attend meetings and play his role facilitating difficult discussions.

In those late nights in the Council Chamber, we could see you struggling, Lederman said. You could have just gone home. But you stayed and did the job youd been elected to do.

Twiggs announced in April that he would not run for another term after a decade on the City Council.

Lederman said Twiggs wife, Karen, earned the title of 14th councilor on the 13-member board for her work in helping Henry through his last term.

In his remarks, Twiggs son Antonio Delesline recalled asking his father why he ran for council as a 70-year-old in 2009. Twiggs couldnt bear it, he told his son at the time, if someone else ended up as councilor for his neighborhood in Ward 4.

Delesline also recalled the words of King, words he said apply to his father, when King observed that everyone can be great because everyone can serve.

Twiggs casket Tuesday was surrounded by flowers and by the symbols of his Masonic involvement and also present was one of his fedoras. He was known in life for always being well-dressed and for his outfits to always include a natty fedora.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno referred to this habit, and to the fact that both he and Twiggs are the sons of barbers.

From one son of a barber to another, Sarno said. A tip of the hat.

Twiggs is survived by his wife, Karen R. Twiggs; his sister, Laverne Sparkman of Florida; daughter Cynthia Frazier Twiggs of North Charleston, South Carolina; son Antonio L. Delesine, daughter Dawana S. Twiggs of Fairfield, Alabama; and daughter Sonia Twiggs Richards of Cartersville, Georgia. He is also survived by two nieces and two nephews: Constance Twiggs Rowe, Demetra Lynn Twiggs, David Twiggs and Keith Sparkman, 13 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, brother David, daughter Leatrice and her son Damiun, niece Laverne, nephew Chris and niece Tanya.

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Springfield says goodbye to E. Henry Twiggs; Youve run your last campaign - MassLive.com

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If youre a political junkie whos been watching every twist and turn in the Democratic primary race since the day after the 2018 midterm results cameand if those in your social media circle are the same wayyouve probably grown weary of the drawn-out campaign and wish people would start voting already. But keep in mind that many less engaged voters are just now beginning to tune in. Historically, early-state primary polls have only begun to have predictive value after Thanksgiving. That make sense when you consider that most people dont pick out their Halloween costumes in May or June.

Surveys show that theres an unusual degree of interest in the 2020 election, so its possible that normies started paying close attention earlier than usual this cycle, but its also possible that this post-holiday week marks an unofficial start of the contest for the Democratic nomination.

With that in mind, here are a few things that a political junkie should keep in mind about how the primary race stands among the broader Democratic electorate.

National polls dont mean much this far out

The latestQuinnipiac pollgot a lot of attention this week. It found that former VEEP Joe Biden had retaken the lead from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Many people think Bidens persistent lead in the national polling averages indicates that hes very likely to become the Democratic nominee. But while a candidate would prefer to be ahead than behind, keep in mind that inQuinnipiacs Oct 29, 2003 release, Wesley Clark led the field with 17 percent, trailed by Howard Dean and Joe Lieberman.Dick Gephardt followed and then came John Kerry, the eventual nominee, sitting in 5th place.

In theirDecember 10, 2003 poll, Dean had jumped ahead of Clark with the support of 22 percent of likely primary voters. Kerrys support, meanwhile, had dropped from 10 to 8 percent, and while he was still in 5th place, that survey found him tied with Al Sharpton.

They never will

Polling can tell you something about a candidates appeal, but it cant shed much light on whats under the hood of their campaignson the quality of their field organizations. When people start casting ballots, some will overperform expectations and others will disappoint. Momentum is a creation of the political press, but its effects are realresults in early states influence the media coverage and that in turns shapes the perceptions of voters in later states.

So its quite likely that the race will be reshaped as voting moves first from lily-white Iowa and quirky New Hampshire to South Carolina and Nevada, and then when February turns to March, when a huge chunk of delegates will be awarded on Super Tuesday.

