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NEWARK, NJ A key toward achieving racial equality in communities could come through means of reform in policing and public safety, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka highlighted during a panel discussion with former President Barack Obama.

Baraka was joined on Wednesday by the former U.S. president and community leaders across the nation to participate in a conversation hosted by My Brother's Keeper Alliance, aimed to share ideas and best practices to continue to center racial equity," the activism the country has seen since George Floyd was killed, and the need to revamp public safety.

The virtual discussion came just a year after the tragic death of Floyd, when a viral video of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin was seen kneeling on his neck which led to his death. Protests and rallies erupted nationwide in the following weeks, including Newark, as calls rang out for social justice and policing reform.

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During Wednesday's discussion,Baraka notedthat measures for reformhavealready been undertaken in his city for years through a consent decree agreement.

[The consent decree] was a good thing for our city, and we began to push to begin putting reforms in place in our police department, immediately, Baraka said.

Under the consent decree, an agreement which Newark police and the U.S. Department of Justice entered into in 2016, it served as a shift for the citys authorities to improve their quality of policing through various facets of training and reforms.

Since Newark police entered into the agreement, they have reported several improvements in their policing efforts.

In a quarterly consent decree report, it highlighted that city police and its monitoring team have made considerable efforts to establish remote auditing capabilities while pandemic-related restrictions on in-person meetings remained in place.

The report also highlighted a decision from the police earlier this year to issue body cameras for all plainclothes officers after Det. Rod Simpkins shot and killed a man minutes into New Years Day - an incident investigators said was difficult to assess due to a lack of footage from the scene.

Last year, the city moved nearly $12 million of its public safety budget into a newly-created Office of Violence Prevention as a means to impede hate activity and violence within Newark. The plan is to close the Newark Police Departments 1st Precinct by Dec. 31 and transition the building into a museum chronicling local activism in Newark and positive police changes. It will also hold a trauma center for health recovery and healing, and workforce development.

Newark police also established two Community Service Officers in each of the city's seven precincts. Officers are responsible for addressing the needs within the neighborhoods they serve.

In order to quell more incidents of violent crimes, the mayor pointed to notable changes made under the consent decree and by bringing police and community together.

Making sure that police are part of the larger public safety strategy as opposed to the only public safety strategy, he said. It doesnt mean we dont have any mistakes or problems But we are continuing to get better because we are working together collaboratively to make sure we reimagine what public safety looks like.

However, as the unjust killings of Black people in the country persist, Obama explained that the work of communities nationwide hasnt necessarily solved the issue of racial injustice just yet.

Touching on the death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old unarmed African-American from Miami who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman during an altercation, the former president said he hopes to see proven efforts in the public addressing racial injustice come to fruition.

We have seen people come together to not just talk about the problem, but to try and come up with concrete solutions and implement those solutions, Obama said. What I have consistently drawn inspiration from is to see how the process hasnt been static but has continually evolved with people learning from what works and what doesnt work, pushing the envelopes of what is possible and challenging all of us to see how we can do better.

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Newark Mayor Highlights Transformation of Public Safety During Panel With Barack Obama - TAPinto.net

In the past year, several local organizations have created an avenue for activism following George Floyd's death.

Some have evolved since then, turning from protests to full-fledged efforts to give back to the community.

Their efforts originally born from something tragic have turned into something beautiful, creating a path toward healing.

The latest news from around North Texas.

The organization Not My Son was essentially born out of the tear gas that flew almost a year ago at Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, as protestors clashed with police days after Floyds death.

It was the straw that broke Americas back, said founder, Tramonica Brown.

His death was the catalyst that brought her and so many protestors to the streets of Dallas in the summer of 2020. She formed the organization in June when she witnessed protestors being shot with rubber bullets and tear gas during last summers protests.

I didnt want to see anybodys babies get hurt with rubber bullets, said Brown, who is both a mother and an educator. It originally started with a group of teachers. No one protects more, I think, than moms and teachers.

She said Not My Son helped create a safe space of meaningful conversation between activists and city leaders, law enforcement and lawmakers. Their first conversation rally brought together close to 1,000 people.

We challenged everybody to know who their city council member was. A lot of the fight that we want to change happens right here, Brown said during our interview outside Dallas City Hall. A lot of people march and dont know what the cause is. So we wanted to make sure that people understood what youre marching for.

The name for the organization comes from the fear she said she feels for her own son and other Black children being racially profiled by police or discriminated against for the color of their skin.

Tramonica Brown and her son, who helped inspire the name of the Not My Son organization.

I dont want it to be my son. I dont want it to be anybodys son, she said. The Black man is the one who is the most under attack.Its unfortunate but its the reality.

Her son was only two years old when the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman gripped the nation in 2012.

