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Kevonna Buchanan, 15, of Gates gathers with others at the Liberty Pole in July before a demonstration march supporting "Black Lives Matter."(Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/@cfortiz_dandc/File photo)Buy Photo

The Rochester City School District has proclaimed next Friday, Black Lives Matter at School: A Day of Understanding and Affirmation.

Some criticize the phrase, but I think it makes sense.

Such slogans resonate with you when the Supreme Court of your country once said that people of your race are beings of an inferior order so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.

When the number of years that your race spent in slavery in America (246) still far outnumbers the years since the Emancipation Proclamation(152).

When your mother had to flee terrorists (the white supremacist kind) who shot at blacks who dared to try to sit near whites in a Mississippi movie theater.

Black lives mattering is a relatively new concept in American history. So people ought to understand that the real message is that black lives matter as much as white lives do, which is just too long for a rallying cry.

But thats just my opinion.

Students will get to debate, discuss and explore this and othermatters relating to race and the Black Lives Matter movement on Friday. The day isn't connectedto thenational Black Lives Matter movement. Rather it was proposed by parents, teachers and citizens.Potential lessons includeBlack Lives Matter versus All Lives Matter, race and the criminal justice system, and What happened in Ferguson and why?

Teachers mightshow their students "13th," a documentary by Ava DuVernay that explores today's prison labor system and how it links to slavery.Or encouragethem to read Michelle Alexanders "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness."For little kids, there are a variety of options, including ananti-racism lesson centered around the Dr. Seuss book The Sneetches.

Why is the district doing this? The official answer is that it wanted to create a day of education, dialogue and action that will actively engage a significant number of educational communities throughout Monroe County in activities that support understanding and affirmation of black lives.

Theres also the fact that many of its students look like Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice, the young men whose deaths sparked #blacklivesmatter. These studentsare living history and should be encouraged to think about current struggles for racial equality and justice.They should be taught that their lives matter as much as anyone elses and given the tools to continue the centuries-long struggle for a countrythat reflects this.

Erica Bryant is the Pay it Forward columnist. Contact her at ebryant@gannett.com

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Rochester school district to celebrate Why Black Lives Matter at School - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Despite concerns expressed by student leaders at the University of Southern Maine, Black Lives Matter protesters have no plans to demonstrate against Thursdays appearance on campus by a controversial Maine lawmaker.

Leah Kravette, one of several people arrested last July during a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, said no students involved with that movement are connected to any planned protest of a talk by Rep. Lawrence Lockman.

Kravette also said she was saddened to see student leaders associate her movement with any lawbreaking or violence. She said although there were arrests last summer, there was no violence and said any characterizations to the contrary are unfair.

Lockman, a Republican from Amherst, will lead a talk titled Alien Invasion: Fixing the Immigrant Crisis, from 7-8 p.m. Thursday at USMs Wishcamper Center in Portland. He was invited to speak by a student group called Young Americans for Freedom. A Michigan chapter of that organization has been listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Lockman is one of the more outspoken members of the Maine Legislature. He has a long history of controversial comments dating back to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. More recently, he has been outspoken about immigration and has criticized Catholic Charities Maine, the organization that settles refugees here.

On Friday, USM President Glenn Cummings met with students who objected to Lockmans appearance. Cummings previously had rejected a request by another group to cancel the talk, saying that a college campus is the best place for freedom of speech.

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Black Lives Matter members have no plans to protest USM talk - Press Herald

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Black Lives Matter protesters blocked Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from entering a Washington, D.C. public school Friday.

According to WJLA, DeVos attempted to enter theJefferson Academy but Black Lives Matter protesters, organized by the Washington Teachers Union blocked the entry way while heckling her, she turned around and returned to her car. D

One protester shouted, Shame, shame, shame, at her.

DeVos attempted to enter early Friday morning after the gathering was organized by the Washington teachers Union.

One of the protesters can be seen holding a Black Lives Matter sign while yelling at DeVos. The Education Secretaryand her aides eventually made their way into the school through another entrance.

Washingtons ABC 7 captured video of the new secretary of education whose contentious confirmation required Vice President Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote in her favor, a first ever for a cabinet level nomination.

The Alliance For Educational Justice claimed, Today, families, residents and community leaders joined to block U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from disrupting learning at Jefferson Academy.

Betsy DeVos has a track record of privatizing and undermining public schools that serve Black students for financial gain, said Makia Green, an organizer with the Washington, DC chapter of Black Youth Project 100. Todays action made it clear: our community will do everything in our power to resist DeVos destructive policies and her attacks on an entire generation of Black students.

DeVos responded in a statement following the incident saying, I respect peaceful protest, and I will not be deterred in executing the mission of the Department of Education. No school door in America will be blocked from those seeking to help our nations school children.

Focusing on their students and families is at the heart of Jefferson Academys approach and thats exactly what I believe is at the heart of providing an exceptional education, she said in the statement. I was honored to speak with Jeffersons team about our shared commitment to strengthening public education.

