Danny Cardwell's picture

    A Message To Black Lives Matter

    By Danny Cardwell on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 9:55pm |

    Civil Rights Activism is tricky it takes courage to challenge the status quo and change social parameters. Far too many of your contemporaries see your efforts as crass, and your motivation as self serving. It will probably be 10 years before the critics understand your movement, and 20 years before the establishment tries to rebuild the images of you they're currently tearing down.  I support the measures you've used to keep your message from being ignored by the corporate media. #blackbrunch, die-ins, blocking traffic, and even hijacking political events have all been effective. My message to you is to continue practicing the kind of non threatening passive violence that has kept your movement relevant for over a year. Passive aggression takes longer, but what other options do you have? There are militant voices on the edges of your movement calling for an escalation that has the potential of starting an unwinnable war. Anyone who tries to convince you that armed insurrection should be part of any strategy to resolve the problems you're articulating is trying to co-opt your movement.

    When I talk to young brothers and sisters about Black Lives Matter they're full of excitement, but very few really know what to expect from the movement. Some are looking for inspiration and purpose: your movement gives them something positive to belong to. Some are looking for marching orders: they understand the social and economic realities they face, but they don't know what to do about it. While others in your movement just want some souvenirs and a story to tell. The reality is: many of you supporters will be disappointed. It's easier to assemble a group of like minded people in a city to hear a message than it is to turn that message into a sustained movement in our communities. Social movements are hard. Social media might be the best and worst things to happen to Civil Rights. Technology has made getting a message out easier, but too many members of this generation are keyboard activists. Once they share or retweet a message they feel like their job is done. BLM needs more sandwich board activists. 

    The boycott is a perfect nonviolent violent weapon I would like to see phased into your overall strategy, but the reality is: I don't know what your strategy is. What's the overall goal? Are you seeking federal legislation to create a national register for law enforcement infractions? Are you committed to the decriminalization of soft drugs, Are you calling for a stimulus in the form of infrastructure spending? The underlying causes of inner-city crime and over policing need to be rectified, but we need to do the harder work of changing the perceptions of blackness. I agree: Black Lives Matter, but what's next? I'm 6'1 and 235 lbs I know all to well how to move docilely through society. The reality is: no piece of legislation is going to make me any less threatening to someone who has weaponized my black skin. I salute the progress you've made in a short time. You have our attention, but what's the next move?

    Comments

    Nicely done.


    by barefooted on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 10:11pm

    Excellent post. BLM needs to prove that they can be a force in developing policy and not wait for politicians to present them with documents. Do they agree with everything that Sanders proposes? Do they have recommendations for what Hillary should do? They need to provide clarity on what comes next.


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 12:31am

    I agree; BLM does need to provide clarity on what comes next.

    BLM reminds me of the Occupy Movement where in the beginning there was no national cohesiveness. Mostly there was a lot of yelling and chanting in a lot of different cities and towns and that got them exactly where? Oh. Has anyone heard anything from the OM lately?

    Me either.

    Has Wall Street changed the way they do business because of the existence of OM?

    Nope.

    So, what I'm saying is, if they want to be effective, if they want to be around five years from now, changing policy, they need to synchronize and clarify their message.


    by wabby on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 7:53am

    UK Guardian on Campaign Zero'. BTW great post Mr. Cardwell, one of the best on this topic.

    CAMPAIGN ZERO

    We can live in an America where the police do not kill people. Police in England, Germany, Australia, Japan, and even cities like Newark, NJ, and Richmond, CA, demonstrate that public safety can be ensured without killing civilians. By implementing the right policy changes, we can end police killings and other forms of police violence in the United States. Campaign Zero.

    Newark and 'public safety'. The Newark crime rate, does this reality impact on the credibility, if not the sanity of those at CZ ?:

    Newark had nation's third highest murder rate in 2013, FBI says....

    Newark, 2014 - Newark's mayor has pledged to combat a spike in killings in New Jersey's largest city with a mix of tough enforcement and long-term social approaches....

