Mediaboss Marketing

LawOfficer.com

Black Lives Matter founders to be awarded 2017 Sydney Peace Prize Miami Herald The three women began Black Lives Matter in 2013 with the social media hashtag #BlackLivesMatter after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a black Florida teenager. The hashtag and its meaning became nationally ... Black Lives Matter Awarded the 2017 Sydney Peace PrizeThe Root Black Lives Matter Founders To Be Honored With The 2017 Sydney Peace PrizeBlavity all 9 news articles »

Read the original post:
Black Lives Matter founders to be awarded 2017 Sydney Peace Prize - Miami Herald

"Imagine if we actually lived in a world where black lives matter. What would it look like, what would it take?"

The organisers of the Sydney Peace Prize have announced that this years recipient is the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. Its the first time a movement, rather than an individual, has been awarded the prize.

The Sydney Peace Prize is an initiative of the Sydney Peace Foundation, a foundation of the University of Sydney. Previous recipients of the prize have includedArchbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky and Senator Pat Dodson. The prize recognises the vital contributions of leading global peacemakers, creates a platform so that their voices are heard, and supportstheir vital workfor a fairer world. Winners receive $50,000 to help them continue their work.

The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot 17-year old Trayvon Martin. The campaign was launched by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi and it focused on police violence and systemic racism targeting the black community.

Garza, Cullors and Tometi will travel to Sydney later this year to formally acceptthe prize.

The movement has had an enormous impact on US culture and prominent artists including Beyonce, Rihanna and Alicia Keyshave paid homage to it in recent years. The issues raised by Black Lives Matter have resonance beyond the US. Indigenous activists in Australia have pointed to the parallels between the persecution of the black community in the US and the structural racism and violence experienced by Indigenous Australians.

Last year, Alicia Garza delivered the keynote address at the Sydney Opera Houses Festival of Dangerous Ideas, alongside journalist Stan Grant. Her talk discussed the origin of the Black Lives Matters movement, placing it squarely in the context of hundreds of years of oppression and resistance, as opposed to something that has only emerged due to the rise of social media.

The Sydney Peace Prize jury citation forBlack Lives Matter reads For building a powerful movement for racial equality, courageously reigniting a global conversation around state violence and racism. And for harnessing the potential ofnew platforms and power of people to inspire a bold movement for change at a time when peace is threatened by growing inequality and injustice.

Patrisse Cullors, one of the movements co-founders, told Junkee that When we started Black Lives Matter wecalled for it to be something that translates outside of [the US]. We understand anti-black racism is actually a global crisis. And we see the consequences everywhere.

Black Lives Matter was trying to intervene on was this idea that we were living in a post-racial society, Cullors said. Obama had been elected, it was still his first term and then Trayvon Martin was murdered. At the beginning of his next term GeorgeZimmerman was acquitted. We knew as black folks that we werent living in a post-racial world, so Black Lives Matterbecame an intervention.

But the movement has always been about transforming the way activism is done. Internally, Black Lives Matter was about intervening intothis idea that only black, male, Christian pastors could lead a movement, Cullors said. We knew the workers and strategists of the movement wereblack women. Black, queer women in fact. We wanted them to be the faces of the movement.

Imagine if we actually lived in a world where black lives matter. What would it look like, what would it take?

There was no need to have a single leader. Even the three of us dont represent the movement. Theres thousands of leaders inside of it. The chapter structure of our network which is made up of 39 chapters means were really autonomous and linked under a set of guiding principles that weve created.

Cullors said that the election of Donald Trump had shaken Americans out of their post-racial naivety. People are awakened to the gruesome reality of America. An America that is steeped in poverty, racism and capitalism. As a result of those three things we are unfortunately bearing witness to some of the ugliest parts of America, she said.

Im an artistand part of my work is about exposing the reality of anti-black racism. But another part is aboutdeepeningour engagement with, and understanding of, black peoples resilience. We clearly wouldnt be here, and there wouldnt be a vibrant movement, if black people werent a resilient people.

Thats whats most exciting about this movement. We could talk about statisticsall day, like the fact that out of the 2.3 million people in prison in America, one million are black. But we could also talk about imagining a new world.Imagine if we actually lived in a world where black lives matter. What would it look like, what would it take?

Osman Faruqi is Junkees News and Politics Editor. He tweets at @oz_f.

See more here:
Black Lives Matter Is The First Movement To Win Sydney's Peace Prize - Junkee

In this May 18, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington.(Photo: Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

HAMBURG, Germany News reports are coming almost too quickly for reaction. The dispatches are being described as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes fast, furious and all over the place.