Teachers union opponents to the DeVos nomination, the American Federation of Teachers called it a sad day, when DeVos was confirmed Tuesday. Gov. Jeb Bush, tweeted out a congratulatory message saying President Trump made an excellent choice to head the Department.

Often, the morning and evening news cycles make it hard to imagine what might unite our nation, she continued. The rhetoric and the words can get hot and heated, and the animosity often seems unending. And thats okay, too. People are passionate and moved by deeply held views. We are a pluralistic culture and we must celebrate our differences. But all of us here can help bring unity by personally committing to being more open to, and patient toward, views different than our own.

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Black Lives Matter Protesters Block Education Sec. DeVos From Entering DC Public School [VIDEO] - Daily Caller

The Vancouver Pride Parade is still months away, but there's already controversy brewing over the involvement of the city's police force.

For the second year in a row, local Black Lives Matter activists are petitioning the Vancouver Police Department to voluntarily withdraw from the parade as a symbolic gesture of support.

That would bring them in line with police in Toronto and Halifax, which have already announced they will step aside this year over the concerns of some in the community.

It doesn't appear Vancouver police will be following suit, however; asked about the petition Friday, Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham told CTV News members still intend to take part in this year's parade.

"The VPD is looking forward to working with our community partners with Black Lives Matter and the Vancouver Pride Society, and unless requested otherwise, have our volunteers and civilian and sworn staff walk with pride," Fincham said in an email.

Black Lives Matter'spetition, which has been signed about 400 times, does not seek to exclude LGBT+ police officers from the parade altogether.

It does ask that they take part in Pride without representing the force as a whole meaning no uniforms, and no police float.

"The policing institution is an instrument of state violence and oppression. Dressing up in rainbows and feather boas does not change that fact," the petition reads.

"If they really support queer and trans people of colour they need to do a lot more work to earn their spot. There are so many other ways they can show meaningful initiative to work to protect the most marginalized groups."

Black Lives Matter listed a number of examples of what it sees as institutional issues in Canada's policing community, including the widely reported inaction toward cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

It also highlighted a 2015 Human Rights Tribunal decision against the VPD that found "systemic discrimination" in the way members dealt with transgender people.

"Across the country the police have a poor track record and current practices for dealing with Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour and queer and trans individuals," Black Lives Matter said in its petition.

"The police can of course be present to do their jobs and show support but being in the parade is not appropriate."

Vancouver police have said they strive to maintain a good relationship with Black Lives Matter members, and the group has called the departments approach "civil."

Last year, the VPD participated in the parade but agreed to not to bring its armoured rescue vehicle.

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VPD plans to participate in Pride, despite Black Lives Matter petition - CTV News

The Black Lives Matter movementremains controversial, asracism and anti-police violence have plagued it during the past few years. It was heartening to see someone on the left, writing in The Huffington Post, call for the resignation of an openly racist BLM activist on Thursday. This is exactly the kind of response which might helpseparate the criminal justice reform activism of BLM from the ugliness which gives the movement a bad name.

"Now, normally my white skin would admittedly preclude me from even suggesting that a black activist should hang up the megaphone, but [Toronto BLM co-founder Yusra] Khogali has made a habit of directing violent, hateful language towards people with white skin, so much so that I feel comfortable calling her out," wrote James Di Fore, a Canadian writer and producerknown forWe Run Sh*t (2012).

Di Fore is right on target here. Yusra Khogali, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Toronto, Canada, has gone so far as to suggest that white people are subhuman. Here's an excerpt from her musings in 2016:

infact, white skin is sub-humxn. [sic]

all phenotypes exist within the black family

and white ppl are a genetic defect of blackness

white ppl have a higher concentration of enzyme inhibitors that suppress melanin production.

they are genetically deficient because;

melanin is present at the inception of life ...

melanin is directly linked to the strength of neuro systems affecting capacities like intelligence, memory and creativity

melanin enables black skin to capture light and hold it in its memory mode which reveals that blackness converts light into knowledge. ...

THEREFORE

white ppl are recessive genetic defects, this is factual.

Wow. And some people say "reverse racism" is impossible.

But it gets worse. In April of last year, Khogali tweeted, "Plz Allah give me strength to not cuss/kill these men and white folks out here today. Plz Plz Plz."

Now, Di Fore actually criticized the media for "focusing on that tweet instead of the issues black communities are facing." He argued that "this was and is a legit criticism of the media. Black people are treated unjustly by the criminal justice system at all levels, and the press is almost, as bad, [sic] and that's why I support the underlying credo of BLM."

Nevertheless, Di Fore added, "that can't absolve Khogali from being held accountable for constantly inserting hate speech into the ether of Toronto activism."

Finally, Di Fore noted Khogali's recent comments attacking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a "white supremacist terrorist." Indeed, Khogali slandered Quebec City as "a white supremacist settler colony," and claimed that Trudeau's statement that he would welcome into Canada anyone excluded from the U.S. by President Donald Trump's immigration action was a lie.

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Toronto Black Lives Matter Co-Founder So Racist, Even HuffPo Turns on Her - PJ Media