It just really broke me. I was a young mother, I was in college. It just hit me that theres nothing I can really do. I can strive to live a better life and do better and achieve better, but at any moment my son can still be taken, she said.

But what started with protests, evolved into something else. Over time, as volunteers and supporters showed up by the hundreds, their mission started to transform.

Growth is beautiful, Brown said.

She recalls the feeling last summer of wanting to do more. A lightbulb moment occurred during one of their marches.

Instead of marching them through downtown, we marched through South Dallas. I think that was a breakthrough in the immediate growth of Not My Son. People were in tears. Its amazing how many people have not been down Martin Luther King Boulevard but go to Fair Park. It showed a clear divide of what it looks like, she said. I said, What do we do? And people said, We just want to help.'"

So they started feeding the hungry and cleaning up neighborhoods. They created tutoring programs for kids and became a saving grace for 600 families during the winter storm in February.

Through the year, Brown said some volunteers have come and gone. But she was able to find true allyship through groups like Say Their Names, who brought an impactful exhibit to Dallas featuring the names of Black lives lost due to racism.

"To be an ally is not to be afraid to use your privilege for the better good. To me, allyship is doing your part when you know you can," she said. Its a marathon. So protesting is a way to garner the attention. Now that we have the attention, what are we going to do with it?

This year, Brown said their next goal is to take communities back. She shared concern over some residents in South Dallas being forced from their homes to make way for more development.

If its going to be a building of success, it needs to be around those people who live in that neighborhood, not just shove them out to put more in," she explained. "Were not going to be able to take them back unless youre teaching financial literacy for you to own something. Making sure that our grandmothers are paying their taxes and that they are not getting their land sanctioned because they have $40,000 in taxes that has to be paid in 30 days."

Despite the new efforts to give back to the community, Brown said activism through protest when injustices occur will still be a big part of her focus.

Not My Son definitely turned into a community-based organization. Don't think for a second that we wont protest, because we will," she said.

Teresa Nguyen has been on her own journey of allyship.

Last June, she created an avenue for others to join her on that journey, called the Umbrella Project.

My heart was heavy to do something, she said.

She gathered up and distributed bright yellow umbrellas as a way to protect protestors from rubber bullets and tear gas during last years marches, an inspiration she drew from demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2014.

But it took on a different meaning once the group joined forces with Mothers Against Police Brutality, which requested the names of Black and Brown lives lost be painted on the umbrellas.

Then, what started with just a few dozen umbrellas, grew into 500. Each umbrella had a different name painted in bold, black paint by local artists and volunteers.

It just kept growing, Nguyen said. It breaks my heart. It just became more real."

The movement expanded beyond Dallas, traveling to Juneteenth celebrations in Tulsa, OK., and more protests in Portland, Ore. The umbrellas were a staple in some protests to show the gravity of the fear and pain people were feeling during the movement.

It became something a lot a lot more extraordinary, said Nguyen.

Nguyen herself learned even more about the meaning of allyship, as anti-Asian hate crimes took a grip on America in the year since the pandemic began.

"I try to take it one day at a time. Sometimes its one step at a time or one breath at a time -- trying to feel like you belong even though you were born and raised here, she said. You cant just sit back. Its so important to speak up and be a part of each others lives."

Looking forward into 2021, both groups are focusing on growth and the power of a collective as their fight for justice continues.

I feel like last year was the setup, Brown said. And this year is just having those tough conversations and opening up the door and really factoring in -- what are you going to do?

Both organizations have some big projects coming up in the next week.

Not My Son is organizing a clean-up and feeding of the homeless on May 29. They are in need of volunteers. See the flyer below or click here for more details.

The Umbrella Project is also bringing back the umbrellas in a touching art display starting June 4. For more information, follow their Instagram page.

Excerpt from:
Activists Turn Tragedy Into Transformation and Healing One Year After George Floyd's Death - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

George Zimmerman was found not guiltyof murdering Trayvon Martin. For many, including myself, this is a fact that is hard to swallow. Yet considering the broad scope of Floridas state laws governing self-defense, we should not be surprised by the verdict.

Why do so many people feel that Zimmerman is guilty? Because they want to hold him accountable. A large body of psychological research has found evidence that people engage in a phenomenon called motivated reasoning.Instead of looking at a body of evidence and then reaching a conclusion based on facts, people often have a conclusion they want to reach and change the facts to fit that goal. People wanted Zimmerman to be guilty, and so they fit the facts of the case to that conclusion.

Many rejected the verdict because they wanted the jury to find him guilty. When it didnt, they assumed the jury got it wrong. We see what we want to see, and we ignore evidence that gets in our way.

