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Black activists held events in 40 cities on June 19, a day that celebrates the end of slavery.

Photo from Juneteenth #40acres40cities action in Atlanta, GA. (Credit: Twitter @ATLisReady)

This Q&A is part of Sarah Jaffes series Interviews for Resistance, in which she speaks with organizers, troublemakers and thinkers who are doing the hard work of fighting back against Americas corporate and political powers.

Juneteenth is not a federal holiday but many believe it should be. Its the day on June 19, 1865, that news of emancipation reached the last group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. That was two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which made slavery illegal.

To mark the day, and its unfulfilled promises, a group of organizers planned a day of action on Monday, June 19. In 40 acres across 40 cities, black people took nonviolent direct action to occupy and reclaim spaces such as abandoned schools and vacant lots, with the goal of bringing these spaces back to the community.

The action makes reference to Union General William T. Shermans 1865 field order named 40 acres and a mule the unkept promise that newly freed slaves receive 40 acres of land, and a mule to work it, per family, to be taken from confiscated Confederate land.

On Monday, from Atlanta to Oakland, Chicago to New Orleans, anchored by the BlackOUT Collective and Movement Generation, black Americans reclaimed vacant lots and abandoned buildings, bringing communities together to discuss the issues of land, liberation and reparations. Chinyere Tutashinda, co-director of the BlackOUT Collective, talked to Sarah Jaffe about his organizations goals for this years Juneteenth.

Sarah Jaffe: For people who dont know about Juneteenth, can you tell us, first of all, the history of the day?

Chinyere Tutashinda: Juneteenth is a very interesting and sad story all wrapped in one. It celebrates and commemorates the day when a group of enslaved black folks in Texas found out that slavery was officially over and they could be a part of the Union army [and fight against the Confederate Army during the Civil War.] It wasnt to the benefit of slaveholders to actually communicate that black people had been emancipated. So, it took months and months of networks of enslaved folks to be able to get that message to them.

SJ: Tell us about the actions that are taking place and the significance of the plan that you guys went forward with.

If we are talking about freedom in this country, then we also need to be having a concrete discussion about whats owed to people who have a history of enslavement.

CT: Movement Generation approached us [to collaborate] and we decided to focus some of our work on black liberation and what that entails. This includes thinking about black liberation tied to land and to reparations. If we are talking about freedom in this country, then we also need to be having a concrete discussion about whats owed to people who have a history of enslavement.

SJ: Talk a little bit more about the actions and the places where these are taking place.

CT: Actions are going to take place across the country in a variety of different ways. Some people are looking at long-term occupations and creating community spaces. Some are day-long actions where people are holding conversations about the intersection of reparations, land and black liberation. Theyll all be different, but the goal is to be able to take up space, build communities and have good relationships with each other and with the community at large.

SJ: There were a few spaces held like this last summer in Chicago and in Los Angeles.

CT: Yes, there were. We helped with the freedom actions last summer that were in response to the murder of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man who was killed by Baton Rouge police in July 2016.

One of the actions was in Chicagos Freedom Square by the Black Youth Project and other organizations around the idea: What does it mean to hold space? They held the event at the place where a group of black people had been tortured and imprisoned decades ago by Chicago police. Last year, they won their case and were awarded reparations.

SJ: In a time when Donald Trump is president it can seem like everything is short-term resistance. Talk about doing radical actions and making radical demands in this moment.

CT: There has been a huge upheaval in this country around the results of the election and people going, What to do? and What does it mean? There are hundreds of thousands of newly activated people. It is really critical that we continue to remember that the struggle is long and that it is one that requires us to not only react to things happening at the federal, state or local government level, but also requires us to really think about how we are in relationships with each other and with the land around us, with a clear understanding of our countrys history of oppression. This is one of the reasons why the Juneteenth actions in particular are not just about the current moment, but are rooted in history and rooted in land.

Over the course of two-and-a-half years we have trained almost a thousand black people in direct action tactics.

SJ: Tell us a little bit more about the work of the BlackOUT Collective.

CT: We started in 2014, literally in front of the Ferguson Police Department. We were a group of trainers some from the Ruckus Society, which is a nonviolent direct action training group, and some from the Center for Story-based Strategy. We were sitting there and as we were trying to come together as a group of black trainers, realizing that wed reached out to a lot of people we knew who had done direct actions, but there werent that many who identified themselves as direct action trainers as black people. We wanted that to change drastically. And understanding that, as black people, we have been using direct action tactics for hundreds of years fighting for our own liberation.