    The spate of violence, which left eight dead in the eight days, has put residents on edge in a city already accustomed to violence. "I've been here all my life and I've never been afraid but I'm afraid now," said Rayla Basknight, 67, a Newark resident...

    Clarified Message

    Campaign Zero Policy Demands:

    http://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions/#solutionsoverview

    END BROKEN WINDOWS

    End Policing of Minor "Broken Windows" Offenses

    The following activities do not threaten public safety and are often used to police black bodies. Decriminalize these activities or de-prioritize their enforcement:

        Consumption of Alcohol on Streets
        Marijuana Possession
        Disorderly Conduct
        Trespassing
        Loitering
        Disturbing the Peace (including Loud Music)
        Spitting

    End Profiling and "Stop-and-Frisk"

    Establish enforceable protections against profiling to prevent police from intervening in civilian lives for no reason other than the "suspicion" of their blackness or other aspects of their identity. This should include:

        immigration status, age, housing status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability, HIV status, race, religion and national origin as protected groups
        the right for people to seek court orders to stop police departments from profiling
        bans on both intentional profiling and practices that have a disparate impact on protected groups
        ban stops for "furtive" movements such as a reaching for waistband or acting nervous
        ban stops for being in a high-crime area
        ban stops for matching a generalized description of a suspect (i.e. black male ages 15-25)
        require officers to establish objective justification for making a stop and to report every stop including location, race, gender, whether force was used and whether a firearm was found.

    COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT

    Establish effective civilian oversight structures

    Establish an all-civilian oversight structure with discipline power that includes a Police Commission and Civilian Complaints Office with the following powers:

    The Police Commission should:

        determine policy for the police department based on community input and academic expertise
        share policy and policy changes in publicly accessible formats
        discipline and dismiss police officers
        hold public disciplinary hearings
        select the candidates for Police Chief, to be hired by the Mayor
        evaluate and fire the Police Chief, if needed
        receive full-time, competitive salaries for all members
        receive regular training on policing and civil rights
        not have current, former or family of police officers as members
        select its members from candidates offered by community organizations

    The Civilian Complaints Office should:

        receive, investigate and resolve all civilian complaints against police in 120 days
        establish multiple in-person and online ways to submit, view and discuss complaints
        be immediately notified and required to send an investigator to the scene of a police shooting or in-custody death
        be allowed to interrogate officers less than 48 hours after an incident where deadly force is used
        access crime scenes, subpoena witnesses and files with penalties for non-compliance
        make disciplinary and policy recommendations to the Police Chief
        compel the Police Chief to explain why he/she has not followed a recommendation
        have the Police Commission decide cases where the Police Chief does not follow recommendations
        issue public quarterly reports analyzing complaints, demographics of complainants, status and findings of investigations and actions taken as a result
        be housed in a separate location from the police department
        be funded at an amount no less than 5% of the total police department budget
        have at least 1 investigator for every 70 police officers or 4 investigators at all times,whichever is greater
        have its Director selected from candidates offered by community organizations
        not have current, former or family of police officers on staff, including the Director

    (Ex: San Francisco Charter Policies on Police Commission and Office of Citizen Complaints)

    Remove barriers to reporting police misconduct

    For all stops by a police officer, require officers to give civilians their name, badge number, reason for the stop and a card with instructions for filing a complaint to the civilian oversight structure.

    LIMIT USE OF FORCE

    Establish standards and reporting of police use of deadly force

    A. Authorize deadly force only when there is an imminent threat to an officer's life or the life of another person and such force is strictly unavoidable to protect life. (Ex: International Deadly Force Standard)

    B.  require reporting of police killings or serious injuries of civilians (Ex: The PRIDE Act; Colorado law)

    Revise and strengthen local police department use of force policies

    Revised police use of force policies should protect human life and rights. Policies should include guidance on reporting, investigation, discipline, and accountability and increase transparency by making the policies available online. This use of force policy should require officers to:

        use minimum force to apprehend a suspect, with specific guidelines for the types of force and tools authorized for a given level of resistance (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
        de-escalate first (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
        carry a non-lethal weapon (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
        ban using force on a person for talking back or as punishment for running away (Ex: Cleveland PD Policy)
        ban chokeholds, hog-ties and transporting people face down in a vehicle (Ex: NYPD Policy)
        stop other officers who are using excessive force (Ex: Las Vegas Metro PD Policy)