Motivated reasoning has been at the core of this case from the start. Ironically, Zimmerman has quoteda passage from James Loewens Lies My Teacher Told Me,which says, People have a right to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. Evidence must be located, not created, and opinions not backed by evidence cannot be given much weight. This quote exemplifies the problems of motivated reasoning in this case: Zimmerman concluded that Martin was suspicious without any evidence, and then found facts (e.g., Martin wearing a hoodie) to back up his foregone conclusion.

But this display of motivated reasoning has distracted us from the bigger picture: it puts the focus on Zimmerman, when we should be focused on the law. Yet Zimmerman is only one part of the system that failed Trayvon Martin. Yes, Zimmerman shouldnt have stalked Martin based on his race. Yes, Zimmerman shouldnt have continued to follow Martin when the police told him not to. Yes, Zimmerman shouldnt have engaged Martin in a fight that eventually led to the young mans death. Zimmermans actions were problematic at best, and malicious at worst. But the jury found no compelling evidence that he did not act in accordance with the law.

Its psychologically easier for us to blame the jury than it is for us to blame the law. Research suggests that we find it aversive to recognize failures within our own system. We dont want to see the flaws with our government, so we justifyand bolster the status quoeven when it fails and disadvantages us. In this case, both lawmakers and citizens alike need to try to overcome this predilection, because recognizing that a law is unfair is the first step to fixing it.

Lets not make the same mistake that Zimmerman did and find facts to support our conclusions. In this case, the facts are that George Zimmerman is not guilty, at least in a legal sense. Its Floridas laws that are guilty and need to be changed.

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George Zimmerman: A Case Study in Motivated Reasoning ...

George Zimmerman, the ex-neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted at trial in the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012, is suing Martin's parents, prosecutors and others claiming false evidence was used at the trial.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Florida state court and seeks $100 million in damages, also claims defamation by Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump, according to a Wednesday news release from Zimmerman's attorney, Larry Klayman.

Klayman, the founder of the conservative group Freedom Watch, said the suit is a result of newly discovered evidence in a new book and film by director Joel Gilbert, called "The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America."

The book claims the key witness in Zimmerman's 2013 murder trial, Rachel Jeantel, was an imposter and fake witness, Klayman said. Jeantel had testified that she was on the phone with Martin moments before he was killed but the book claims Jeantel was not on the phone with Martin and lied repeatedly to cause Zimmerman's arrest, Klayman said.

According to Klayman, Gilbert claims Jeantel was substituted for the real phone witness when that person "refused to bear false witness against Zimmerman."

In a statement Wednesday, Jeantel's attorney, Rod Vareen, called Zimmerman's lawsuit "frivolous."

"My client is done speaking about George Zimmerman and her involvement in the case. Her testimony at trial was accurate and her relationship with Trayvon Martin was however she defined it," Vareen said.

Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting of Martin, who was from Miami Gardens and visiting his father in Sanford at the time, on the grounds of self-defense. He had been facing a possible life sentence.

The lawsuit names Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, along with Crump, the prosecutors in Zimmerman's trial and others, who "are alleged to either have known about or should have known about the witness fraud, obstructed justice, or lied repeatedly under oath in order to cover up their knowledge of the witness fraud."

Crump released a statement Wednesday on behalf of himself, Fulton and Tracy Martin, calling the suit "unfounded and reckless."

"This plaintiff continues to display a callous disregard for everyone but himself, revictimizing individuals whose lives were shattered by his own misguided actions. He would have us believe that he is the innocent victim of a deep conspiracy, despite the complete lack of any credible evidence to support his outlandish claims," Crump's statement read.

Klayman, Zimmerman and the filmmaker Gilbert had been scheduled to hold a press conference at Coral Gables Art Cinema Thursday to discuss the case, but the theater said they canceled the event after discovering the details of it.

Originally posted here:
George Zimmerman Sues Trayvon Martins Parents, Others for ...

Welcome to a special George Zimmerman trial edition of This Week in Racism. Ill be ranking news stories on a scale of 1 to RACIST, with 1 being the least racist and RACIST being the most racist.

UPDATED ON JULY 14 AT 4:05 PM EST

- The worst case scenario for race relations came true and George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges by a jury of his peers in Florida. Despite evidence that Zimmerman shot an unarmed child who was almost 100 pounds lighter than him andhad a history of run-ins with the police, he was not punished for ending Trayvon Martin's life. This occurred in the same state where a black woman could be sentenced to 20 years in prison for not shooting someone.

Pundits on both sides of the cultural divide have found signifcance in this outcome. The black community and sympathetic, liberal whites see this as yet another example of the prejudice inherent in the American judicial system. A white man has gotten away with a vigilante murder against a black child. Conservatives are applauding the decision because it not only reaffirms what they believe is the right to defend yourself with deadly force, but also focuses on their vision of an America that demonizes white people and unfairly paints blacks as victims. The problem with this narrative is that it's predicated on a lie.

