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Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders decision to accede to demands from the local chapter of Black Lives Matter is supported by only 21 percent of the citys residents, according to a new Forum Poll released late last week.

In February, Saunders caved to pressure from Black Lives Matter (BLM) and agreed that Toronto Police would not participate in the 2017 Gay Pride Parade. At last years event, the police marched with a parade float, but the festivities came to an abrupt halt when BLM participants decided the presence of police made them feel intimidated.

Forum Research polled 966 Toronto voters and almost half (48 percent) disapprove ofthe Toronto Police chiefs decision not to participate in this years parade. Only 21 percent approve of the policy, 27 percent said they have not formed an opinion and four percent responded that they dont know.

That the Toronto police wont have a float in this years pride parade is unpopular; in fact, almost fifty-percent of everyone over the age of 34 disapproves. Thats a really broad spectrum of Toronto residents who would prefer the police have a presence in this years parade, said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research.

The poll was conducted on March 8-10, 2017,with results being considered accurate plus or minus three percent, 19 times out of 20.

Last years parade when more than its usual share of news when BLM demonstrators stopped the event to protest the police presence. Things only got started again after the executive director of Pride Toronto,Matthieu Chantelois, promised the black activists that he would agree to a list of demands that included a ban on any future participation by the police.

Chanteloisye said later that he only agreed to sign a promissory note as a means of halting the protest and resuming the parade.

Pride Toronto met again in January at its annual meeting and then voted in favor of the BLM edict, but it was unclear whether that edict included marching police officers or just floats.

In his explanation, Saunders referred to divisions within the LGBTQ organizers of the multi-million dollar event.

We understand the LGBTQ communities are divided, he said in a statement. To enable those differences to be addressed, I have decided the Toronto Police Service will not participate, this year, in the Pride parade.

The police acquiescing to their demands did not satisfy BLM.

They are trying to flip the narrative and make it seem as if they are choosing to pull out of Pride when in fact they were uninvited, said spokesperson Syrus Marcus Ware.

Ware said the police chief failed to mention such issues as anti-blackness and policing and carding a standard practice of patrolling dangerous sections of town that BLM insists is aimed a non-whites.

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Toronto Police Caving To Black Lives Matter Lacks Support: Poll - Daily Caller

New York Times

Where Fiction and Reality Collide: Books and Black Lives Matter New York Times When Black Lives Matter started, it was polarizing, Mr. Reynolds said. Does any publishing company want to bring forth static around something so fresh? In fact, All American Boys, which came out in 2015, became a commercial hit, selling more ... More Teen Novels Wrestle With Black Lives Matter, Police BrutalityDaily Caller Talking With Angie Thomas, Author of the Best-selling YA Novel Inspired by Black Lives MatterNew York Magazine all 4 news articles »

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Where Fiction and Reality Collide: Books and Black Lives Matter - New York Times

A panel being held Sunday afternoon in Rochester had a goal of trying clear up any misunderstandings about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Speakers included the Pastor of Salem United Church of Christ Reverend Julius Jackson, Jr, Monroe County legislator and mayoral candidate James Sheppard and the President of the Interfaith IMPACT for New York State Richard Gilbert.

The main focus of the discussion, Gilbert said, was to try and answer questions about the Black Lives Matter movement and what its goals are; as well as how it relates to issues in the prison system today.

"Its how the two relate. Because our prison system is very much based on racism. We hope to demonstrate that and indicate ways that people can work against the racism."

Panelists also discussed the school to prison pipeline, minimizing the use of solitary confinement, and raising the age of criminal liability in New York State from 16 to 18 years old.

Gilbert said organizers wanted to offer a number of different perspectives on the movement and what it means for racism in Rochester and in New York State.

"We are so divided in our country right now that we need every possible means to bring us back together again and this is one way to do it."

He hoped the event would reach people who were curious, and ready to initiate change in our community.

"We've for too long been apathetic about the racism that surrounds us every day. So we'd like people to feel that they are empowered to take action to begin to end it."

Interfaith IMPACT of New York State is an organization that works on state legislation through progressive religious advocacy.

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Panel discussion tries to answer questions about Black Lives Matter ... - WXXI News

By Claire Dodson 03.20.17 | 6:00 am

CEO Jos Neves founded his nine-year-old company with a mission to bridge the gap between physical and digital by helping luxury boutiques around the world put their inventory online. This month, Farfetch will host an event called FarfetchOS, in London, where Neves will announce a new technology suite called the Store of the Future, the latest business unit for the $1 billion company. The new concept will allow Farfetchs partner retailers to track inventory across their e-commerce and storefront arms and help further individualize in-person customer interactions. We actually see the future of fashion as centered in the physical store, which I know is ironic for a tech business, Neves says. I really believe that beautiful products belong in great stores. They dont belong in these dark warehouses.