The investigation of a U.S. president is dominating global news and is a major subject at this year's World Congress of the International Press Institute, of which I am a member.

Read more:

Flint water crisis should define Michigan governor's race

Rochelle Riley: How do we honor Joe Louis? Rename Cobo Center

But here's the thing: We cannot continue to swat at news like bothersome flies at a picnic, or gird ourselves, like with hurricanes. So rather than offer thoughts specifically about ...

the Department of Justice ordering a special counsel to investigate whether Donald Trump or any of his associates should be charged with a crime in #Russiagate. the death of former Fox head Roger Ailes.

orthe white Tulsa police officer who will not be charged for killing an unarmed black driver.;

my hope is that we do what University of Missouri journalism professor Marty Steffens advised journalists covering Trump: "When you're in a hurricane, build a strong foundation."

America is in a hurricane, so we need to strengthen our foundation rather than focus on sides, at least for a while. That means we cannot continue doing what we've been doing wrong.

We have spent the past seven years, since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010, taking up sides on either side of a wall.

We have spent the past four years, since George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, growing in number on either side of that wall.

We have spent nearly two years, since Donald Trump became a presidential candidate, adding even more people and vitriol on both sides of that wall.

Unfortunately, that wall that divides us on so many issues, has not pushed the wall one way orthe other. Rather, the wall has grown higher, so neither side can hear the yelling from those on the other side.

And we have been wrong, in each instance, to choose to be adversaries, rather than Americans allied to solve problems;to find ways to do what is best for America. We don't need a third political party. Oh, America will need it later, but not now when our country is at stake. Now, we need to unite on the side that wants America to continue to thrive and continue to be the world's greatest superpower, not a power partner with Russia, fighting wars in nine countries and empowering a rise in overt racial hatred unseen in this country for decades.

We cannot continue to choose the wrong sides in the police versus innocent black men feud. Oh, it is a feud, a blood feud that hasnt affected everyone, but could affect anyone. But it won't end by taking sides or criticizing deaths when they happen. We must unite, all on one side, and fight it together.

We can no longer pretend that Obamacare wasn't about making sure that all Americans have health care. We must unite as one country that doesn't want Americans dying because they cannot get access to a doctor. It is that simple. When you remove partisan politics and rhetoric, that is what is left.

So why dont we start here: Let us look at what the wall is, what it represents. That wall is dividing America, not by ideology, but between right and wrong.

Where President Donald Trump is concerned, lets not make the fight about Trump but about right and wrong. If Trump has done nothing wrong, as he contends, he should have nothing to fear from an investigation. His supporters must convince him of that and stand with him, with everybody on the right side of the wall.

If the GOP doesn't want Obamacare which my friend Daoud Kuttab from Jordan calls Obamacares then every member of Congress should work together on Realcare. It would be a plan that would save people as well as save dollars. Who could be opposed to that?

Where the police are concerned, it is past time to have conversations with the majority of officers who arent thugs and work to keep them safe while they keep us safe. We cannot pretend that there arent people who use their uniforms to harm, but we have to change the dynamic of our interactions and work together to stand, rightversus wrong.

My hope, as I watch my country from 4,000 miles away, is that we remember that we are America versus everybody.

We can have allies and enemies, but neither should come between us Americans. We don't need another wall in America. We have one.

On one side are those fighting for the America we know, one that embraces exceptionalism, diversity and a greatness that already existed two years ago and still exists now.

On the other side, mixed in like weeds among hardworking people who want the same hope and change America asked for in 2008, are the unAmericans who are using the Trump presidency to advance their own causes. Some are using it as an excuse to empower their hatred, as an absurd opportunity to embrace the misguided notion of a white supremacy they once hid under sheets.

Some are people telling folks who have never been to Africa to go back to Africa. Some are people telling Jews the Holocaust didn't happen, and some are calling for a separate America for white people.

Those on that hate side are welcome to leave their hatred behind and come around to the American side of the wall, or they are welcome to just leave and find a place outside America where they can continue to hate American values and greatness. The rest of us will stand together, live together, work together to be the envy of the world. The world is pulling for us because much, not all, but a heck of a lot of the world, wants to be us. They are watching how we handle the wall we have, let alone the wall some want, because they are counting on us, particularly journalists.

"Right now, the world is watching the Trump story, and for a country like Zambia,that depends on knowing what's going on in America, we are telling the press 'Don't stop!'''said Joan Chirwa, editor-in-chief and CEO of the Mast, an independent newspaper in Lusaka, Zambia, that was shut down by the government but continued to operate from a street corner. "We are always looking up to America in terms of press freedom. How is America going to speak in defense of press freedom when they are represented by a government having problems with press freedom?"