And of course unforeseeable events could also restructure the campaign entirely. Howard Dean was flying high early in 2004 after he won the Iowa Caucuses. Adam Mordecai, a Dean staffer in Iowa, would later recall, We felt like we were invincible. He just kept winning poll after poll. He was on every magazine cover. But then Dean gave a speech with a rousing finish that would become known as the Dean Scream, whichfascinated our superficial political pressand ultimately created a path for John Kerry.

Its a very fluid race

According tothe latest Quinnipiac poll, only 11 percent of Democratic primary voters are undecided. But that figure is misleading, because another 57 percent of respondents said that while they are backing a candidate now, they might change their minds. This means that when you read, candidate X is at 35 percent in poll Y, over half of those supporters areleaningtowards that candidate at this point.

Thats as true of the establishment as it is rank-and-file voters

Whenever a prominent Democrat endorses or criticizes a candidate or a pundit with a big platform declares that a campaign is either surging or lagging, some people will conclude that its proof that the establishment is coalescing around one campaign or another. Sensitivities about Democratic elites putting their collective thumb on the scale linger from 2016.

But 2020 is a very different race. AsI wrote back in August, in 2016, Hillary Clinton racked up amomentouslead in endorsements from elected officials and prominent party activists. But so far in this cycle, most of those influential voices have waited to see how things will shake out. And the endorsements that have come in so farare distributed much more broadly among the candidates. (More generally, its better to think of the partys establishment as a cluster of power centers that come to a consensus at times, rather than as a monolithic creature.)

Ideological lanes are a pundits fallacy (with a caveat)

A lot of faulty analysis is based on the idea that moderate candidates are battling each other to win the moderate lane and progressives are similarly vying for a discrete group of consistently progressive voters. This ubiquitous narrative is contradicted byresearch undertaken by political scientistsand by voters second choices in the polls. Among Biden supporters in the Morning Consult poll, for example, 26 percent cite Bernie Sanders as their second choice, 19 percent name Elizabeth Warren and only 12 percent say its Pete Buttigieg, who is frequently said to be the moderate alternative to Biden.

On average, primary voters arent very ideological. They select candidates based on all sorts of criteriacharisma, experience, oratory skills, perceived electability, etc.

But theres a caveat: the fact that theres so much lane-based analysis may signal to voters that a candidate is or isnt aligned with their political identity. (Also,Nate Silver arguesthe lanes are real when you account for ideology along [with] other dimensions.)

Most voters arent persuaded by policy (with a big caveat)

Studies find that a small share of the electorate base their votes primarily on whether a candidate agrees with them on a few hot-button issues likeabortionandguns. And there issome evidencethat marijuana legalization boosts turnout among younger voters andmay discourage third-party votingwhen its embraced by a Democratic candidate.

Buta growing body of researchsuggests that most voters align themselves with a candidate (or a faction or party), and then work backwards to support that candidates policy proposals.

But here, again, we have to acknowledge that the way the media covers an issue also shapes how voters perceive it, and possibly how they think about candidates who support or oppose it. (I will write more about this issue soon in relation to Medicare for All.)

Most polling of demographic subgroups is misleading

You might hear that Mayor Pete Buttigieg is polling at zero percent with African-Americans, for example, or that voters over age 65 in South Carolina hold this or that opinion. Keep in mind that in most polls, these results are based on small sub-samples from a larger survey and as a result, tend to have a lot of room for error.

Speaking of Buttigieg

Last month, when Pete Buttigieg was in fourth place in New Hampshire,I arguedthat despite enjoying a flurry of favorable media coverage, the South Bend, Indiana mayor had not yet broken into the top tier of candidates. Now that hes leading in both Iowa and New Hampshire, its probably safe to say that he has.

But Buttigieg still differs from the other top candidates in one important way: According toMorning Consult, more than a third of Democratic primary voters have either never heard of the guy (18 percent) or dont yet know enough about him to have formed an opinion (18 percent).

That means he has room to grow, but it also means that as more voters get to know him better he could prove to be a flash in the pan. How he does in the first two contests relative to his polling, and the results of South Carolina and Nevadathe other, more diverse February stateswill probably go further toward determining which how his candidacy proceeds than it might with a more established figure.