    End traffic-related police killings and dangerous high-speed police chases

    Prohibit police officers from:

        shooting at moving vehicles (Ex: Denver PD Policy)
        moving in front of moving vehicles (Ex: Denver PD Policy)
        high-speed chases of people who have not and are not about to commit a violent felony (Ex: Milwaukee PD Policy)

    Monitor how police use force and proactively hold officers accountable for excessive force

    A. Report all uses of force to a database with information on related injuries and demographics of the victims. (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)

    B. Establish an early intervention system to correct officers who use excessive force. These systems have been shown to reduce the average number of complaints against officers in a police department by more than 50%. This system should:

        report officers who receive two or more complaints in the past month
        report officers who have two or more use of force incidents or complaints in the past quarter
        require officers to attend re-training and be monitored by an immediate supervisor after their first quarterly report and terminate an officer following multiple reports

    C. Require police departments to notify the state when an officer is found to have willfully violated department policy or the law, committed official misconduct, or resigned while under investigation for these offenses. Maintain this information in a database accessible to the public (Ex: Illinois Law) and prohibit these officers from serving as police officers, teachers or other governmental employees.

    INDEPENDENTLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE

    Lower the standard of proof for Department of Justice civil rights investigations of police officers

    Allow federal prosecutors to successfully prosecute police officers for misconduct by passing legislation to eliminate the requirement that an officer must "willfully" deprive another's rights in order to violate Section 242.
    investigations

    Use federal funds to encourage independent investigations and prosecutions

    Pass legislation such as the Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2015 or use of existing federal funds to encourage external, independent investigations and prosecution of police killings (see Action Items 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 of the President’s Task Force Report).

    Establish a permanent Special Prosecutor's Office at the State level for cases of police violence

    The Special Prosecutor's Office should be:

        required and authorized to prosecute all cases of where police kill or seriously injure a civilian, in-custody deaths and cases where a civilian alleges criminal misconduct against a police officer
        equipped with an office and resources to conduct thorough investigations
        required to have its Chief Prosecutor chosen from a list of candidates offered by community organizations

    Require independent investigations of all cases where police kill or seriously injure civilians

    The independent investigators should be:

        required and authorized to prosecute all cases of where police kill or seriously injure a civilian, in-custody deaths and cases where a civilian alleges criminal misconduct against a police officer
        required to investigate all cases where police kill chosen at random from a list of the largest ten agencies in the state
        required to report their findings to the public

    COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION

    Increase the number of police officers who reflect the communities they serve

    Require police departments to develop and publicly report a strategy and timeline for achieving a representative proportion of police officers who are women and people of color through outreach, recruitment and changes to departmental practices (Ex: Connecticut Law)

    Use community feedback to inform police department policies and practices

    Require a regular survey (Ex: Milwaukee survey) to be fielded to the community to gauge their experiences and perceptions of the police and use this information to inform:

        police department policies and practices
        police officer evaluations
        police officer pay incentives

    BODY CAMS FILM THE POLICE

    Body cameras

    Require and fund the use of body cameras - in addition to dashboard cameras - to record interactions with civilians and establish policies governing their use to:

        record all interactions with civilians
        allow civilians to review footage of themselves or their relatives and request this be released to the public and stored for at least two years
        presume police misconduct if cameras or mandated footage are tampered with or unavailable
        prevent officers from reviewing footage of an incident before completing initial reports, statements or interviews about an incident
        stop recording and storing footage if a suspect requests to remain anonymous and notify them of this option
        updating privacy laws to protect civilians from having video or audio recordings released publicly that do not contain potential evidence in a use-of-force incident, discharge of a weapon or death.

