Tag: #BLM
Trial begins Monday for Chicago officer accused of murdering black teen
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The trial of white Chicago policeman Jason Van Dyke, accused of murder in the 2014 shooting of a black teen, was set to begin on Monday in a decisive case for race relations and policing in the United States’ third-largest city.
A soundless dashboard camera video released in 2015 showed police gunning down 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. It spurred protests, fed a national debate over the use of excessive force by police against minorities and led to the ousting of local officials.
The officer, now 40, opted for a jury trial on Friday following the selection of a 12-person jury and five alternate jurors.
The jury of four men and eight women includes seven white people, three Hispanic people, one black person and one Asian person, based on appearances, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Opening statements were expected later on Monday.
Van Dyke’s attorney, Daniel Herbert, on Monday morning asked Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan to dismiss the jurors, saying “the negative and inflammatory rhetoric” surrounding the case had made it impossible for them to be impartial, but the judge rejected that argument. Gaughan also denied a defense motion to move the trial out of Chicago.
Van Dyke, who was suspended without pay after he was first charged in 2015, pleaded not guilty to murder and has said he felt threatened by McDonald.
McDonald was armed with a knife when he was shot. Van Dyke faces six counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery – the same number of times prosecutors say McDonald was shot – and one count of official misconduct. Van Dyke is the first Chicago police officer to face a murder charge for an on-duty incident in decades.
The deaths of mostly unarmed black men at the hands of police officers across the United States in recent years have led to protests and sometimes violence in major U.S. cities. The killings, some of which were captured on video, helped give rise to the Black Lives Matter movement and became an issue in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
The video, released by the city more than a year after the shooting in response to a freedom of information lawsuit, sparked days of protests in Chicago. Former Chicago police Superintendent and mayoral hopeful Garry McCarthy was fired, voters ousted the prosecutor who charged Van Dyke, and activists called for the resignation of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Emanuel said on Sept. 4 he would not seek a third term after facing widespread criticism over his handling of the city’s gun violence. He did not specifically cite McDonald in his announcement.
A U.S. Department of Justice investigation that began after the video’s release found that Chicago police routinely violated people’s civil rights, citing excessive force and racially discriminatory conduct.
Three Chicago Police Department officers were indicted in June 2017 for conspiring to cover up McDonald’s shooting. They have not yet been tried.
Article via: Trial begins Monday for Chicago officer accused of murdering black teen
Florida Cop Claims Police Chief Had Him Frame Two Innocent Black Men
A former Florida cop has admitted to framing two innocent black men under the direction of his boss, the chief of police.
Guillermo Ravelo, Former Biscayne Park police officer, made this admission on Thursday in federal court as part of a plea deal, according to The Miami Herald. Ravelo said he arrested one man for two home burglaries and another for five car break-ins. Charges against both men were eventually dropped.
Ravelo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the men’s rights.
He also confessed to punching a handcuffed man in the face during a traffic stop, entering a guilty plea for excessive force.
The prosecution intends to recommend a lenient sentence of at least 24 months for Ravelo as part of a plea deal, reports Law & Crime. Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. The judge could choose to ignore the prosecution’s recommendation and order Ravelo to serve the terms consecutively.
Ravelo was fired from the force in March following the assault allegations from the traffic stop.
Ravelo’s admission has widened an ongoing corruption investigation of the Biscayne Park police department.
Read more via: Florida Cop Claims Police Chief Had Him Frame Two Innocent Black Men
Man Considered FBI’s First ‘Black Identity Extremist’ Speaks Out After Being Jailed, In Part, Over Facebook Post
“I hope to live in a society where the federal government will actually work in the best interest of the people, and not work in interest of oppressing people.”
Article via: Blativity.com
The feds labeling outspoken black activists as terrorists is nothing new. Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, Martin Luther King Jr. are just a few civil rights leaders who were closely monitored and penalized by the government for exercising their first amendment rights.
More recently, Rakem Balogun was targeted by the FBI, labeled a terrorist and yanked from his home in December 2017 as he and his 15-year-old slept — all because of a Facebook post.
In response to Micah Johnson’s July 2016 rampage, in which he shot and killed five Dallas officers following the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, Balogun took to Facebook to share his sentiments.