Electability is only ever clear in hindsight

Back in June,I arguedthat 2020 will be first and foremost a battle over Donald Trump and the political movement he has inspired. Polls show that both parties basesare fired up to a degree thats unprecedentedin the modern era.

The Democratic coalition is bigger, and Republicans know that.So while the quality of the Dems nominee matters at least at the margins, the outcome will probably come down to whether the backlash against Trump that led to Democratic wins in the off-year elections of 2017, 2018 and 2019 can overcome an enormous amount of voter suppression, targeted disinformation and other measures to curb turnout among Trumps opposition.

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then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism and were investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnstons DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. Weve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. Weve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You wont find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

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Here are 9 things you absolutely need to know about the 2020 Democratic primary race - Raw Story

Al Sharpton credited Sen. Kamala Harris for her criticism of Mayor Pete Buttigiegs claim that he can better understand black Americans because he is gay.

Buttigieg, 37, has struggled to earn support from black voters in key early states like South Carolina during his presidential campaign. He has argued, however, that his sexuality helped him to understand the feeling of oppression often felt by black Americans because gay men have not always had equal rights either.

While I do not have the experience of ever having been discriminated against because of the color of my skin, I do have the experience of sometimes feeling like a stranger in my own country, turning on the news and seeing my own rights come up for debate, and seeing my rights expanded by a coalition of people like me and people not at all like me, Buttigieg said during the CNN debate earlier this month.

[Related: 'A modern-day Pharisee': Buttigieg's evangelical brother-in-law urges him to 'repent' of abortion views]

That argument has been destroyed by many prominent black Americans, including his 2020 Democratic competitor Harris. After the debate, she told CNN, What he did on the stage, its just not productive, and I think its a bit naive.

Sharpton, a racial activist and MSNBC host, commended Harriss response, telling the Washington Post this week, I think Kamala had a point, and I understood what she was saying. He said he appreciates the effort Buttigieg is making in the black community and admitted that he is evolving, but said the South Bend, Indiana, mayor still has a long way to go.

Do I think hes where he needs to be? No, Sharpton said.

Earlier this week, Buttigieg was called a lying motherf---er by the Root columnist Michael Harriot after video from the mayors 2011 campaign resurfaced showing him questioning whether poor children have parents who value education. Buttigieg called Harriot afterwards to hear him out and discuss how he can work to improve his image among black voters.

The South Bend mayor has climbed in the polls recently, even taking the lead in Iowa. Harris, 55, has struggled to climb above 4% in the polls. The RealClearPolitics polling average has her at just 3.8% support, while Buttigieg sits at 11% support.

Sharpton, 65, became a public figure during the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He claimed that the black teenaged girl had been kidnapped and raped by a gang of white men. Without evidence, he alleged that assistant district attorney in Dutchess County, Steven Pagones, was in this gang. A court cleared Pagones of the charges, and he eventually won a defamation lawsuit against Sharpton in 1998, who was ordered to pay $65,000 in damages.

He has since become a highly divisive figure with many on the right saying he is a race-baiter and many on the left singing his praises, including Harris who claimed Sharpton had "spent his life fighting for what's right and working to improve our nation, even in the face of hate."

Originally posted here:
'Kamala had a point': Al Sharpton rejects Buttigieg claim that being gay is like being black - Washington Examiner

Appearing as a guest on Morning Joe Wednesday, liberal Rev. Jim Wallis discussed his book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus. Not surprisingly, it did not take long for Wallis to begin trashing President Trump and white evangelical Christians. Another member of the panel, the incendiary Al Sharpton, accused white evangelicals of submitting to white nationalism and to Trump, a point that Wallis seemed to agree with.

After mentioning that Lincoln said our leaders should appeal to our better angels, Wallis contrasted him with President Trump, whom he described as appealsto our worst demons. Wallis recycled a phrase coined by absent host Joe Scarborough as he made the case that Trumps policies, words, and practices are antithetical to Jesus. According to Wallis, the policies, words, and practices of the President include white nationalism, abuse and harassment of women, and the dehumanization of immigrants.

