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2020 was a challenging year for many city leaders including Lansing Mayor Andy Schor.

The coronavirus pandemic, a storming of the state Capitol and a summer of protests against racial inequity and police brutality.

In the first month of the new year, WKARs Sophia Saliby spoke with Schor to reflect and look forward.

WKAR's Sophia Saliby interviews Lansing Mayor Andy Schor about the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 protests against police brutality and systemic injustice.

Interview Highlights

On What The City Is Doing To Promote Racial Equity And Justice

We're doing our economic development with equity. We're working in neighborhoods of focus, so to make sure that, again, formerly redlined areas are going to receive the assistance they need. So, we're doing a lot of work on racial justice [and] on equity. Again, working with folks in the NAACP, working with folks in the clergy, working with a variety of different groups and taking input. And we've just had an incredible group of folks who've been helping out resources, and we'll have an action plan, I believe, in a few months, but we're taking steps even before that, and then we'll take further steps.

On If Theres Anything He Did During Last Summers Protests He Wished He Did Differently

I got caught off guard in a call. And I was expecting to be listening to the community, and it turned out there were questions asked to me that I wasn't prepared for. So, at the time, I admitted that I was unprepared for those questions. But, again, I'm going to listen and I'm going to take action as I can as mayor.

On Some COVID-Safe Activities The City Might Host In The Near Future

Moving forward, we'll be doing, again, more unique activities. We're looking at, you know, a winter poster contest and snowman builds and sledding and using our River Trail more [and] potentially ice skating, so COVID-friendly activities that allow people to get out of the house but stay safe.

Interview Transcript

Sophia Saliby: This is All Things Considered on WKAR. Im Sophia Saliby.

2020 was a challenging year for many city leaders including Lansing Mayor Andy Schor. The coronavirus pandemic, a storming of the state Capitol and a summer of protests against racial inequity and police brutality.

In the first month of the new year, he joins me now to reflect and look forward. Mayor Schor, thank you for being here.

Mayor Andy Schor:Thanks for having me, Sophia.

Saliby: We are almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Is there anything you would have done differently to keep Lansing residents safe? And do you expect to do anything new to help get people vaccinated?

Schor: You know, things were progressing almost, you know, day by day. You know, there were times when we were told not to recommend masks and then we went right into recommending masks. You know, we shut down everything pretty quickly in mid-March, as soon as we heard that there were cases in Michigan, and we were concerned about having all of our employees in one place. You know, I'm very much trying to remove silos and get departments to work together, but, you know, when you have coronavirus, now, one person could infect all of our departments. So, we shut things down at City Hall [and] pushed people remotely.

I'm sure there are things that I would have done differently, in retrospect, but I am pretty confident that we did the right things in terms of moving people remotely and then getting people back to work at the right time to make sure that services are provided.

So, you know, I'm sure there are things that I would have done differently, in retrospect, but I am pretty confident that we did the right things in terms of moving people remotely and then getting people back to work at the right time to make sure that services are provided [like] ensuring that our police officers were safe, and our EMS were safe. You know, we took our inspectors out of the field for a while because we didn't want them to get COVID and then we put them back when it was safe.

We have increased a number of activities that will help out people. We closed our community centers, so we couldn't have classes and things through our Parks and Rec, but we added a drive-thru Halloween. We had a drive-thru senior fair, and you know, we're working on a whole variety of COVID-safe activities. So, it was certainly a learn as you go, but we did quite a bit.

We kept our homeless community safe by opening one of our community centers for the unsheltered and then we put more money into the unsheltered community.

Moving forward, we'll be doing, again, more unique activities. We're looking at, you know, a winter poster contest and snowman builds and sledding and using our River Trail more [and] potentially ice skating, so COVID-friendly activities that allow people to get out of the house but stay safe.

Saliby: Last summer, Lansing saw protests against police brutality as part of a national movement following the police killing of George Floyd. You faced calls to resign by some Black Lives Matter activists. What concretely have you done to repair trust with the city's people of color, especially Black Lansing residents?

Schor: I've had conversations with many Black residents, with many Latino residents [and] with many residents of the different minority communities in Lansing. We took some steps initially with policing. Chief Daryl Green, in essence, eliminated what are called, pretextual traffic stops, so traffic stops for broken taillights and things like that, where traditionally, it's a higher number of Black residents that are pulled over for things like that. So, we made some changes. Our police took an oath that if they were to see anyone else commit police brutality, they would take action against even their fellow officer. So, he's made several policy changes through the police department.