But for all his attention to real-world shopping, Neves is further cultivating Farfetch Black & White, a service the company offers to fashion brands to power their e-commerce sites. The platform provides support for everything from payments and logistics to customer service and in-store returns. Since its launch a year ago, the Black & White API has grown to six clients, including Manolo Blahnik, Christopher Kane, and DKNY.

Farfetch CEO Jos Neves is redefining luxury e-commerce.

At the same time, Farfetch has been expanding its own sites inventory to include jewelry and kids fashion, with even more categories to come. Recently, the company signed its 500th boutique, and boasted 60% growth and more than $800 million in sales in 2016. We are not a retailer, Neves says. We are here to help brands and retailers find what the luxury experience is of 2020 and beyond. We want to be the platform for the global fashion industry.

Milestones: In November, Farfetch hired its first-ever chief strategy officer, Stephanie Phair, a Net-a-Porter veteran.

Challenges: As Amazon ramps up its own inventory of luxury fashion, its treading close to Farfetchs terrain.

Buzz: Postive

Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors is creating digital tools tailored to the Trump era.

Just days before Donald Trumps inauguration, activist organization Black Lives Matter and advertising agency J. Walter Thompson launched a new web application called Mark Yourself Unsafe. A riff on Facebooks Safety Check, this unsafety check lets African Americans label themselves on social media as in danger because, the app explains, being Black in America is a national emergency. The app, says Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors, is a reminder that black people and other marginalized groups are unsafe under this administration.

The provocative app is part of an ongoing collaboration between BLM and the New Yorkbased ad agency, which began when JWT creative director Mo Osunbor reached out to Cullors, offering pro bono resources to the movement. Cullors, for her part, was looking to expand the organizations reach with actionable digital tools. In December, the two created a site called Backing Black Business, a searchable map of brick-and-mortar and online companies run by African Americans. Still in beta, the site features more than 300 businesses and is adding more daily.

Meanwhile, Mark Yourself Unsafe, which has been used by thousands of people, is becoming a viral tool to teach people about police violence and inequality. Projects like these, says Cullors, are vital given our political climate: We know that more human and civil rights will be violated. So what do you do with that? she says. Were planning for peoples survival right now. The act of marking yourself unsafe is an act of resistance.

Milestones: Black Lives Matter protesters played a key role in the wake of President Trumps immigration ban, helping to mobilize against the executive order.

Challenges: Post-election protest movements are springing up en masse, creating difficulty for Black Lives Matters hashtag activism to stay in the spotlight.

Buzz: Positive

Milestones: Thanks to a new partnership with the Big Ten Network, Riot Games multiplayer videogame League of Legends is becoming a serious college e-sport. Twelve of the conferences schools will compete this season, with every player receiving a $5,000 scholarship.

Challenges: Activision Blizzard is building up its e-sports league for its first-person shooter game Overwatch, which will eventually include in-person spectators.

Buzz: Positive

Milestones: In a bid to create autonomous-vehicle software for its own cars and others, Ford is investing $1 billion in Pittsburgh-based startup Argo AI, run by Google and Uber veterans.

Challenges: Fords big bet to create the self-driving platform of the future puts it up against the likes of Apple and Uberas well as basically every other automobile company.

Buzz: Neutral

Milestones: LGs new G6 smartphone moves the company away from its signature modular phone construction to prioritize usability and design. It has a taller screen ratio primed for full-view multitasking.

Challenges: LG has been struggling to break through in a crowded marketits mobile communications unit recently saw a 23% drop in quarterly revenue.

Buzz: Negative

Milestones: Yoky Matsuoka, who was responsible for much of Nests signature adaptive-thermostat technology, recently rejoined the company as CTO after a stint at Apple.

Challenges: Even as other startups rush into the connected-home space, Nest is still trying to speed up its product timeline. Last fall, it released its fourth product, an outdoor camera.

Buzz: Neutral

Birchbox.

Milestones: In February, Birchbox introduced a new premium tier for its current subscribers. At $14 a month, it will allow users to better customize their boxes. The company is also opening a second brick-and-mortar store, this time in Paris, which will let shoppers create their own boxes alongside beauty consultants.