According to an interview with Mic in episode 1 of the “Mic Dispatch” Facebook series, he wrote, “One man named Micah X brought the whole Dallas pig department to its knees, protesting police terrorism, and I stand with him.”
Balogun, whose real name is Christopher Daniels, was held in jail and denied bail over a period of five months. He was released in May when the case flopped, as prosecutors were unable to prove the activist is a terrorist. Because, innocent.
Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice, told Mic, “the only evidence prosecution and the judge would have had to justify holding him, was his political activity and online rhetoric, which seemed to be punishment for him, rather than an attempt to protect the public.”
The Texas activist is reportedly the first person prosecuted under the name Black Identity Extremist, according to The Guardian.
BIE was initiated in a U.S. government assessment following Johnson’s deadly rampage.
Little did the social justice warrior know, utilizing his freedom of speech (as a black man) would lead to a series of unfortunate events and run-ins with law enforcement. This would not only cause him to lose his house, car and job, but also his peace of mind.
“Ever since that moment, we have not been able to gain our peace back,” Balogun told Mic.
Mic✔@mic
The police arrested Balogun in a late-night raid on his home, and the event has taken a toll not just on Balogun but also on his family. http://bit.ly/2JwybtU pic.twitter.com/BcX12PcIYI
Mic✔@mic
“You know I’ve lost my job, my apartment, my car, you know, I lost the cohesiveness of my family and my children. And so, you know, every day it’s just a day of me trying to slowly regain that.” — Rakem Balogun http://bit.ly/2LrKglV pic.twitter.com/UoARoIjNnl
In his interview, Balogun tries to clear up the intent behind his support of Johnson.
“I can see why people would misconstrue that,” he said. “I do have the first amendment right to express my opinion — I have the first amendment right to support someone who possibly killed somebody, and I have the right to not empathize with the dead, just like everyone else in this country.”
While this is all true, it’s even more important to understand he has the right to not be racially profiled. What the label BIE does, and what many black activists fear, is it can spark a ripple effect of the persecution of outspoken, black community leaders.
Balogun is the co-founder of two local Texas organizations: Guerrilla Mainframe and the Huey P. Newton Gun Club; both fight against police brutality, and for the rights of black gun owners. Ultimately, a black man fighting for his rights, is a threat to our government.
But justice will eventually prevail, and we will never be silenced, because as Balogun said: “We’re going to keep our foot on the gas and keep moving forward.”
3 women arrested after using bathroom in restaurant claim racial discrimination
Three women are accusing a Georgia restaurant of racial discrimination after being arrested for allegedly taking too long in the bathroom.
WMAZ reports Brittany Lucio, Asia’h Epperson and Erica Walker asked to use the restroom at an Atlanta-area restaurant called Houston’s on Mother’s Day last week. A shift manager claims they were in the bathroom after the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. and, when they refused to leave, asked a police officer who was working security at the restaurant to escort them out.
A police report says the security officer found the women on their phones inside the restroom, ignoring his request to leave. When he grabbed Lucio by the wrist and said “Let’s go,” she pulled away and shouted “Get your hands off of me!”
The situation worsened from there; the officer says Lucio threw a punch, hitting his mouth. He asked Houston’s staff to call 911 for backup while restraining Lucio and Walker outside the restaurant.
Epperson, a former “American Idol” contestant and “Greenleaf” actress, began recording the incident on the phone, showing the officer pinning one of the two women down on the ground.
WSB-TV reports all three were arrested when additional officers arrived, and booked in Fulton County Jail. Lucio was charged with criminal trespass and felony obstruction; Walker and Epperson were charged with criminal trespass.
Lauren Pozen WSB@LaurenPozenWSBThese women were charged with a crime after they say a Houston’s security guard assaulted them. At 5, why they have the support of @Tip and what the security guard says led up to this.
Epperson told WSB-TV on Tuesday that she plans to take legal action against the Atlanta Police Department, claiming the officer lied on the police report. The restaurant was open and “full of people,” she said. They were in the restroom less than 10 minutes, including using a phone to give an Uber driver directions to pick them up, she added.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong. We were never asked multiple times to leave. That is a lie. We are moving forward very rapidly with this matter things will be handled legally,” Epperson said in a statement.