But even more importantly, we initiated a Racial Justice and Equity Action Plan which culminated in our Racial Justice and Equity Alliance, which has a significant number of leaders in the Black community and then in other communities that are putting together a plan for us moving forward. We're doing an internal scan of city government, and we're doing an external scan of the city. We are having Michigan Public Health Institute assist, and Teresa Bingman is quarterbacking this for us. [She's a] consultant who's done this in other areas. So, we've taken several steps. They continue to meet.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: New Group Will Address Systemic Injustice And Police Reform In Lansing

We've got workgroups on everything from economic development, to arts, to other things that [they] are exploring, and they're going to put together recommendations. Additionally, our small business activities, we have inserted issues of equity, making sure that those who have not been able to get resources in the past are better able to get those resources by assisting.

We've just had an incredible group of folks who've been helping out resources, and we'll have an action plan, I believe, in a few months.

So, we're doing our economic development with equity. We're working in neighborhoods of focus, so to make sure that, again, formerly redlined areas are going to receive the assistance they need. So, we're doing a lot of work on racial justice [and] on equity. Again, working with folks in the NAACP, working with folks in the clergy, working with a variety of different groups and taking input. And we've just had an incredible group of folks who've been helping out resources, and we'll have an action plan, I believe, in a few months, but we're taking steps even before that, and then we'll take further steps.

Oh, we also created the city's first Diversity Officer. Guadalupe Ayala is our first Diversity Officer. She's doing a lot of hard work. We've got trainings. We've done implicit bias training, and I issued an executive order to ensure that everyone is being trained and that we are working with national organizations. So, we're doing a lot of work on that in the area of racial justice and equity. And, you know, I'm proud of the work and that will continue as long as I'm mayor.

Saliby: In hindsight, is there any moment during the summer protests that you wish you would have handled differently?

Schor: You know, just, I got caught off guard in a call. And I was expecting to be listening to the community, and it turned out there were questions asked to me that I wasn't prepared for. So, at the time, I admitted that I was unprepared for those questions. But, again, I'm going to listen and I'm going to take action as I can as mayor.

RELATED: Black Lives Matter Directs Ire At Mayor, On Third Day Of Capitol Protests

Saliby: The city is also facing a wrongful death suit following the death of a man named Anthony Hulon in police custody last April. The Lansing State Journal reported those police officers involved are back on duty after an initial review, but the Attorney General's office is still investigating the case. Should those officers still be on the job?

Schor: You know, that's the Chief's decision on staffing. My understanding is they were put on administrative leave. It was sent to the Attorney General's office for criminal investigation, so, we're still waiting to hear back.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Lansing PD Sued For Wrongful Death Of Man In Its Custody

You know, he's got limited staffing, so he will put those officers in a position where they can be used because of limited correction staffing at the jail. So, that is a staffing decision that the Police Chief is allowed to make. And as soon as the jail death was, as soon as we heard about it, it was sent immediately on to the Attorney General's Office for criminal investigation, which is the right thing to do.

If there were criminal activities, then the Attorney General will take action. And then after that, after we hear from the Attorney General, we'll do whatever internal review we need to do.

Saliby: You will deliver your State of the City address in the next month. What do you think your priorities are for Lansing in 2021?

Schor: Well, continuing to navigate the COVID crisis, for certain, making sure that we can get vaccinations out in conjunction with the county health department, with the federal government, making sure that people are staying safe and yet have activities that will certainly be important. Continuing the racial justice and equity work. Growing our city, you know, we have to continue to do what we normally do.

We had to cut $12.5 million last year in just three months. And you know, we could be looking at a budget that is similar to last year

You know, we also have an economic crisis where our budget is a lot less than it has been because we're seeing less in income tax and fees and things like that. So, we have to navigate that as well. We had to cut $12.5 million last year in just three months. And you know, we could be looking at a budget that is similar to last year. So, we're going to keep an eye on what the federal government's doing, but the budget will be an important piece of what's coming in the next year and what we work on the next few months.

Saliby: Lansing will see a mayoral election this year. You have not formally announced a reelection campaign, but do you plan to run again?

Schor: We'll have an announcement on that pretty soon. You know, I'd like to get through the State of the City and govern for as long as I can before we insert politics into anything.

Saliby: Andy Schor is Lansing's mayor. Thank you for joining me.

Schor: Thank you, Sophia.