Walliss commentary surely came as music to the ears of the anti-Trump panel. Guest host Willie Geist asked Wallis what do you say to those (evangelicals) who stay at the side of Donald Trump through all of it? Wallis instead elected to go on a tirade accusing white evangelicals of racism: this population, white evangelicals, is the most resistant to a multiracial future...when the operative phrase in white evangelical isnt evangelical but white, we have a problem...Is racial bigotry a deal-breaker for the gospel when it isnt for white evangelicals?

PoliticsNation host Rev. Al Sharpton also participated in the discussion and seemed to agree with Walliss characterization of white evangelicals as racist, claiming that most of the evangelical leaders have submitted to white nationalism and to Trump. Wallis also made the ridiculous claim that if Jesus were here today, hed be celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement, apparently forgetting that BLM activists have chanted phrases such as What do we want? Dead cops! and pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon. Those phrases do not exactly epitomize Christian behavior.

In addition to portraying Jesus Christ as a Black Lives Matter sympathizer, Wallis surmised that he would be furiously defending the planet from global warming. Strangely, Wallis had stressed that our faith and values should shape our politics and not the other way around just moments earlier. Yet, Wallis decided to ignore his own rule of thumb in an effort to paint Jesus as a left-wing activist.

Morning Joes embrace of Wallis should not come as that much of a surprise since they love to roll out the red carpet for self-proclaimed Christians with contempt for evangelicals who supported Trump. The MSNBC morning program has brought on New York Times contributing opinion writer and self-described evangelical Peter Wehner multiple times to trash Trump-supporting evangelicals for selling their soul for judges and claim theyve degraded themselves and the movement so badly.

As the conversation came to a close, Wallis reiterated the importance of not wrapping our ideology and politics around our faith. It looks like he has no intention to practice what he preaches anytime soon.

A transcript of the relevant portion of Wednesdays edition of Morning Joe is below. Click expand to read more.

Morning Joe

11/27/19

08:51 AM

WILLIE GEIST: Our next guest says we are in a moment of great moral, political, and constitutional crisis; which largely stems from how weve become disconnected from the teachings of Christ. Joining us now, best-selling author and founder of Sojourners, Jim Wallis. His new book is out now entitled Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus. Mike Barnicle, Karine Jean-Pierre, and Reverend Al Sharpton with us as well. Jim, good morning. Good to see you.

JIM WALLIS: Good morning.

GEIST: Many questions for you, but I want to start with your thesis that Christ is in crisis. How so?

WALLIS: Well, the crisis as you all have been talking about every day is political, constitutional, its also a moral crisis, and I think a spiritual one. Lincoln said our leaders should appeal to our better angels, but we have a leader who appeals to our worst demons, and those demons go very deep. So, my evangelical tradition, in crisis, you go back to Jesus. So, Im saying we have to go back to who Jesus was and what he said, and I wouldJoe often says on this show, what do you do when policies, words, and practices are antithetical to Jesus? Which is happening now all the time. So, I have to say, to be blunt and maybe irreverent, white nationalism is not just racist, its antichrist. To demonize, dehumanize immigrants, it isnt just lack of compassion, its antichrist. To mistreat women, abuse, harassment. This is not just sexist, its antichrist. So, we have to name this for what it is. And so, Im trying to say, lets look at what Jesus asked us, and his questions, maybe the most important one is who is my neighbor? That may be the most important question in this political seasonwho is my neighbor? Because the one that Jesus says is our neighbor is the one whos being targeted by this administration. So, to me, these are faith issues and not just political ones.

GEIST: You write about something in the book weve talked about a lot on this show

WALLIS: Yeah.

GEIST: and its, which is the sustained support from evangelicals for President Trump, through everything, through Stormy Daniels, through the separation of families at the border, through all of it. Evangelical support has remained relatively strong. To some people, that exposes a hypocrisy that puts politics before faith andand teachings of the bible and morality and everything else. What do you say to those who stay at the side of Donald Trump through all of it?