Epperson, 29, was a semi-finalist on “American Idol” season 7 in 2008. She also notably played Felicia in the 2015 movie “Straight Outta Compton” about N.W.A. rappers Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
Read more via: 3 women arrested after using bathroom in restaurant claim racial discrimination
#StopCallingTheCopsOnBlackPeople2018
A Black Student at Yale Was Napping in a Common Area, and a White Student Called the Police
A black graduate student at Yale who fell asleep in her dorm’s common room said she had a disturbing awakening this week when a white student flipped on the lights, told her she had no right to sleep there and called the campus police.
It was the latest in a string of recent episodes across the country in which the police have been summoned to respond to minor complaints involving people of color.
As in many of those encounters, including the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks and the questioning of black Airbnb guests in California, the Yale incident was captured in a widely shared video that set off anger online.
The graduate student, Lolade Siyonbola, posted a 17-minute recording of her encounter with police officers who responded to the call, and it touched a nerve, with more than 600,000 views as of Wednesday.
Ms. Siyonbola, 34, who is earning her master’s degree in African studies, said that she had camped out in the common room to work on a “marathon of papers.” On Monday night, she decided to take a nap.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, she said, someone came in and turned on the lights, asking: “Is there someone in here? Is there someone sleeping in here? You’re not supposed to be here.”
Ms. Siyonbola said the woman told her she was going to call the police. In a shorter video that Ms. Siyonbola posted, the woman, who is not identified, says: “I have every right to call the police. You cannot sleep in that room.”
The woman, who also lives in the dorm, reported “an unauthorized person in the common room,” said Lynn Cooley, the dean of the graduate school of arts and sciences, who addressed the episode in an email to students on Tuesday.
Several officers responded to the call.
“We need to make sure that you belong here,” a female officer says in the longer video.
Ms. Siyonbola produced the key to her apartment and opened the door, and the officers told her they needed to see her ID.
After she asked why, one says, “I don’t know anybody from anybody, so I’m here just to make sure you’re supposed to be here, make sure she’s supposed to be here, and we’ll get out of your hair.”
Ms. Siyonbola relented and handed over her ID.
But the officers struggled to verify it, and Ms. Siyonbola appeared to grow more frustrated.
At one point, she says, “I am not going to justify my existence here.”
At another, an officer who identifies himself as a supervisor says, “We determine who is allowed to be here or who’s not allowed to be here, regardless of whether you feel you’re allowed to be here or not.”
“I hope that makes you feel powerful,” she responds.
The Yale Police Department referred inquiries to the university.
“We believe the Yale police who responded followed procedures,” Tom Conroy, a spokesman for the university, said on Wednesday. “As we do with every incident, we will be reviewing the call and the response of the police officers to ensure that the proper protocol was followed, and to determine if there was anything we could have done better.”
When asked if it was common practice to run IDs in such situations, he said it was.
Confirming her identity took longer than usual because the Ms. Siyonbola’s preferred name, which was printed on her ID, was different from what was in the university record, a school official said.
Late Wednesday, in an email to graduate students, Kimberly M. Goff-Crews, Yale’s vice president for student life, said that she was “deeply troubled” by the episode and that she and Dr. Cooley would hold listening sessions with students in the coming days.
“This incident and others recently reported to me underscore that we have work to do to make Yale not only excellent but also inclusive,” Ms. Goff-Crews said.
Earlier, Ms. Siyonbola called the police “ridiculous” for not leaving after seeing that she had a key and an ID. She said the larger issue was that “there are not consequences to you if you call the police on an innocent person, especially if they’re black.”
In her view, it was not an isolated incident at Yale. “I can tell you tons of other minor stories of microaggressions,” she said.
Ms. Siyonbola, who founded the Yoruba Cultural Institute in Brooklyn, is the author of a book about African history and diaspora migration. At Yale, her research focuses on migration and identity formation.
Dr. Cooley said in her email that more work needed to be done “to make Yale a truly inclusive place.”
“I am committed to redoubling our efforts to build a supportive community in which all graduate students are empowered in their intellectual pursuits and professional goals within a welcoming environment,” she wrote.