This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Excerpt from:
Lansing Mayor Reflects On 2020, COVID-19 Pandemic And Black Lives Matter Protests - WKAR

Calling all visual artists for the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authoritys (EDDDA) Art of Courage: Black Lives Matter 360 Exhibition, to be held February 8, 2021 February 8, 2022, to be held virtually, as well as in the Connector at City Hall Artspace and outside on the adjacent public grounds of City Hall Park in Downtown Dearborn, MI.

Throughout history artists have been compelled to reveal and challenge the social conflicts that existed during their lifetimes which have left indelible impressions of change and progress. Art of Courage: Black Lives Matter 360 Exhibition continues that tradition by inviting artists to lend their visual voices to the issue of police violence and racial injustice and unrest in African American communities across the nation that has been sparked by the Black Lives Matter Movement.

This exhibition is one of a series of events developed by the EDDDA to address the broad impact of systemic racism in cities such as Dearborn where African Americans are not the majority population. It will comprise works from a variety of visual art mediums, in addition to educational programs, a series of artists talks and lectures.

EDDDA Board Chairperson Julia Kapilango remarks, I enjoy seeing artists of all mediums teaming up to produce such innovative and transformational experiences that match what our nation is feeling and thinking. I am grateful for our boards support and leadership.

Non-refundable $15 fee to Rozenia Johnson via CashApp at $Sonofu, or via Square Reader

Brief bio with up to eight (8) samples of work in a PNG format at min. 600 dpi with title, size, medium, date, and description

Short 15 30 sec. video clip noting Artist name, title of works, size, medium, date, and description of works

Works must be ready to install, accompanied with all necessary hanging mechanisms, special instructions, securely packed and delivered on site by Saturday, January 30, 2021. Artists must assist with the installation of their outdoor public artworks. Drilling into the ground will not be permitted.

Send submission and direct questions to Rozenia Johnson, Curator of Art and Exhibitions, MDUBA Associates, at rozeniajmduba@gmail.com 313.405.3044.

The Connector at City Hall Artspace and City Hall Park is located at 13615 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI. Learn more about this project and other programs and activities happening in the Downtown Dearborn by visiting downtowndearborn.org or via social media at Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Go here to read the rest:
Art of Courage: Black Lives Matter 360 Exhibition- call for artists - Dearborn Press and Guide

Andria Segedy|Savannah Morning News

Visual arts teacher Daria Collins approached her K-5 students at Garden City Elementary School with age appropriate language to encourage them to create art for a local Black Lives Matter art installation.

I tried to use different lenses for different grade levels, she said. With K-1, I presented the Black Lives Matter topic through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s 'Dream.'I felt like it was important for that grade level because it is what they are learning in social studies.

In art they are learning to draw through observation, she said. She wanted them to understand that people with different skin colors could be friends. They drew a white hand and a brown hand and between those hands was a heart which they could make any color.

The assignment is part of the Beach Institute African-American Cultural Centers #BLM exhibit in partnership with Savannah Chatham County Public Schools, according to Beach Coordinator Jenny McCord.

Open to students and teachers in the public schools, 12 schools participated, eight teachers submitted their own artwork, five schools submitted artwork from students, and there was a total of more than 35 submissions, said Rosemary Dodson, visual arts teacher specialist for the school district.

Starting Tuesday, visitors can see the installation at the Beach Institute from noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Regular admission applies. The installation will eventually be put on the website at beachinstitute.org.

The #BLM installation was chosen, McCord said, because we tried to combine the two, Black History month and black Lives Matter. …. coming off of all of the unrest this summer it felt like for Black History Month, celebrating Black lives at a Black museum would be appropriate.

The assignment, according to McCord:Artwork should reflect the importance of Black and brown lives, influences, and culture in our community throughout history.

As a liaison between teachers and Beach, Dodson said she let the teachers come up with how they wanted to present the topic to students.

We had a lot of teachers participate with their own personal views on Black Lives Matter, especially since it was so virtual it was hard to get work from students because they were all working at home, Dodson said. Some students did create art for the project virtually and either dropped it off at school or transmitted it electronically.

McCord said the artwork that will be on view includes two sculptures. The rest are drawings or paintings, crayon and weaved fabric.

Brock Elementary School sent an ice cube portrait series, McCord said. Its so fabulous. A pencil drawing of ice cubes from 15 different students at Brock Elementary. It brings me joy, the ice cube art. I love little kid artists.

For grades 2-3 at Garden City Elementary, Collins was showing them African-American artists as professionals. We had a lot of gentle conversations, how in the media African Americans are often shown in a negative light, portrayed as angry or violent…

The book I Am Everything helped her change that narrative as it shows Black peoplein a positive light with an emphasis on diversity, multicultural skin tone, multicultural hair styles. Encouraging an interest in drawing diversity.