So, we started there and have continued to grow. Over the course of two-and-a-half years we have trained almost a thousand black people in direct action tactics. We are slowly growing and building our network through our action practitioners and are going to have our first all-black practitioner camp and visioning session this summer. We have also worked really closely with leadership at the Movement for Black Lives.

SJ: What do you think has changed in terms of the Movement for Black Lives in a world where Trump is president?

CT: There are a lot of people who are out on the streets I think there is a lot of interest and a lot of people who have been newly politicized and woken up to the fact that Trump is our president. But, when I think around what has been going on within the Movement for Black Lives and organizations that are part of that constellation because this is not new for us and because a lot of folks, particularly those in the South, have been living under conditions very similar to the ones that Trump is trying to enact nationally there was just a different level of What does that mean for us?

People have been really focusing on strengthening their organizing, strengthening their base building and trying to build and implement strategy in different ways. People are noticing there are less people on the streets, but there are not necessarily less people in our organizations or less people doing local work. I think as organizations are building and slowly growing, the work that you will see come into fruition will be in the next year or so.

SJ: How can people keep up with you and the BlackOUT Collective and find out more information on the Juneteenth actions?

CT: There are a couple of ways. We have our website, BlackOUTCollective.org. We are also on Twitter @blackoutcollect and on Facebook its the BlackOUT Collective. People can also check out the Black Land and Liberation Initiative.

Interviews for Resistance is a project of Sarah Jaffe, with assistance from Laura Feuillebois and support from the Nation Institute. It is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Not to be reprinted without permission.

Read the original here:
Rethinking Juneteenth in the Age of Black Lives Matter - BillMoyers.com

A Black Lives Matter protest in Charlotte, N.C., following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Last October, teachers in the Seattle Public Schools district planned a Black Lives Matter in the Seattle Public Schools event that consisted of wearing T-shirts with the slogan printed on them, despite the fact that a similar effort at Seattles John Muir Elementary in September was met with criticism, hate mail and threats of violence.

The teachers expected backlash, and they got it, in the form of white parents from the citys wealthier neighborhoods writing to their school principals and saying that they were displeased that such an event would take place, saying that a Black Lives Matter day was too militant, too political and too confusing for their young children, according to KUOW.

Because the parents would not speak directly with the news station about their displeasure, KUOW made a public records request and published their emails with all identifying information redacted.

The letters range in tone from Not all white people to What about Martin Luther Kings dream, but in the examples cited, KUOW notes that the parents complaining are from one of the whitest, most affluent and staunchly liberal neighborhoods dotted with rainbow yard signs that say All Are Welcome.

From KUOW:

Wrote a parent at Laurelhurst Elementary: Can you please address why skin color is so important? I remember a guy that had a dream. Do you remember that too? I doubt it. Please show me the content of your character if you do.

From Eckstein Middle School in Wedgwood: What about red and black or yellow and white and black? How does supporting Black Lives Matter help that gap?

And from Bryant Elementary in Ravenna: Im writing to share what my 9-year-old daughter told me about what she learned in class regarding the Black Lives Matter discussion. She said she felt bad about being white. And that police lie and do bad things.

Stephan Blanford, a Seattle school board member who is black, and whose doctoral research focused on race and public education, told KUOW: This is what Ive come to call Seattles passive progressiveness. We vote the right way on issues. We believe the right way. But the second you challenge their privilege, you see the response.

This is a common refrain whenever the topic of Black Lives Matter comes up. Its as if no matter how many times we explain that Black Lives Matter doesnt mean other lives dont, people still overlook that and want to argue about why black lives shouldnt matter more than any others. It is the not all whites reaction that leads into All Lives Matter and ends with black people being called racist simply for pointing out that black lives should, in fact, matter.

The white parents in Seattle are a microcosm of supposedly liberal white people all over America who want to be good allies but cant seem to move past semantics in that allyship. They get hung up on words, and not the greater actions that the words are speaking against.

Before you go over to KUOW to read the rest of the emails, pay attention to what happens in the comments of this post. Even as I type this right here and forewarn you, people will immediately jump and call me racist just for posting this.

Read more at KUOW.

Read the original here:
White Liberal Tears and Racism From Parents in Response to ... - The Root

Over the weekend, several Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to block a Pride parade in Columbus, Ohio. When police responded, they reportedly resisted arrest, and one suspect tried to disarm an officer, leaving several officers injured, the Columbus Division of Police said.

Four demonstrators now face charges ranging from disorderly conduct to aggravated robbery over Saturdays confrontation.

Showing up for Justice Columbus, a group that organizes white people to take action to fight white supremacy, wrote on Twitter that the demonstrators were disrupting Pride to protest Fridays acquittal of the Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile last year.

