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It's been just over a year since a group of activists in Greater Sudbury got together to rally for the rights of the BIPOCcommunity and join agrowing national and international movement.

Late last spring, the Black Lives Matter Sudbury chapter first formed. The group has since organized rallies and conferences, conducted educational campaigns, and advocated to the local government.

For presidentRa'anaa Brown, it was in May 2020 when she took part in a rally at the Sudbury courthouse, that she wanted to increase her involvement in local activism.

"I saw a lot of activists I had never seen before in town," she said.

Brown had been doing thesis-based research on Black people on the history of art and activism in the United States.

"I felt like it was so perfectly aligned, and I really wanted to get involved and learn more in the movement. And the rest is history."

Ruva Gwekwereresays she had been involved in activism since she was in high school, but it was whilewatching the Black Lives Matter movement grow during the summer of 2020, that led her to want to make sure that was happening locally.

"As a Black person living in the north I was able to see how these issues at home were really potent," she said.

"If I was going to be an activist I couldn't just engage with issues that were happening internationally, I had to engage with local issues as well."

"That's where Black Lives Matter came in and became a really compelling place where I could do that local activism work," Gwekwerere said.

She says there are several issues that are unique to the north, but there are others that are universal across North America, particularly issues with black communities and policing.

Gwekwerere gives examples of problems like police brutality, racial screening and over-policing in BIPOC communities.

"Those are issues that we really need to solve, even in Sudbury," she said.

"Sometimes as activists we feel like our words kind of fall on deaf ears," Brown said, referring to a September presentation the group made to Sudbury City Council. Issues included defunding the police, opportunities for BIPOC artists, and after-school programs for BIPOC youth.

"It's kind of unfortunate that we haven't been able to see the changes," she said.

However, membership within Black Lives Matter Sudbury, and the overall response from the Sudbury community has been positive.

Brown says when the group was first formed there were many folks who denied racism was a problem in Sudbury.

"With the work that Black Lives Matter has been doing pushing forward in this huge educational movement and making people understand that systemic racism is embedded within the foundations of our society and within our city people are starting to see that this does exist," Brown said.

"The community is showing up for us."

To mark its first anniversary, Black Lives Matter Sudbury is holding a rally at Tom Davies Square, starting at 4 p.m today.

"This is an opportunity for us to reflect on all that Black Lives Matter Sudbury has done in the past year, but also thinking about the changes that still need to come, and reflecting on what is still to come in our city," Brown said.

The group has also partnered with Public Health Sudbury and Districts to hold a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic. It's meant for people who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of colour.

"Statistics have found that Black and Indigenous people of colour have a higher rate of hospitalization and death in Canada," Gwekwerere said. "So we really wanted to make sure that we are addressing those systemic issues."

The vaccine clinic is being held at Tom Davies Square at the same time as the rally. Sixty doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be available.

Morning North10:34Black Lives Matter Sudbury marks its first anniversary

Excerpt from:
Black Lives Matter Sudbury reflects on first year of local activism - CBC.ca

About a year ago in a June 2020 column, I posed this question: Is the aftermath of George Floyds killing the beginning of a lasting tide or a mere moment in time?

Were about to find out.

To all those who were newly engaged in the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer, please stick around. This eras work to combat racial bias and to realign policing in America in ways less violent for all has barely begun. Perhaps your socially conscious high schooler wanted to march and you, the supportive parent, soon headed out to your first protest.

Maybe it was your pastor who inspired you by preaching about being our brothers keeper, regardless of skin color. Maybe your book club went all-in by reading How to be an Antiracist or White Fragility: Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism for your June or July 2020 reading.

For some, these steps were conducted in earnest. For many Americans, these actions were to a large extent performative. Or rather, they were preventative. Doing a quick bit of study on Black history and getting familiar with terminology about oppression was a way to avoid unwittingly uttering something racially offensive.

Whatever the motivation, last summer was a catch-up phase for many people new to the idea of racial and social justice, a time for learning history and gaining perspectives on issues that America should have reckoned with long ago. Consider all of last year prep for what lies ahead in summer 2021.

Brace yourself to be challenged as things are about to get rough across America. The next viral controversial police shooting will soon occur, if it hasnt already. Police shoot and kill nearly 1,000 people a year. Many cases are questionable under honest assessments. George Floyds murder stands outside of the so-called gray area of these tragedies.