For students in grades 4-5, Collins highlighted Black artist Kehinde Wiley, who creates 19th century paints of Black people in what traditionally would be whit people in fine period clothing and fancy jewelry. He changed the agenda by showing Black people in a positive light, she said.

More: Savannah history re-visited through the eyes of civil rights icon W.W. Law

Noting that she has many Black and Hispanic students in her class, she said, My students looked at the poses from that time period and drew themselves in that position.

These kids made the effort to get their pieces to the schools. It is a lot of extra work right now … it shows they were dedicated to have their pieces in the exhibition, Dodson said.

Collins also created her own art submission called Human. It shows a young black girl in conversation with a hummingbird, and the hummingbird in conversation with the girl. I really wanted to normalize African-Americans, and once again try to change the narrative. I wanted to show African Americans are just as curious, as worthy, as beautiful as any other.. …I wanted my artwork to symbolize equality and justice for all.

The hummingbird, which is know for flying in the path of an infinity sign, reminds her of hummingbirds she saw as a child visiting Jamaica. I used that flight pattern to send the message African Americans are worthy and to be infinitely heard and received. … That is a message African Americans need to hear today. Its important to have that conversation in a different way.

Sharonna Ray, K-5 elementary art educator at School of Humanities at Juliette Low, was working on a group project for students but their working virtually from home kept them from adding to what became Cotton Candy, A Very Sweet Dessert.

I had already planned out the execution for my piece, she said. II had already started the initial layers. So it was due to a lack of time. I was going to have them be a part of it, adding the layers to it. When we became virtual, I had a deadline. I didnt want to throw something together and deviate from my original plan.

She said she had a discussion with the students in regard to Black Lives Matter and just going back to how to bring about change, she said. It doesnt take violence and anger for your voice to be heard.

Andria Segedy is the news submissions coordinator for Savannah Morning News. Contact her at asegedy@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @andria_segedy

If you go

What: #BLM

Where: Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center, 502 E Harris St.

When: Starts Feb. 2, noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays

Cost: $10 adult, $7 students, seniors, military

Tickets: beachinstitute.org

See original here:
Beach Institute teacher-student art reflects importance of Black and brown lives - Savannah Morning News

Black Lives Matter (BLM), international social movement, formed in the United States in 2013, dedicated to fighting racism and anti-Black violence, especially in the form of police brutality. The name Black Lives Matter signals condemnation of the unjust killings of Black people by police (Black people are far more likely to be killed by police in the United States than white people) and the demand that society value the lives and humanity of Black people as much as it values the lives and humanity of white people.

Protesters carrying Black Lives Matter signs at a demonstration against police brutality in Boston, Massachusetts, May 2020.

BLM activists have held large and influential protests in cities across the United States as well as internationally. A decentralized grassroots movement, Black Lives Matter is led by activists in local chapters who organize their own campaigns and programs. The chapters are affiliated with the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a nonprofit civil rights organization that is active in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

BLM was cofounded as an online movement (using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media) by three Black community organizersPatrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. They formed BLM after George Zimmerman, a man of German and Peruvian descent, was acquitted on charges stemming from his fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in Sanford, Florida, in February 2012. Zimmerman, a neighbourhood-watch volunteer, had seen Martin walking in his neighbourhood and called the police because he thought Martin looked suspicious. Although police told Zimmerman not to do anything, he followed Martin, got into an argument with him, and shot and killed him. Zimmerman remained free for weeks after the shooting but was finally charged with second-degree murder and arrested in April, after demonstrations demanding his prosecution were held in cities across the United States. At his trial more than a year later, Zimmerman claimed that he had acted in self-defense. His acquittal in July 2013 was widely perceived as a miscarriage of justice and led to further nationwide protests.

The BLM movement expanded in 2014 after the police killings of two unarmed Black men, Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Garner died in Staten Island, New York, after a white police officer held him in a prolonged illegal choke hold, which was captured in a video taken by a bystander. Brown, a teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Large protests of these deaths in the name of Black Lives Matter captured national and international attention. The BLM movement thereafter continued to play a prominent role in demonstrations against police brutality and racism. Notably, BLM activists protested the deaths at the hands of police or while in police custody of several other Black people, including Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, and Breonna Taylor.

National march against police brutality, Washington, D.C., December 2014.

In 2020 George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was pronounced dead after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyds neck for several minutes, despite Floyds repeated protests that he could not breathe. Wide circulation of a bystanders video of Floyds last minutes triggered massive demonstrations in cities throughout the United States and across the globe. The tragedy swayed U.S. public opinion in favour of the Black Lives Matter movement while drawing wide attention to the problem of entrenched racism in American society.