Today myself and a group of other queer and trans PoC [People of Color] (and allies) staged a silent, peaceful protest in the middle of the pride parade to highlight the lack of support for queer POC trans folk within our community and the larger lgbtqia community, Stephanie Ewen, one of the Black Lives Matter protesters, said in a statement on Facebook.

Within a minute of us stepping into the street myself, Michaelaa Masonn, and others were pepper sprayed, she said.

Video from the incident posted on Facebook shows close to a dozen protesters linking arms in the middle of the street. Some wore shirts saying pride is political. Police officers who arrived within minutes appear to be cheered by parade watchers.

In YouTube video, police use their bikes to disperse the protesters. At least one officer uses mace on the protesters, though this occurs off camera. At one point, a woman is heard yelling at a Pride Parade participant, Your words are violent.

In a Facebook post Saturday night Columbus police saidthey arrested protesters who wouldnt obey officers orders to leave the roadway at the parade.

Four officers were injured, including one officer who suffered a torn ACL and another who is expected to remain off duty for several months, according to ABC-6

The four arrested could face charges ranging from disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, to aggravated robbery, and causing harm to a police officer, the Columbus Division of Police said in a Facebook post.

Several Columbus-area civil rights groups demanded the release of the four suspects, dubbed by social media the BlackPride4.

By deadline, neither the Pride March organizers nor the Columbus Police Communications Bureau had responded toHeat Streets request for comment.

Visit link:
Four Police Injured as Black Lives Matter Protesters Disrupt Columbus Pride Parade - Heat Street

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZLEZ: In Minnesota, protesters took to the streets Sunday for a third straight day, after a St. Anthony police officer was acquitted Friday in the killing of a black motorist he shot five times during a traffic stop last year. Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on charges of manslaughter for killing Philando Castile, an African American who worked as a school nutrition services supervisor for the Saint Paul Public Schools. The shooting made international headlines after Castiles girlfriend documented the aftermath of the shooting by broadcasting live on Facebook from the car moments after Castile was shot. In the video, Officer Yanez is seen pointing a gun at her and her 4-year-old daughter.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his pocket, and he let the officer know that he washe had a firearm, and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm. Were waiting for a

JERONIMO YANEZ: Maam, just keep your hands on the wheel!

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: I will, sir. No worries. I will. He just shot his arm off. We got pulled over on Larpenter.

JERONIMO YANEZ: I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand off it!

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: He hadyou told him to get his ID, sir, his drivers license. Oh, my god, please dont tell me hes dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that.

JERONIMO YANEZ: Keep your hands where they are, please.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Yes, I will, sir. Ill keep my hands where they are. Please, dont tell me this, lord. Please, Jesus, dont tell me that hes gone. Please, dont tell me that hes gone. Please, officer, dont tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Diamond Reynolds narrating the aftermath of the police shooting of her boyfriend, Philando Castile. Prosecutors opened the trial by playing a police dash cam video of Castiles killing, which shows Officer Yanez opening fire on Castile seven times as he sat in the car. A medical expert testified Castile was struck with five of the rounds, including two which pierced his heart. The jury of seven men, five women, 10 of whom were white, two African-American, deliberated for more than 25 hours over five days before acquitting Officer Yanez on all charges. Philando Castiles mother, Valerie Castile, spoke after the verdict.

VALERIE CASTILE: My son would never jeopardize anyone elses life by trying to pull a gun on an officer. And the gun was not fire-ready. These are some of the facts that came out in the trial. And I am so very, very, very, very, very, very, very disappointed in the system here in the state of Minnesota, because nowhere in the world do you die from being honest and telling the truth. The system continues to fail black people. And it will continue to fail you all. Like I said, because this happened with Philando, when they get done with us, theyre coming for you, for you, for you and all your interracial children. Yall are next.

JUAN GONZLEZ: About 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside Minnesotas state Capitol in St. Paul on Friday evening, and a series of speakers demanded justice for people of color in the judicial system and police accountability. Several protesters blocked a main interstate between St. Paul and Minneapolis Friday night, resulting in 18 arrests. Peaceful demonstrations continued throughout the weekend.

AMY GOODMAN: Protesters also gathered in New York Saturday. Democracy Now!s Sam Alcoff filed this report.

MAL MERO: Why do you bring harm to a world yall is blessed in? Why must we pay for your stressin? How many more arraignments without a confession? Why take away the ones we put our blood and our flesh in? How often do you miss misusing your weapon? How many wakes have our families wept in? How many heels have our black mother stepped in to stand over caskets their babies slept in? What if those bullets were intercepted? What if their children were the ones to catch it? Would you fight back or respect it?

