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When the leaders of the Black Lives Matter Seacoast chapter saw Seacoastonlines 10 to Watch 2020 list, they quickly noticed that the 10 winners all had something in common: They all apparently were white.

New Hampshires coastal region and the bordering areas of Massachusetts and Maine are predominantly white, but the leaders of the chapter knew that people of all backgrounds in the Seacoast community also deserved to be recognized for what they do.

So, they decided to hold their own event.

Called BIPOC Seacoast Leaders Celebration, the event will recognize 10 Seacoast residents who identify as Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and who are contributing positively to the community.

We recognize that there are so many people of color in the Seacoast area who are making history today, and theyre doing it without being recognized or seen, said Julian Maduro, a University of New Hampshire student who has been organizing the event in her role as BLM Seacoasts event manager.

The event will be held virtually at the end of February to coincide with Black History Month. Nominations can be submitted through a form on the chapters website until Sunday, Feb. 7.

The criteria to nominate someone are purposely broad, Maduro explained. The form simply asks how the person has benefited the Seacoast community. Nominees can also be of all ages, from 14 years old to senior citizens, unlike other awards that are limited to just young professionals.

Theres nothing that could prohibit someone from nominating someone, Maduro said. We want artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, business owners, inventors, athletes anybody who is benefiting the Seacoast in some way.

While the event will only feature 10 nominees chosen by BLM Seacoast, the organization hopes to recognize other candidates as well, according to the website.

BLM Seacoast has been organizing events in the community since it was founded last summer in the weeks following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by Clifton West Jr. and Tanisha Johnson, two Seacoast residents who met online while looking to start a BLM chapter on the Seacoast.

There were established chapters nearby in Manchester and Nashua, but West and Johnson saw the need for a chapter in their own community. The fact that the Black community on the Seacoast is small was part of their motivation.

Here, people feel so alone. It really drives me to keep going, West, now BLM Seacoasts executive director, told Fosters Daily Democrat last year.

Since last summer, BLM Seacoast has been holding meetings, events, and fundraisers mostly virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its been a mostly positive experience so far, though not without some challenges from some members of the community.

Obviously, with any BLM organization, youre going to be met with a bit of backlash, which is honestly understandable, Maduro said. Its new for people and its new for the community, and people arent necessarily sure what we represent.

The chapter hopes events like the BIPOC Seacoast Leaders Celebration will continue to further its goals of supporting the Black community, promoting Black-owned businesses, nurturing Black youth leadership, and demanding social justice, while continuing to build its presence in the community.

This is an event that is being done with a lot of love, Maduro said. Its love for the community and love for the people that are working hard to make it great.

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Excerpt from:
This Black Lives Matter chapter wants to recognize people benefiting the Seacoast. Heres why. - Boston.com

SEATTLE (AP) The city of Seattle has been ordered to pay nearly $82,000 to attorneys for Black Lives Matter to cover their fees and costs in pursuing contempt-of-court violations against the Seattle Police Department.

The contempt violations were for the improper use of pepper spray and blast balls by police against peaceful protesters after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, The Seattle Times reported.

The amount by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ordered was much less than the nearly $264,000 in fees and costs sought by lawyers for BLM-Seattle and King County after Jones found police had violated his injunction prohibiting unnecessary force.

Jones did not place coercive sanctions against the city, sought by BLM, which would have required Seattle officers to provide BLM with use-of-force reports within days of every incident in which an officer uses force against a protester. The judge found those kinds of sanctions were not appropriate in this case.

The judge also rejected the citys efforts to have him reconsider his contempt finding.

We are pleased that the Court rejected the Citys misguided attempt to reverse the Courts contempt finding, and that the Court issued sanctions against the City, said David Perez, one of the lawyers representing Black Lives Matter. Our goal is to ensure greater safety for protesters through compliance with the Courts orders, and this decision will help in that regard.

Read the original here:
Seattle ordered to pay $82K to Black Lives Matter lawyers - Associated Press

SEATTLE The city of Seattle has been ordered to pay nearly $82,000 to attorneys for Black Lives Matter to cover their fees and costs in pursuing contempt-of-court violations against the Seattle Police Department.

The contempt violations were for the improper use of pepper spray and blast balls by police against peaceful protesters after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, The Seattle Times reported.

The amount by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ordered was much less than the nearly $264,000 in fees and costs sought by lawyers for BLM-Seattle and King County after Jones found police had violated his injunction prohibiting unnecessary force.

Jones did not place coercive sanctions against the city, sought by BLM, which would have required Seattle officers to provide BLM with use-of-force reports within days of every incident in which an officer uses force against a protester. The judge found those kinds of sanctions were not appropriate in this case.

The judge also rejected the citys efforts to have him reconsider his contempt finding.

We are pleased that the Court rejected the Citys misguided attempt to reverse the Courts contempt finding, and that the Court issued sanctions against the City, said David Perez, one of the lawyers representing Black Lives Matter. Our goal is to ensure greater safety for protesters through compliance with the Courts orders, and this decision will help in that regard.

The Associated Press

Excerpt from:
City of Seattle ordered to pay $82K to Black Lives Matter lawyers - OregonLive

We can always count on Jason Whitlock to make a statement that will cause some type of conversation! According to The Blaze, in an interview with Fox News Tucker Carlson, Whitlock stated that he likens the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan and says that BLM is a Marxist organization.

During the conversation between the two conservative pundits, Carlson asked Whitlock what he compares Black Lives Matter to and was met with this statement.

Well, I compare Black Lives Matter to the KKK. I really do, Whitlock replied. And some people dont understand it, but if you go back to the 1860s, after the Emancipation Proclamation, the KKK was started, and it was the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party. And whats the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party right now? Black Lives Matter and Antifa. They will come to your home and violate your home, try to intimidate the people in your home if they disagree with you politically.

