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Arguably no movement has been more controversial in recent years than the Black Lives Matter movement. Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, all African American victims of senseless killings. There are many more victims who did not receive national media attention. These tragic deaths all share a stunning commonality they are the direct result of discrimination against African Americans. Our former president is African American and the civil rights movement took place nearly 60 years ago. How is discrimination still an issue for African Americans? The continued prevalence of racial stereotypes is partially to blame. Black Lives Matter has been criticized by some who say All Lives Matter and claim the movement is racist.

This year, Ziad Ahmed made headlines when he was accepted into Stanford University after writing, #BlackLivesMatter one hundred times as his answer to What matters to you, and why? on his application. This is an example of the deep personal investment some people have in this polarizing movement. The (recently disgraced) news anchor Bill OReilly is a vocal critic of the movement and in 2016 commented, White Americans despise this crew. All Lives Matter critics argue that the movement is racist for emphasizing the value of African American lives only. These detractors see no evidence of structural racism in our society. They refuse to accept that our laws and criminal justice system demonstrate that black lives are valued less than white lives in our society. Black Lives Matter doesnt claim that African American people are superior; it advocates for racial equality and an end to discrimination. This hardly fits the definition of racism.

The unequivocally conservative position to oppose the Black Lives Matter movement is based off a misconception. The idea that affirmative action leads to reverse racism (discrimination by racial minorities against the racial majority) is entrenched within the logic behind the All Lives Matter stance on this issue. Affirmative action are policies in which an institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups. The misconception is that these affirmative action policies discriminates against deserving whites in favor of their lesser qualified black peers. This logic is flawed. And racial quota systems are outlawed in most states. This is a manifestation of a stereotype that African Americans are less intelligent and comes from generations of discrimination which have embedded this bias into society.

Take the [hypothetical] situation, of a white police officer shooting an unarmed blackteenager. There is no video, the officer claims he was acting in self-defense, and there are only a few witnesses who are all African American. If this officer were put on trial for murder, what would the defense do? Attempt to discredit the witnesses? Try to portray the witnesses as anti-police, uneducated, incompetent, criminal, biased, and immoral? What is this doing besides trying to convince the jury that the voice of one white person is worth more than several black voices? If this police officer were found not guilty like other officers who have faced similar trials, what does that say about our society? Ironically, the justice system in this instance is leaving the African American community without justice.

African Americans currently face structural racism. The All Lives Matter movement discredits the notion that African Americans struggle with this on a daily basis. This viewpoint reflects white privilege and fails to acknowledge the everyday reality that African Americans face. When you say All Lives Matter, you deflect attention from racism in this country. That is because the point of All Lives Matter is to diminish the Black Lives Matter movement and black lives.

The cities Baltimore, Charleston, and New York have all payed out seven figure settlements to families of prominent victims. Despite this, none of these cities have admitted any wrong doing by officers. If All Lives Matter then why have the families of these victims not received justice? With the exception of the OJ Simpson trial it is hard to find another example of a publicized case that had a favorable outcome for the African American victim or defendant. Justice for these victims would be achieved in the form of the people behind these killings being held responsible. It would include recognition by elected officials that to this day African American people face discrimination. If all lives really do matter, than as former President Obama said, lets Not just dismiss these protests and these complaints as political correctness or as politics or attacks on police.

Jack Ryan

Class of 2020

Pre-major in college of arts & sciences

Read more:
Guest Editorial: The Importance of Black Lives Matter | Opinion ... - Dailyuw

Although it wont march as an official group later this month, Black Lives Matter Toronto is satisfied with the changes Pride has made over the past year.

Theres been clear and visible progress, says Rodney Diverlus, the 27-year-old co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto.

During the 2016 parade, Pride Toronto agreed to a list of nine demands after Black Lives Matter halted the march for half an hour. The demands were later endorsed in a vote by Pride Torontos membership.

While most of the public and political focus has been on the demand to remove police floats from the parade, the eight other requests mostly focused on increasing diversity and grassroots participation throughout Pride month.

The hype around the police demand has erased all of the work, all of the thought and all the energy put around the other eight demands, Diverlus told Metro.

The spirit of some of those demands came from a general feeling in the community that Pride was evolving into a corporate, non-community-driven event.

He held up the reinstatement of the Black Queer Youth and South Asian community stages as well as increased funding for Blockorama as signs of success.

Pride Toronto spokesperson Ryan Connelly also pointed to the organizations increased focus on community stages and diversity among Pride Toronto staff while acknowledging there is room for improvement.

I think weve made very good strides, Connelly told Metro.

Were never going to get it all in one shot, but what is important to note is we will make our best effort as soon as issues are raised.

Despite these improvements, Black Lives Matter wont officially march in this years Pride parade on June 25. The group did not apply by the May 20 deadline.

Diverlus called it a tactical decision.

If you know the work we do, applying for permits and registering on a deadline is not really our MO, he said, adding that safety is a concern for the organization.

You should expect BLM to do what we do, which is not fill out an application and let you know where were going to be.

Black Lives Matter Torontos demands from 2016:

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Black Lives Matter applauds 'clear and visible progress' by Pride Toronto - MetroNews Canada

Milan Morris talks to us about herprom dress that featuresimages of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, and more

Its prom season! And as one Florida teen showed,great style can also have a great message.