There's America. And there's the world. And much of that world wants what we've built.

So we dont need more walls to separate us from us. When were all on one side, we wont need a wall at all.

Contact Rochelle Riley:rriley99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @rochelleriley.

Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2r4Dtbe

Follow this link:
Americans don't need another wall, we've already got too many - Detroit Free Press

"It's one of the worst I've seen," says Barbara Petersen, president of Florida's First Amendment Foundation.

Her frustration stems from this year's legislative results regarding exemptions to the state's public records laws.

Petersen believes doors are closing on open government.

"It's a concern, and it's a continuing concern," Petersen says.

In the recent legislative session, state lawmakers passed 17 exemptions to public records laws.

According to Petersen's records, it was the second highest amount of exemptions since 1995.

The record was set in 2014, when 22 exemptions passed. The average is about 10 a year.

"But in terms of volume, it was almost 12% of all the bills passed by the Legislature, so they can't agree on school funding," Petersen says. "They can't agree on medical marijuana, gaming, but it seems they can agree on chipping away at our constitutional right of access to government information."

Petersen agrees some exemptions are justified but many aren't.

Her biggest concern with this year's exemptions, Senate Bill 118, which she said will keep the public from viewing criminal history records, if a person is found not guilty or acquitted.

Petersen argues there are many reasons a case can be tossed such as perhaps the victim didn't want to to press charges.

She says in cases such as O.J. Simpson, George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony, the new exemptions would have sealed information, if they were in existence at the time.

"That means if you want to hire a babysitter or a clerk to work in your store you would go to the FDLE website search for the name and they won't pop up," Petersen says referring to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. House Speaker Richard Corcoran entered the legislative session declaring more transparency. Corcoran said he was not concerned.

"The question is, are you protecting the publics interest," Corcoran says. "Does the public who has an absolute right to know how their taxpayer money is being spent, is that right? And is that knowledge being protected? And it absolutely is."

Petersen says the public should pay close attention to who's proposing these exemptions and why, because it ultimately affects your access to records.

She says in 1985 there were about 250 exemptions to Sunshine Laws. There now are more than 1,000.

"The last time the Legislature did anything to improve our public records laws, to enhance our right of access, was in 1995, and that tells you something," Petersen says.

This year is the first year ever the First Amendment Foundation is calling on the governor to veto this year's budget. Not because of any specific policies, Petersen says, but rather because major policy changes were agreed to in secret behind closed doors.

Florida's First Amendment Foundation has been around since 1983.

Read more from the original source:
Public records advocate opposes public records exemptions passed by Legislature - ABC Action News

FORT MYERS, Fla. -

Justified shooting or cold-blooded murder?

A Fort Myers father is asking Gov. Rick Scott to decide after the state said the man who shot and killed his son was acting in self-defense.

The family of Ryan Modell is frustrated that more wasn't done to figure out what happened in his shooting death. They say they don't understand why a grand jury wasn't the one to make the decision if the killing was murder or justified.

James Taylor is a free man after a March ruling that his shooting of Ryan, 33, was justified based on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. Modell was trying to enter Taylor's condo, which looked identical to his.

The case was reviewed by Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg.

"This was a questionable shooting at the very least," said Mark O'Mara, the Modell family attorney.

"The threat that you perceive has got to be immediate, and it's got to be one of great bodily injury."

In March, Sandy Modell confronted Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox about the lack of charges, which until then a decision hadn't been announced. It was the next day the State Attorney's Office said charges would not be filed.

"That looks to me like a call that should have been made by the grand jury, not some prosecutor," O'Mara said.

Modell and his attorney want Scott to assign a different state attorney to take a second look at the case.

Mark O'Mara, who rose to fame after successfully defending George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, says a critical component for "Stand Your Ground" is missing from this case.

"The fear has to be immediate. You're going to do it to me now, and it has to be that you can cause great bodily injury," O'Mara said.

For now, the SAO is sticking with its original decision and says they won't be taking any other actions in the case.

Scott has shown a willingness to get involved in judicial issues.

In April, he took 21 first-degree murder cases away from Orlando State Attorney Aramis Ayala when she said she would no longer seek the death penalty in any cases, including the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing a police officer.

James Taylor, the man who shot Ryan Modell, had no comment.

See more here:
Fort Myers family asks Scott to review 'Stand Your Ground' ruling - NBC2 News