HAWK NEWSOME: Im Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. Philando Castile was driving in his car. An officer pulled him over and shot him in front of his wife and his daughter, OK? He informed the officer that he had a pistol and a permit to carry that pistol. However, the officer still shot him. The officer said, "He reached for his gun. I told him not to reach." His wife repliedhis wife said, "You told him to get his ID." And they killed that man and let him bleed out in front of his family. Luckily, his wife had the presence of mind to go on Facebook Live to record this injustice. So, now, you had outrage last summer, and now you had the trial. The trial was mishandled by the prosecutor. They would like to call this a mistake. But there is no mistake about it when, time after time again, you fail to prosecute cops that kill innocent black people. Theres no mistake about it.

KENNETH SHELTON JR.: So I want you to say it with me: Black Lives Matter.

PROTESTERS: Black Lives Matter!

KENNETH SHELTON JR.: Im Kenneth Shelton. Im a member of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. The resistance is being coopted for black people. Right? Too many times, we have all these resistance groups about resisting Republicans, but not talking about resisting Democrats. Democrats have put on racist policies. Minnesota is a Democratic state. All these Democratic citiesChicago, even New Yorkdont value black and brown people. And thats when you get these injustices that take place. So its important for us, in a liberal area such as New York City, to make a stand, to say, "Hey, were going to come out here and march in solidarity with what happened in Minnesota, but then, also, were going to continue to fight and be a shining example for what we should do for black people and brown people here in the city.

HELEN HINES: My name is Helen Hines. Im running for City Council in the Bronx in District 17. When the young man was being taken right out, that can be any of us. I want you to know, we dont vote enough. We dont read another. We dont listen enough. And we are giving away our votes.

PROTESTERS: Back up! We dont need 'em, need em! All these racist ass cops, we don't need em, need em!

KENNETH SHELTON JR.: Were taking the streets. The police dont want us on the street. They want us on the sidewalk. But these are our streets, especially in Harlem. When police violence occurs each and every day, its important for us to take to the streets and show solidarity. Thats what they did in Minnesota. Thats what were going to do right here. Right now, were on 116th, about to be 115th Street. This is Harlem, Harlem, about to enter into the mainstream city. The scene is, this is justthe Juneteenth parade was right there. All these black people are looking and showing that were standing in solidarity. This is not just black people. Theres white people. Theres brown people. showing that on one of the most important days to descendants of slaves, which is Juneteenth, that were out here marching for Black Lives Matter.

POLICE OFFICER: You are ordered to leave the roadway and utilize the available sidewalk. If you remain in the roadway and refuse to utilize the sidewalk, you will be placed under arrest and charged with disorderly conduct.

MAL MERO: Show this world that they cannot dismiss us. America needs to see this mistrust. The system is broken, but yet theyre trying to fix us. When I say "black lives," yall say "matter." Black lives!

PROTESTERS: Matter!

MAL MERO: Black lives!

PROTESTERS: Matter!

MAL MERO: Black lives!

PROTESTERS: Matter!

MAL MERO: Black lives!

PROTESTERS: Matter!

AMY GOODMAN: Voices from the streets of New York on Saturday. There were protests around the country, after the acquittal of Officer Jeronimo Yanez for killing Philando Castile. Special thanks to Sam Alcoff and Jesse Rubin. When we come back, well go to Minneapolis to speak with Nekima Levy-Pounds, former president of the Minneapolis NAACP. This is Democracy Now! Stay with us.

View post:
"Philando Can Be Any of Us": Black Lives Matter Protests Acquittal of Officer in Minnesota Killing - Democracy Now!

Nowadays,protest style is becoming super trendy.

Continuing Mens Fashion Week in Milan, Ports 1961 dedicated its S/S 2018 collection to the Black Lives Matter movement. In a strong message to the world, the fashion brands first look featured a black sweater with the iconic Black power fist screen printed in white on the front. The model also rocked black cropped slacks with #Resist written on one pant leg.

The collection was not only good, it was highlighting the trends of the cool African kids and New Yorks rebellious street scene of the 80s. If Barry,the film about Barack Obama on Netflix, could be associated with a collection, it would be this one.

From the collections official press release:

This collection is, in its own way, a message of solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement that

began in the street and on social media in 2012. The fight against violence and for justice for black

people resonates today in an even wider, bigger way.

Ports 1961 clothing ranges from $300 to $3,000 and is sold online and at high-end retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman.

Ports 1961 will send not only cropped trousers down the runway, but menswear will feature more prints.

Click ahead to see the collection of Black excellence in fashion.

Visit link:
Ports 1961 Dedicates Mens Collection To Black Lives Matter - Jet Magazine (blog)