Ms. Siyonbola said she was disappointed in the dean’s response.
“It wasn’t compassionate,” she said. “It was very high-level — like we have to do better someday, somehow.”
She said she hoped this episode and others like it would prompt the administration to take action.
“This is what happens every day in America,” she added. “These things are unfortunate, they’re disappointing, they’re disheartening, but they’re not shocking anymore.”
Article via: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/nyregion/yale-black-student-nap.html
Lil’ Wayne is not our socially conscious black voice for social justice
Lil’ Wayne “What is it? What, what do you mean?,” when he was asked for his thoughts on Black Lives Matter.
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You know I don’t understand the fake social media “socially conscious ” outrage from SOME of you regarding Lil’ Wayne’s opinion and lack of knowledge of what Black Lives Matter is and the movement that follows our issues with institutionalized and systematic racism, police brutality. Lil’ Wayne has been out of touch with our reality since age 9 when he joined Cash Money Records in 1992 he or his family hasn’t wanted for nothing his pocket book is full of money he probably don’t even know how much is in his bank account. You say well he rapped about police brutality on his past albums lemme tell you something he wasn’t rappin’ police brutality cause he knew what he was talking about and he cared about his community he only did it cause it was hot at the time he mumble raps mostly about getting high and drunk off Lean, bitches, ho’s, cars, jewelry and the all mighty dollar.
Let me tell you something Lil’ Wayne DOES NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT NOBODY BUT HIMSELF, HIS FAMILY AND HIS MONEY Stop depending on these mainstream WACK POP RAPPERS TO BE OUR VOICE FOR JUSICE AND EQUITY!!
Lil’ Wayne: “I am a young Black rich motherf*cka, if that don’t let you know that America understands Black motherf*ckas matter these days, I don’t know what it is,” said Wayne, who sounded very combative, and also managed to mentioned getting filmed by a white man and mattering to his “b*tches.”
The only thing that matters to Lil Wayne is his money, his cars and how much cough syrup and sprite he can buy. TRUST ME Lil Wayne not worried about you hypocrites boycotting his albums he knows you coonbreads and ya’ll who’s on that hypocrisy soapbox bullshit will go out; buy his albums, and tracks; go to his concerts.
Ya’ll screaming about what Lil Wayne not doing for you I tell you what you need to worry about this presidential election cause if Madam President Clinton or Donald gets into the oval office there’s still a lot of work to be done. If you are looking for hip hop artists who are TRULY socially conscious look for underground hip hop and Neo-Soul artists theses Kats truly do give back to their communities and are for social justice. Ya’ll do remember this is the same man was hospitalized with seizures after a sizzurp binge?
IF YOU TO WANNA SOUND AND RAP JUST LIKE LIL’ WAYNE GET YOUR MUMBLE STARTER KIT NOW!!!
Source:
http://hiphopwired.com/2016/11/01/lil-wayne-on-black-lives-matter-what-do-you-mean/
NIA LONG DRAGGED For Saying “All Lives Matter”
She must be dating Common? *Sippin’ Tea*
https://instagram.com/p/7IvdtlStms/
I GUESS #ITDONTMATTER #BLACKLIVESDONTMATTER TO HER! I’m not writing no more Black folks are goin’ in on her!! #BLACKLIVESMATTER
Source: http://blackmediascoop.com/nia-long-gets-dragged-for-saying-all-lives-matter/
4 Powerful Photos Capture The Sad Truth Of Racism In America
As I look at these photos I feel his pain not as a Black Man but of a Black Woman who’s life DOES NOT MATTER #BLACKLIVESDONTMATTER you white folks say but #ALLIVESMATTER! Let me give you some food for thought IF #ALLIVESMATTER why is it when a BLACK life is taken you want to make an argument,that black life that was snuffed out was a thug and a criminal you say well if he/she hadn’t been breaking the law… I THOUGHT #ALLIVESMATTERED?