He then says, Black Lives Matter [is] a Marxist organization. Marxism is hostile toward religion; thats why Im glad you went there today. These are atheist values being expressed from our leaders, demonizing individual citizens here in America, branding them as white supremacists because we disagree with their opinion about something.

Jason Whitlock to Tucker: I compare Black Lives Matter to the KKK you go back to the 1860s after the Emancipation Proclamation the KKK was started, it was the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party. Whats the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party right now? BLM & antifa! pic.twitter.com/29soKBlhYA

Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 21, 2021

Whitlock doubled down on his statement when he followed up and stated this:

Its my belief that the KKK and BLM share the same intent. They use race, intimidation, violence, and property destruction to achieve political goals on behalf of the Democratic Party.

Cultural changes and technological advances explain the difference in tactics between the KKK of old and its modern-day successor, BLM. Burning buildings have replaced burning crosses. Social media lynch mobs destroy a persons character, strike fear, and silence dissent.

Heres my response to people who dont understand my BLM-KKK analogy. https://t.co/aC7tHUkFH4

Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) January 22, 2021

See more here:
Jason Whitlock Doubles Down On Comparing BLM to the KKK - Black Enterprise

John Raphling, a senior researcher on the criminal legal system at Human Rights Watch, discusses the effects that the Black Lives Matter Movement and George Gascon's election are having on criminal justice in Los Angeles...

Every Wednesday afternoon for years, Black Lives Matter activists and their partners chanted a simple demand outside the Los Angeles County Hall of Justice: Jackie Lacey Must Go! Elected in 2012, District Attorney Lacey presided over the largest prosecutorial office in the United States. These protests and the frustrations that fueled them helped propel George Gascons election as District Attorney in November.

The most prominent complaint about Lacey was her failure to prosecute police officers, even though they killed hundreds of people under her jurisdiction. Among them was Brendon Glenn, an unarmed Black man, shot twice in the back by an LAPD officer. Citing the surveillance video that captured Glenns May 2015 killing, then-Police Chief Charlie Beck and the Police Commission recommended prosecuting the officer. Lacey delayed a decision, then in March 2018 declined to file charges.

Beyond failing to hold police accountable, Lacey, choosing to use a variety of excessively harsh sentencing laws, maintained high incarceration rates in Los Angeles County, primarily affecting Black and Latino communities. These laws included sentencing enhancements with little deterrent effect, rules allowing children to be tried as adults, and the notorious Three Strikes law. Los Angeles County, under her leadership, has also been among the nations leaders in death sentences.

The Black Lives Matter protests revealed widespread discontent with Laceys punitive policies toward the community and her protectiveness toward police. They grew from a few dozen people to thousands demonstrating this summer as the police killing of George Floyd focused the nations attention on racial injustice in the criminal legal system. Former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon capitalized on that discontent to challenge Lacey, openly campaigning as a reformer who would reverse policies that historically increased incarceration. Los Angeles voters decisively approved his candidacy, despite opposition from police and their unions.

Understanding the debt he owes to progressive organizers who opposed Lacey, Gascon immediately initiated his agenda to reduce the punishment state and hold law enforcement accountable. Gascon is reconsidering Laceys decisions not to file charges in killings by police officers, including the case of Brendon Glenn. It remains to be seen if he will take meaningful action to limit police impunity, but reviewing these cases is a necessary first step.

Gascon will not seek death in any case and will not try children in adult courts. His policy states that he will no longer pursue sentencing enhancements that add prison time based on allegations of gang association. He will no longer pursue other enhancements based on prior offenses, including five-year enhancements and Three Strikes enhancements. He has ordered his deputies to withdraw enhancements in previously filed cases.

These policy changes will most likely have substantial impact. Sentencing enhancements make the consequences of cases so extreme that accused people quickly plead guilty regardless of actual guilt for fear of lengthy sentences if they contest the charges. Lengthy sentences contribute to prison over-crowding and punish people out of proportion to the crime. People serving these extreme sentences languish in prison long after they are no longer at risk of future crime, warehoused with no hope for the future. Gascons policies will begin to limit that harm.

He announced policies limiting prosecutions of misdemeanor cases related to poverty and mental health, like trespassing and prostitution. He instructed his deputies not to request money bail and to only seek pretrial detention in narrowly limited categories of cases. This policy does not end money bail, as judges may still impose it on their own, but it will result in more people being released while awaiting trial, thus supporting the presumption of innocence.

Many prosecutors and judges, steeped in harshly punitive approaches, are unhappy. Some are resisting implementing his policies. Some judges reportedly are refusing to dismiss enhancements, while line deputies are signaling their opposition in court. Removing the enhancements or releasing people from pretrial incarceration means prosecutors and judges hold less leverage to extract guilty pleas, causing courts to proceed more slowly and allowing people to contest their charges.

The criminal legal system has prioritized punishment over rehabilitation for decades, even as crime rates declined drastically. In recent years, people are realizing that public safety depends on investments in communities, including in improving access to health, education, housing, and job opportunities, not policing, prosecution, and punishment. Gascons election reflects that shift. His first policy initiatives honor the will of those who elected him and could serve as models for further reforms across the state and country.

John Raphling is a California-based senior researcher on the criminal legal system at Human Rights Watch.

Suggested citation: John Raphling, Where Black Lives Matter Made Their Voices Heard, JURIST Academic Commentary, January 29, 2021, https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2021/01/john-raphling-blm-la-county-da-office/.

This article was prepared for publication by Tim Zubizarreta, JURISTs Managing Editor. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org.

Opinions expressed in JURIST Commentary are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, donors or the University of Pittsburgh.

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Where Black Lives Matter Made Their Voices Heard - JURIST