The person, probably a Black man, will be just as dead. His family just as devastated.

Black activists, people who have spent their lives working to prevent such deaths, will be justifiably enraged. Will white gazes be averted, their attention less rapt this time around? Will they be able to sustain their fledgling activism through another protest-filled summer? Well see.

Its unquestionable that many white Americans had their moral compass shaken by Floyds murder. To watch a man have the life literally choked out of him, that was a step too far to ignore. But generally, across the country, many white people are safely isolated from the brutal ways that policing looks different for people of color.

Systems dont change quickly, even when everyone is aligned in the same direction. Sustained passion, pressure and cooperation from many diverse voices will be necessary for many years to come.

The power of last summers marches was that they drew such a wide spectrum of America.

The goal now will be to stay engaged, to lean into finding avenues beyond marching to be productive. This could be as small as donating to a group working on these causes or being the calm, informed voice among friends and family who continues conversations about policing and race whenever the next high-profile incident occurs.

Because we know that it will come.

People declared that Black Lives Mattered across America in 2020.

They still do, and we need to continue to act like it.

2021 Tribune Content Agency LLC

Continue reading here:
Will Black Lives Matter in the summer of 2021? - Watertown Daily Times

Marian Cunnington was unfairly dismissed from her job at Sainsbury's after making a Black Lives Matter comment about BBC character Bing. (Facebook/BBC/PA)

A supermarket worker with 28 years of experience was unfairly sacked from Sainsburys after she made a comment about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

A complaint was made against Marian Cunnington, 52, after she picked up a cuddly toy of BBC childrens character Bing, a black rabbit, and said: Should we really be selling this toy? Black Lives Matter.

She was suspended from her job later that day, an employment tribunal heard, before being sacked a month later.

The Daily Mirror reported that Cunnington, who had won awards for her work as a price controller at the Sainsburys store in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, was unfairly dismissed for gross misconduct after a colleague complained her remark was racist.

Supermarket worker Marian Cunnington made a Black Lives Matter comment about a cuddly toy of children's TV character Bing. (BBC)

The incident happened in June last year at the height of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests following the murder of George Floyd in the US.

Cunnington was carrying out price changes in an aisle when she saw the Bing toy.

She told Birmingham Employment Tribunal she thought the toy could be offensive to Black people in the same way as the banned Robertsons jam mascot.

The colleague who complained said she heard Cunnington say: Im offended Black Lives Matter.

After being suspended, Cunnington later told her bosses in a meeting: I was actually standing up for BLM.

But she was sacked on 2 July last year and her appeal against the decision was also turned down, it was reported.

However, last month, Judge Richardson said the Sainsburys operations manager who sacked her could not explain what was offensive about the words, Im offended Black Lives Matter.

The judge said sensitivities were heightened at the time of the incident because of the BLM protests in the US and the UK.

He said: It is all the more reason to take great care that proper procedures are followed thoroughly, objectively and fairly so that justice can be done.

Marian Cunnington has since found work with Marks & Spencer. (Facebook)

Given the size and resources of [Sainsburys], the fact that so many fundamental procedural errors were made is unacceptable.

Story continues

In summary, the decision to dismiss was not well founded and is unfair.

Cunnington has since found work with Marks & Spencer.

She told the Mirror: Im not a racist and Im a really good worker. When I was summarily dismissed I was in disbelief.

It was very hard but then I knew that I hadnt said anything racist.

Obviously I have made a lot of friends in my team and none of them believed I had done anything wrong.

Yahoo News UK has contacted Sainsburys to ask for comment.

Watch: What is antibiotic resistance?

Go here to read the rest:
Sainsburys worker unfairly sacked over Black Lives Matter comment about Bing toy - Yahoo News

For Joanne Barber, a second grade teacher at Crestwood Elementary School in Kent, last years Black Lives Matter protests presented an opportunity for her to teach more about race.

I am willing to be that teacher that has those hard conversations, she said. I would be doing a huge disservice to my students if I didnt give them information that they could see themselves in.

For Barber, teaching students about racial history is just as important as reading or math.