Although, I understand where my Black Brotha was going with the #ITDOESNTMATTER hashtag but to say #ITDOESNTMATTER makes white people who don’t believe in #BLACKLIVESMATTER; say #ALLIVESMATTER feel more comfortable saying #ITDOESNTMATTER WE MUST NOT MAKE WHITE FOLKS FEEL COMFORTABLE THEY NEED TO HEAR US SAY AND SEE THE WORDS #BLACKLIVESMATTER than follow it up with but you don’t care cause you are selective when it comes to BLACK LIVES you say #ALLIVESMATTER but when one of your OWN WHITE race is killed by the police where’s the outrage then? You to my people when a white life is taken by the police we need to treat the white victims(s); as if they was one of ours have the same outrage and say their name LOUDLY!
My BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE ALONG WITH OUR WHITE ALLIES WE MUST DISMANTLE THIS NEW JIM CROW! One thing that white folks MUST start doing (on;offline) is LISTEN MORE, TYPE LESS;speak less when people of color are talking, discussing, debating even when it gets heated yes ask questions just don’t get all in your feelings when we tell you like it is. LAST WHITE PEOPLE DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL PEOPLE COLOR ARE TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING! IF #ALLIVESMATTER then you won’t mind just listening; reading and fixing what you created if you don’t than I guess #ITDONTMATTER to you that a LIFE was taken by police brutality.
To my BLACK PEOPLE we NEED TO STOP KILLING OUR OWN CAUSE IF WE DON’T CARE WHITE FOLKS WON’T EITHER! BOOM READ THIS>
#BLM activist Shaun King denies lying about his race after conservatives insist he’s white
Have any of ya’ll noticed ever since Rachel Dolezal was outed by her white parents as truly being nothing more than what she really is a blonde haired blue eye white woman passing as a a light skinned black woman working for the Seattle WA NAACP then stepped down because of the wildly funny (I mean mean bust out laughing) backlash that followed. There’s been more of our light skinned people being accused of being white and just puttin’ on Blackface to further the #BLM ; their careers. What is the purpose? Are you trying to say that our light skinned people of color TRULY are NOT what they say they are? So you’re saying that ( SOME of) our light skinned people of color have to now even more then ever feel insecure about who and what they are because of one twisted narcissistic white woman who was denied a scholarship to Howard University FOR LYING about her race on her application to get into this prestigious histrionic black college.
So you feel the need to play detective and dig into Shaun Kings life because YOU want question what he is for your own political belief; opinion?
We as people of color Black, Brown; Light skinned are being brutally killed by quick trigger wanna kill a N**** (wanna be cops or so called good citizens) cops we get excepted and rejected by selective hearing and selective seeing white folks and even our OWN. We are NOT HEARD OR SEEN UNTIL WE ARE LOUD AND IN YOUR FACE staying quiet and calm has gotten us no where. This light skinned man I see before me is STRONG black man who is trying to change how we as black people are treated In our justice system that has dogged us for so long why on earth would he claim to be black just for our cause? Being black I’m sorry to say is a thousand steps back from TRULY being treated equally. Why would a white man,woman, teen; preteen give up they white privilege credit card to fight for injustice for poc? You white people have ALL the rights and privileges your faces are plastered on EVERYTHING YOU OWN AND OR CONTROL EVERYTHING. Ya’ll got it made the laws was originally written for WHITE MEN. People of color are still fighting for what’s fair and what’s right for you to clam that Mr King is White is a flap in the face (insulting) to him and his family and friends who I’m sure love him dearly. This BLACK MAN WHO IS LIGHTSKINED is FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS! We POC are looked at differently we are ignored UNTIL IT EFFECTS YOU! Racial identity is very serious issue with my people by trying to hunt down those you THINK are white in blackface ONLY dividesus as a people even further MY light skinned people will be asked even more then before “What are you?”
As a people will never truly be free of injustice until killer cops are tried and convicted, until the justice system we have in place is dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up. Until white people see that #BLACKLIVESDOMATTER THEN #ALLIVESWILLMATTER. To say that this brother I see before me is a white man is just crazy to me. When ya’ll so called Bloggers AKA Journalists are doing your so called detective work make sure you’re not making FACTS into YOUR OWN twisted opinions that based on shit and stale crackers. As for Rachel Dolezal her White Privilege card has been declined she so broke now until she sitting on her front porch braiding black folks hair hmmm I wonder how much she charging? To my light skinned brothas and sistahs DON’T EVER OR LET ANYONE QUESTION WHO YOU ARE!