WALLIS: Heres a radical ideaour faith and values should shape our politics and not the other way around. And Jesus has somehow survived all of us Christians. So, the interest in this brown-skin rabbi who was born in Palestinian territory, what hes saying and doing, the interest is way outside the church. Theres a whole lot of young people saying what did he say? What did he do? The poll that is the most shameful and damaging for white evangelicals says, this population, white evangelicals, is the most resistant to a multiracial future. Thats a devastating poll. So, here is the questionwhen the operative phrase in white evangelical isnt evangelical, but white, we have a problem. So, weve got to get to that. Is the gospel clear here? Is racial bigotry a deal-breaker for the gospel, when it isnt for white evangelicals? Thats something weve got to deal with.

AL SHARPTON: One of the things that intrigues me about reading your new book, andand the best-seller youve already written is you are very active. Youre not just one of these guys that writes books orand even though you are a theologian, and youre active in it. What has happened to the activism of white Christian progressives we dont see? I mean, you are out there with Sojourners, but you dont see a lot of people that we did see when I was a kid growing up in Operation Breadbasketyou see a lot of the white ministers out there. And youre out there sometimes with just a few leaders, good following, but just a few leaders, where most of the evangelical leaders have submitted to white nationalism and to Trump.

WALLIS: This is an opportunity. Crisis is a danger; danger for the most marginalized. Its also an opportunity. What if, indeed, this brought us back to what Jesus said and did? So, I am encouraged out there about what I see happening around the country. There are pastors, there areI mean, ifif Jesus were here today, hed be celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement. He would be standing alongside our neighbors, especially who are immigrants and refugees. He would be furiously defending the planet from global warming. So, I want to see us go back, what the evangelicals say, go back to Jesus. So, the word evangelical is interesting. To call yourself one today is tough these days, but Jesus defined it in Nazareth, his first sermon, his Nazareth manifesto. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, he says, because hes anointed me to bring good news to the poor. And the word for good news there is evangel. So, if it our gospel isnt good news of the poor, it simply isnt the gospel of Jesus Christ, period.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Jim, II dont think you have enough time to answer the question Im about to ask is how do we get out of this moral crisis? You talkedyou started off the conversation talking about that; especially in a time where were in a country where its incredibly divided. You have

WALLIS: Yeah.

JEAN-PIERRE: a President, as we mentioned, as you mentioned, who is dividing us with hate and, you know, bigotry and racism and xenophobia. How do you get out of this moral crisis? What do we need to be doing?

WALLIS: I think weve got to not just go left and right but go deeper. How do we go deeper here? And this crisis makes an opportunity for that. So, Ive talked aboutIve wrestled with Jesus questions here. Who is our neighbor? And its clear in the good Samaritan parable, our neighbor is the one whos different than us. Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian, says youve got to go outside your path to find your neighbor. So, in this season coming up, until we find our neighbors again, were in serious trouble. If we do that, though, and askhe says, What is the truth? The problem isnt just all the lies you always talk about here. Hes saying there is no truth. Wash your hands. Fake memedia. Jesus says, youll know the truth. The truth will set you free. Fear. Be not afraid, Jesus says, eight times. Well, theyre running on fear. Theyre running against the immigrant, running against our neighbor. So, I think this could bring us back to what Jesus said and did. So, maybe America needs a reintroduction to the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. Im hoping that goes deeper and can bring somepolitics by itself, even an election by itself, as you know so well, isnt going to heal this nation. So, how do we go back to something that can bring us together again?

BARNICLE: So, the reintroduction of Jesus into the politics of this country or into the country itself, how is it going to happen? If you look at the field now, there are several people in the race for President of the United States who are people of deep faith.

WALLIS: Mm-hmm.

BARNICLE: II know that Vice President Biden carries a rosary with him every single day in his pocket, okay? And yet, you listen to not just Joe Biden, but most of the candidates on the stump, they never, ever mention God and faith. What is up with that?

WALLIS: You know, the narrative on religion in politics has been bad for a long time, where Republicans claim to own religion

BARNICLE: Yeah.

WALLIS: Own God. And Democrats, interesting. The base of the Democratic Party is African-American women. So, the base is the most religious population

SHARPTON: Thats right.