Her class starts with defining social justice and talking about slavery, which led to institutional racism and implicit bias. Barber also weaves race and equity into every subject. Whether its learning about scientists or mathematicians of color, sharing social justice factsor reading about civil rights movements, every day in her class is filled with race education. She also provides resources and other useful information for her students families in case students have any questions.

This approach to teaching is something Barber frequently talks about with her colleagues around the Kent School District. Shesaid the teachers often discuss how to help kids navigate difficult conversations and push through discomfort in discussing race.

One of her friends, Manuel Cadenas, a teacher at Kent-Meridian High School, saidhe tries to lead class discussions with honesty.

I hope to keep it real. Like the scholars, I need a break from keeping it together, he said in an email.

While teachers arent required to discuss racial equity, specifically, they can still choose to include the history of race or social justice in their own classrooms. The Washington State Board of Education recently announced plans to add an ethnic studies graduation requirement.

Bethany Spinler, the principal ofBellevue Big Picture School, said she is unsure if there are required teaching standards on race.

Although teachers aren't required to teach about race and equity in their classes, they do go through mandatory diversity training, which covers implicit bias, anti-discrimination, inclusion and cultural responsiveness. In the Bellevue School District, teachers are required to attend one full day of training every three years, according to the teachers unions collective bargaining agreement.

Some local school districts have takenadditional steps to bring in more equity-related topics in other classes like science, English and history.

In Bellevue, we have been working very hard in grades 5, 8 and 11 to de-center the traditional white perspective and to center the voices of people of color, said Patricia Shelton, a curriculum developer in the Bellevue School District.

Link:
How BLM protests changed teaching in King County schools - Crosscut

Ahead of the Games in Tokyo, people have shared misleading social media posts claiming Japan has banned Black Lives Matter apparel at the Olympics.

The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo is just weeks away after being delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of the athletes competing, its the biggest stage of their professional sporting careers.

Over the past few months, posts onFacebook andTwitter have made the following claim: Japan has banned all BLM apparel from the Olympics. NO ONE can kneel/raise fists during the anthems. Two Facebook posts in May with the claim have been shared59,000 and67,000 times. Posts continue to be made through June with the same claim and wereshared thousands of times.

THE QUESTION

Did Japan ban Black Lives Matter apparel and kneeling during anthems?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

No, Japan did not ban Black Lives Matter apparel and kneeling during anthems. Its the International Olympic Committee that sets those rules.

WHAT WE FOUND

The Olympics are governed by theOlympic Charter, a set of rules and guidelines established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that everyone involved in the Games, from host countries to athletes and fans, agree to follow within the Olympic venue.

The social media posts appear to referenceRule 50 of the charter, which governs neutrality by stating, No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.

The rule not only applies to what athletes say but what they wear as well. It also includes, Gestures of a political nature, like a hand gesture or kneeling, according to the IOC.

Team USA tells its athletes that Rule 50 ensures the Games remain free from demonstrations and political, religious, and racial propaganda.

On July 2, the IOC revised some of its guidelines related to Rule 50, which gives athletes more opportunities to express themselves, most notably on the field of play prior to the start of the competition, such as when they or their team is being introduced. The form of expression must not target people, countries, organizations or be disruptive. Athletes can also express their views during press conferences, interviews and on social media.

Demonstrations are still banned during competitions, official ceremonies and in the Olympic Village. Official ceremonies include medal ceremonies and the opening and closing ceremonies. So, expressions are still not allowed while anthems are played during ceremonies.

The penalties for not following the IOCs rules vary. The IOC says it will take action on any violations on a case-by-case basis.

The changes made weeks before the Tokyo Games came after the IOC upheld Rule 50 in April, saying amajority of athletes responding to a survey said they thought it was not appropriate to demonstrate or express their views while on the field of play, at official ceremonies or on the podium.

Rules limiting demonstrations at the Olympics have been around for decades. VERIFY researchers found a ban on demonstrations as part of the Olympic Charter dating back to the 1950s. The1955 Olympic Charter states countries who invite the IOC to host the upcoming Games must state that no political demonstrations will be held in the stadium or other sport grounds, or in the Olympic Village, during the Games, and that it is not the intention to use the Games for any other purpose than for the advancement of the Olympic Movement.

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Read the original post:
VERIFY: No, Japan isnt banning Black Lives Matter apparel during anthems at the Olympics. That's an IOC decision - WUSA9.com