Challenges: Last summer, Birchbox received a $15 million infusion to offset a rumored drop in customer subscriptions amid increased competition from Ipsy and other services. It was also beset by user complaints about repeat product samples and the changing rewards system.

Buzz: Neutral

Milestones: The U.K. department store reported a rise in clothing sales for the first time in two years. New CEO Steve Rowe has been increasing the number of products while reducing discounts.

Challenges: Last fall, M&S announced it would shutter 30 locations and turn 45 more into food-only shops, despite the fact that its food sales grew by only 0.6% in 2016.

Buzz: Neutral

Milestones: In January, AirAsia X became Asias first budget carrier approved by the FAA to fly into the U.S., opening the door to low-cost transpacific flights. First up may be routes into Hawaii.

Challenges: AirAsia was named in a bribery charge after an employee from Rolls-Royce allegedly gave a $3.2 million product discount to an airline executive. AirAsia has denied any wrongdoing, but the situation puts AirAsia under scrutiny from investigators.

Buzz: Neutral

Milestones: The company behind Gore-Tex recently unveiled new facilities at its Delaware headquarters to help it better test materials. The labs include an Environmental Chamber and Rain Tower, and they can now subject products to everything from solar radiation to high wind.

Challenges: One of Gores biggest competitors, Polartec, has been making strides with its own breathable, moisture-wicking technology and is creating its first brand of heavy-duty alpine gear, MtnLogic, to be released later this year.

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Updates From Our Most Innovative Companies: Farfetch, Black Lives Matter, And More - Fast Company

After a very powerful and illuminating talk on March 12 given by Martin Henson from Black Lives Matter-Boston we are eager to continue the conversation on March 19 in our Sanctuary during Fellowship Hour.

The Social Justice Ministry Council invites you to a discussion about hanging our new banner on the facade of the church. Whether you are excited about the prospect of raising the banner or have concerns, please come talk with the members of the SJMC and the HUUC Board.

Soon after this gathering, it is our goal to bring the proposed resolution stated below to the Board and request that they vote to approve the hanging of the banner on the outside of our church.

WHEREAS, Unitarian Universalists strive for justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

WHEREAS, Unitarian Universalists have a goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

WHEREAS, our Unitarian Universalist principles call us as individuals and as a congregation to challenge injustice;

WHEREAS, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained powerful traction in conjunction with recent tragic events involving, in particular, police brutality and institutionalized racism that target the black community;

WHEREAS, people of all ages and races are killed by law enforcement, yet black people ages 20-24 are seven times more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other group;

WHEREAS, mass incarceration fueled by for-profit prisons and racially biased police practices drive the disproportionate imprisonment of black and brown Americans;

WHEREAS, the school-to-prison pipeline is an urgent concern because 40% of students expelled from U.S. public schools are black and one out of three black men is incarcerated during his lifetime;

WHEREAS, the Unitarian Universalist Associations 2015 General Assembly passed a resolution in support of the Back Lives Matter movement; and

WHEREAS, the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism organization and other Unitarian Universalist People of Color organizations and leaders have asked Unitarian Universalist congregations to support the Black Lives Matter movement and black-led racial justice organizations.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Board of the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church, vote to raise our Black Lives Matter banner which states All Lives Wont Matter Until Black Lives Matter and display it on the facade of our church until the end of the church year in 2018. In doing so, we mean

To affirm our commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of every person;

To affirm our commitment to justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

To affirm our commitment to racial justice;

To affirm our commitment, as a predominantly white congregation to study and reflect on white privilege and our own complicity in institutionalized racism;

To raise the consciousness of the broader community, our Town government, and the leaders of our public schools on issues of racial justice and to encourage appropriate policy changes to address institutionalized racism in our community;

To remain mindful of the interconnected nature of racism and other systems of oppression that impact people based on class, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, age, culture, religion, and language.

Beyond the Banner

We want to raise the banner to show that our church stands on the side of racial justice because of our Unitarian Universalist principles. However, we see the banner as only the beginning. In the comingmonths, we plan to expand on this one actionin multiple ways:

Additional Resources

Michelle Alexander The Future of Race in America TED TalkxColumbus

Bruce Western on Mass Incarceration

13thOfficial Documentary Trailer

The Talk: Race in America (PBS)

The Kalief Browder Story

For more information please contactSJMC ChairSteve Farough.

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Black Lives Matter - Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church