WALLIS: in the country. Yet, Democrats are reluctant to talk about faith, which is ironic.

JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

WALLIS: The good news is I know some of these candidates, and they aresome of their bibles are underlined. They want to talk about faith. Were having some conversations about faith. But I want the Democrats not to create a religious left, like Republicans have created a religious right; wrapping our ideology and politics around our faith. Faith should hold us accountable. For example, in the book, the last test of discipleship is when Jesus talks about the least of these. Were to be tested by how we treat the least of these. Jesus didnt say, well, I was going to talk about the hungry and thirsty and naked and strangerstranger is e the immigrant of course, but Im afraid that will be politically divisive. So, I dont want to talk about that. No, he said, I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was naked, I was sick, I was a stranger, I was in purpose. As you did to the least of these, you have done to me. That text, how we treat the least of these, holds all parties accountable.

GEIST: This ought to be mandatory reading for all the candidates and the President of the United States, I might add, too. The new book is Christ in Crisis. Jim Wallis calls it a spiritual field guide.

Originally posted here:
Wallis, Sharpton Accuse Evangelicals of 'Submitting to White Nationalism' - NewsBusters

If only he were still here. If only she had answers.

This Monday, Nov. 25, marked the 13th anniversary of Sean Bells death at the hands of police. With anti-police brutality activism more visible via online advocates, Bells death reminds people of a time when the internet didnt have as much of an impact on these events.

But for Nicole Paultre-Bell, former fiance of Sean Bell, it just reminds her of a time of pain.

Thirteen years after Seans death the pain hasnt subsided and Im still seeking solace following so many unanswered questions about a criminal justice system that failed our daughters and took away their father, said Bell in a statement. With the negligence, the assault, the civil rights violations, and the egregious misconduct all pointing to guilt, the police officers are still acquitted.

Bell and a few friends were leaving a strip club in Queens as part of his bachelor party. Members of the New York Police Department fired 50 shots in total with fewer than half of them hitting their intended targets. Bell was struck in the neck and arm and was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital. His friend, Joseph Guzman, was left in critical condition after being hit 11 times and another friend, Tent Benefield, arrived in stable condition.

The latter two were shackled to their beds by police drawing outcry from activists. None of the three men had a weapon despite police reporting that they heard one of the three men mention a gun.

National Action Network President the Rev. Al Sharpton said that it was another death in a long line of deaths where police fatally shot an unarmed Black person.

When Sean Bell lost his life 13 years ago at the hands of New York City police officers, we organized and marched to fight for justice for his widow and family, said Sharpton in a statement. We held massive protests outside police headquarters and stopped traffic from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Triborough Bridge. It was a tragedy for yet another family to bury a young man whose life was cut short by those hired to protect and serve him.

Police were staking out the strip club due to allegations of drug dealing and prostitution. An undercover officer called out to other officers staking out the place telling them to get ready for a possible encounter. The officer thought one of the men mentioned a gun. Then police commissioner Ray Kelly said that Bells car went in reverse when an officer approached the front of the car. The car then hit a police minivan and drove onto the sidewalk when the shooting commenced. All of the officers involved in the shooting were acquitted.

Our young Black men continue to be targeted by this broken criminal justice system across the country at a disproportionate rate, said Sharpton. NAN will continue to fight for young Black and Brown men whose contact with law enforcement too often leads to death, whether theyve committed a crime or not.

Despite the anti-police brutality fight, many Black men and women continue to meet their deaths via police encounters. Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Sandra Bland and others have become household names for all of the wrong reasons. Bell said that shell continue to push back against police violence no matter how long the road and how bleak the outlook.

Since Seans death, there has been some effort on changing criminal justice policies, but Seans story keeps repeating itself, and the results are the samepolice officers were cleared of negligence and sometimes murder, said Bell. I will continue to fight for a society where officers of the law can be trusted and I have joined a transition team that believes in this fight for criminal justice reform for the incoming Queens D.A. Melinda Katz because I believe she will push for criminal justice reform NOW.

See more here:
Sean Bell died at the hands of police 13 years ago - Amsterdam News