Seventeen-year-old Milan Morris prom dress is gorgeous. But her outfit is getting particular attention because of the Black Lives Matter message it conveyed.

RELATED: Tracey Reese and Model Damaris Lewis Help Teens Get Fabulous For Prom

Morris' floor-length gown, designed by Florida-based Terrance Torrence, featured black and white images of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, and more of the liveswe have lost in recent years to police brutality. She shared a photo of the dress on Instagram. And from her caption, she is utterly unapologetic for it! YES!

RELATED: Toya Wrights Daughter Reginaes Prom Photos Were So Sweet!

Yes I'm Black. Yes I'm 17. Yes GOD is using me to convey a message that's bigger than me, she captioned a photo of the demure dress, which she complemented with black lace.

Torrence, a West Palm Beach based designer who also works in Miami and Atlanta, was the dressmakerwho brought the whole look together, Morris told ESSENCE.com.

"He was the mastermind behind this whole thing honestly," said Morris adding that Torrence's "message is a huge issue in America today."

Torrence, who is knee-deep in designing forprom season, told ESSENCE.comthat he knew he wanted to create a dress inspired by Black Lives Matter last year, but it all finally came together in 2017. The dress took four days to make.

"It was powerful," Torrence said of finishing the dress. "It was art. It was surreal. It spoke volumes."

He added: "It was powerful and a movement and I knew people would respond to it."

And respond they have!

As for Morris, the Palm Beachsenior is also a basketball star at Cardinal Newman High School, having been recently recognized as an all-area playerby the Palm Beach Post.She will be taking her talents to Boston College this fall.

What do you think of Milans dress?

See the article here:
Teen Wears Prom Dress Honoring Trayvon Martin, Black Lives ...

Donald Trump continues to alienate everyone but rich white men in a press conference held today while speaking about the protests from groups holding up signs that say, Black Lives Matter in South Carolina where racially-motivated violence continues after several black churches have been burned to the ground after Dylan Roof shot up another church.

Many of the activists have since urged the state to remove its confederate flags from all state buildings. When asked what he would do about the protests and the issue of racially-motivated violence, Trump simply stated:

theres no such thing as racism anymore. Weve had a black president so its not a question anymore. Are they saying black lives should matter more than white lives or Asian lives? If black lives matter, then go back to Africa? Well see how much they matter there.

Afterwards, the normally calm and collected Oprah Winfrey, who Donald Trump said he would run beside in the election if given the opportunity, stated, the die from that toupee must have seeped into this crackers brain and driven him crazy.

Read the rest here:
Donald Trump If Black Lives Dont Matter, Then Go Back to ...

Officersat the Philadelphia Police Department got an unexpected delivery earlier this week.

Two members of the Pennsylvania chapter of Black Lives Matter showed up at the precinct on Tuesday and handed police officers pairs of mens underwear to protest a little known, yet unlawful, practice dubbed stop and fondle.

According a recent expose in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, for yearsblack and brown men in Philly havehad their pants lowered, patted down and rifled through during t pedestrian stops.

Yet, these searches, when conducted in public, are strictly prohibited by Police Department policy and state laws.

Invasive searches are only lawful if police officershave a reasonable suspicion that the suspect is hiding drugs or contraband and must beconducted in a police or medical building after the person has been arrested, NBC 10 reported. In addition, cops must seek approval from their superintendent.

Outraged by last weeks report of the illegal, and according to several courts, racially-driven searches, Philadelphia activist Asa Khalif delivered a loud and clear message outside the police precinct in Center City:

It is illegal to stop and frisk. It is illegal to go into someones underwear and touch their penis. Touch their buttocks. You think its common practice and its legal, but its not, he yelled in a megaphone, broadcasting the direct action on Facebook Live.

Questioned by the Daily News about lower ranking officers using these tactics, Capt. Sekou Kinebrew they were unknownto him and encouraged victims to file a complaint.

Not surprising for Khalif, who told NBC10 strip searches are so common, many people including higher ranking cops think they are legal.

Its standard police culture in black and brown neighborhoods, he said,likening the practice to sexual assault.

Its humiliating. Dehumanizing, he said. I understand the feeling of hopelessness. It brings up all types of issues with black youth especially.

One of the men interviewed by the Daily News told him that being strip searched by police forno apparent reason and without his consent, while he was dropping off his daughter at a relatives house felt likebeing raped:

Theyre out here, basically, going around sexually harassing people. Theyre doing what they want, he said.

While overall instances of stop-and-frisk have decreased in recent years,saystheAmerican Civil Liberties Union which has been monitoring illegal searches since 2011, the group issued arecent reportshowing that,when they do, Philadelphia police overwhelmingly stop people based on race.

In the second half of 2016, 77 percent of the people stopped and frisked were black or Latino, a group that makes up half of the citys population, the report says.

To address the issue, Khalif toldNBC 10he and other activists were volunteering to fund trauma counseling for the young men who have endured such an ordeal.He also said that he plans to disruptMayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Richard Ross until the department changes its policies.

This is why we continue to fight in the Black Lives Matter movement, he said in the video. We do not accept the s**t that is happening in our communities. Were not going to tolerate racist ass police officers attacking black and brown people.

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Black Lives Matter Activists Protest 'Stop and Fondle' Searches by Giving Cops Underwear - Heat Street