The American news media, purveyors of truth and your only source for all the developments in the exciting life of Justin Bieber, continues to call George Zimmerman white. From the moment Trayvon Martin died at Zimmermans hand, news outlets across the nation have repeatedly referred to him as an overzealous white male neighborhood watch member who was overcome with racial animosity.

This creates a really appealing narrative, in which a white guy shot a black kid because racism. Battle lines can easily be drawn based on such a story: black people get on board with the story that Trayvon was killed by a white oppressor, and white people can comfortably defend Zimmermans right to protect himself from a dark-skinned hoodlum.

Its a hell of a lot simpler to create this clean, uncomplicated tale of racial tension than it is to correctly identify Zimmerman as the product of an interracial marriage between a white father and Peruvian mother. To deal with that complexity, the New York Times and others have adopted the rarely used phrasewhite Hispanicto describe the killer. Since important media types are throwing around this term, I assume it is now the proverbial new normal, and I'm going to start using it too, despite it being a totally clumsy way to deal with a difficult issue. If my sexual performance is any indication, I'm very comfortable with "clumsy."

My father is white, and my mother is black, so I suppose Im now white African, but isnt a white African a South African of Dutch descent? OK, what if I called myself white black? Is that accurate, or does that sound too much like a really bad punk bands name? Did I mention Im Jewish? How do I work that in? My grandfather on my moms side was part Native American, so I guess I need to add that to the mix. Next time I have to fill out a United States Census form, Im going to list myself as white Jewish black Native American, or Confused for short.

Im probably missing something in my heritage, but I bet were missing a few pieces of the puzzle for George Zimmerman too. I guess the next time a guy who looks white shoots a person who looks black, we should do thorough genealogical examinations of their backgrounds to be sure were exploiting them appropriately.

Oh, and congratulations to Barack Obama for being Americas first white Kenyan African Hawaiian ex-smoker with a mole and huge ears president. Thats quite an accomplishment! RACIST

Photo by Flickr User GageSkidmore

-Disgraced ex-prom queen and noted converter of oxygen into carbon dioxide Ann Coulter receives this weeks Ann Coulter Award for Excellence in Racism for contradicting herself completely in her latest column. First, let me give Ann credit for her frustration at the medias labeling of George Zimmerman as white. Shes helping expose a real troubling aspect of the way the United States covers the news. After briefly touching on that subject, she takes a sharp left-turn into Crazy Town which happens to be my favorite late 90s rap-rock band:

There were at least eight burglaries in the 14 months before Zimmerman's encounter with Martin. Numerous media accounts admit that 'most' of these were committed by black males. I'm waiting to hear about a single crime at Twin Lakes that was not committed by a black male.

This is her rationale for racial profiling and vigilante violenceit's OK to stalk people and then shoot them as long as they're the same race as someone who has recently committed a crime. Im not saying her stats are wrong, but I am saying that no number allows you to demonize an entire section of the population. As a person of color, like Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, I dont want to walk down a suburban street and feel like theres a target on my back because someone who looks vaguely like me enjoys stealing flat screen TVs.

In the United States, the answer is always to shoot the problem away, be it at home or abroad. According to Ann Coulter's brain, extreme poverty, decaying educational institutions, de facto segregation, and systemic nihilism aren't problems that need to be tackled, we just need to stop "criminals." And one legitimate way to stop criminals, apparently, is to take the law into your own hands and walk around with a gun.

Excuse me while I go start a petition to get Ann Coulter to watch The Wire. RACIST

@YesYoureRacists Ten Most Racist Retweets of the Week [all grammar sic'd]:

10. @alexxzzhang: "I'm no racist but the three black men sitting in lawn chairs on corner of Tyron street are making it hard."

9. @kiedoherty: "Not racist but why do black girls feel the need to shout when there next to each other"

8. @416_ms24: "I'm not racist But all I'm saying is, if a man of a certain race is looking suspicious, I'm locking my doors"

7. @justbeingpiechy: "Im not racist but that ni**a cut me off!!!!"

6. @roadmiles58: "If the blacks riot on travon case blame the ni**er holder and Obama they bused over liberals to fuel this incident"

5. @mohamadmirza95: "I'm not racist but sometimes my mind is racist"

4. @itshaipha: "I am really sorry and not a racist but how do asians wear contact lenses"

3. @devinmmmm: "I'm not racist but I can't stand Indian people"

2. @shutupced: "happy 4th of July to all u Obama lovers have fun having a Ni**er in charge of ur country(:::"

1. @teapartynation: "Are we living in a post racial America or an America beset with liberal racism? #teaparty#zimmerman"

Last Week in Racism: Johnny Depp Plays Native American in Movie, World Shrugs

@dave_schilling

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George Zimmerman Isn't White - VICE