The Black Lives Matter movement has many goals. BLM activists seek to draw attention to the many ways in which Black people are treated unfairly in society and the ways in which institutions, laws, and policies help to perpetuate that unfairness. The movement has fought racism through such means as political action, letter writing campaigns, and nonviolent protests. BLM seeks to combat police brutality, the over-policing of minority neighbourhoods, and the abuses committed by for-profit jails. Its efforts have included calls for better training for police and greater accountability for police misconduct. BLM activists have also called for defunding the policethat is, reducing police department budgets and investing the freed-up funds in community social services, such as mental health and conflict-resolution programs. BLM activists have also worked on voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns in Black communities. In addition, BLM programs have celebrated Black artists and writers.

See the original post here:
Black Lives Matter | Definition, Goals, History, & Influence ...

Its agenda is plain for all to see: cop-killing.

With another two police officers shot at the Black Lives Matter riot in Louisville on Wednesday, its time to lift the veil on the whole movement: Its a haven for unrepentant cop-killers.

These arent isolated incidents. It has been fewer than two weeks since supposedly peaceful BLM radicals chanted, We hope they die, while blocking the entrance to a hospital where two Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies were undergoing life-saving surgery. An assailant had walked up to their patrol vehicle and opened fire from point-blank range without provocation.

Those chilling words echo the rhetoric we hear from BLM founders and members, who make clear that a prime objective of BLM is to Kill Cops. Up until now, this has been kept well enough under wraps to deceive major corporations, professional sports leagues and countless well-meaning Americans.

Joe Biden has made propagating this movements lies a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, waiting months before condemning the wanton violence perpetrated by BLM. Staff members on the Biden campaign contributed money to secure the release of rioters charged with crimes. Meanwhile, progressive Democratic prosecutors refused to even charge some of the worst rioters.

Some people try to separate BLM the organization from the movement that goes by the same name, but at most they are two sides of the same coin. From the start, both the organization and the movement BLM writ large have been about hatred and violence that extends beyond police and includes all white people, all blacks who are conservative and the United States of America.

We saw this in 2014, when BLM first attained national prominence. After months of anti-police rioting, a man pledging revenge for Michael Brown and Eric Garner traveled to New York City, stuck a pistol through the window of a squad car and opened fire. Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu died on the scene.

I mourned the officers like the rest of New York did. And when I met with the Ramos and Liu families, I was aghast. I reiterated my call for politicians to abandon their reckless anti-police rhetoric. Maybe, I suggested, they should spend the next four months not talking about police hatred, but talking about what they are going to do about bringing down crime in the community.

Nineteen months later, a man opened fire at a BLM protest in Dallas, murdering five officers. BLM disavowed responsibility, but the killer had deep links to the movements radical ideology, stating that he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. BLM supporters certainly didnt stop chanting Pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon in the aftermath, either.

BLM counts on a legion of journalists who believe BLM will help advance a progressive agenda. They will never admit that violence against police isnt an unfortunate outgrowth of the BLM movement but the central point.

Black Lives Matter isnt about black lives. It ignores the 8,000 to 9,000 black lives taken by other blacks every year in minority communities across the nation. Those black lives, and the lives of African American police officers, dont matter.

Black Lives Matter isnt about holding police accountable, and it isnt a good-faith call for reasonable reform.

If we had a functioning mainstream media, this would be common knowledge by now. Instead, people are learning the real nature of BLM by watching protesters scream We hope they die outside a hospital where two cops are fighting for their lives.

The time has come to face the facts. If you ever supported Black Lives Matter, then you are either a left-wing radical or you got duped. There is no shame in the latter. By design, the relentlessly repeated cry of Black lives matter is an unassailable moral truism, calculated to bully people into supporting a radical, revolutionary, anti-order movement.

The good news is that it isnt too late to make the right decision. You can be a good person who decries racism and condemns police misconduct yet still reject violent left-wing radicalism unequivocally. You can stand for the safety and human dignity of black people and of all people and simultaneously stand with the police officers who maintain law and order.

It starts with rejecting BLM and every politician who has been cynical enough to enable the radical forces intent on tearing this country apart. When you see Black Lives Matter, realize they are dedicated to killing cops. Too much blood has been spilled already. It has to stop.

Rudolph Giuliani is the former mayor of New York City.

Read this article:
Face facts: Black Lives Matter is all about hate