    (Ex: ACLU Model Policy)

    The Right to Record Police

    Ban police officers from taking cell phones or other recording devices without a person's consent or warrant and give people the right to sue police departments if they take or destroy these devices. (Ex: Colorado Law)

    The Right to Record Police

    Ban police officers from taking cell phones or other recording devices without a person's consent or warrant and give people the right to sue police departments if they take or destroy these devices. (Ex: Colorado Law)

    TRAINING

    Invest in Rigorous and Sustained Training

    Require officers to undergo training - including scenario-based training - on the following topics on at least a quarterly basis and involve the community - including black youth - in their design and implementation:

        Implicit bias
        Procedural justice
        Relationship-based policing
        Community interaction
        Crisis intervention, mediation, conflict resolution, and rumor control
        Appropriate engagement with youth
        Appropriate engagement with LGBTQ, transgender and gender nonconforming individuals
        Appropriate engagement with individuals who are english language learners.
        De-escalation and minimizing the use of force

    Intentionally consider 'unconscious' or 'implicit' racial bias

    Require current and prospective police officers to undergo mandatory implicit racial bias testing, including testing for bias in shoot/don't shoot decision-making, and develop a clear policy for considering an officer's level of racial bias in:

        law enforcement certification
        the hiring process
        performance evaluations
        decisions about whether an officer should be deployed to black communities

    END FOR PROFIT POLICING

    End police department quotas for tickets and arrests

    Ban police departments from using ticket or arrest quotas to evaluate the performance of police officers

    (Ex: Illinois law)

    Limit fines and fees for low-income people

    Prohibit local governments from:

        ban issuing fines or arrest warrants for civilians who fail to appear in court for a traffic citation (Ex: Ferguson Policy)
        generating more than 10% of total municipal revenue from fines and fees (Ex: Missouri law)
        allow judges discretion to waive fines and fees for low-income people or initiate payment plans (Ex: Pennsylvania law)

    Prevent police from taking the money or property of innocent people

    Prohibit police from:

        seizing property of civilians (i.e. civil forfeiture) unless they are convicted of a crime and the state establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture
        keeping any property that has legally been forfeited (instead, this property should go to a general fund)

    (Ex: New Mexico law)

    DEMILITARIZATION

    End the Federal Government's 1033 Program Providing Military Weaponry to Local Police Departments

    End the supply of federal military weaponry to local police departments under the 1033 program. (Ex: Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act)

    Establish Local Restrictions to Prevent Police Departments from Purchasing or Using Military Weaponry

    Restrict police departments from:

        using federal grant money to purchase military equipment (Ex: Montana law)
        deploying armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft, Stingray surveillance equipment, camouflage uniforms, and grenade launchers
        using SWAT teams unless there is an emergency situation or imminent threat to life and high-ranking officers have given approval (Ex: Cincinnati PD Policy)
        conducting no-knock raids without probable cause to believe someone inside the home is an imminent threat (Ex: Cincinnati PD Policy)
        accessing federal grant money or purchasing military equipment if the department has been recently found to demonstrate a "pattern or practice" of discriminatory policing

    FAIR POLICE CONTRACTS

    Remove barriers to effective misconduct investigations and civilian oversight

    Remove contract provisions and provisions in state Law Enforcement Officers' Bills of Rights laws that:

        allow officers to wait 48 hours or more before being interrogated after an incident
        prevent investigators from pursuing other cases of misconduct revealed during an investigation
        prevent an officer's name or picture from being released to the public
        prohibit civilians from having the power to discipline, subpoena or interrogate police officers
        state that the Police Chief has the sole authority to discipline police officers
        enable officers to appeal a disciplinary decision to a hearing board of other police officers
        prevent an officer from being investigated for an incident that happened 100 or more days prior
        allow an officer to choose not to take a lie detector test without being punished, require the civilian who is accusing that officer of misconduct to pass a lie detector first, or prevent the officer's test results from being considered as evidence of misconduct

    Keep officers' disciplinary history accessible to police departments and the public

    Remove contract provisions and provisions in state Law Enforcement Officers' Bills of Rights laws that allow police officers to:

        expunge or destroy records of past misconduct (both sustained and unsustained) from their disciplinary file
        prevent their disciplinary records from being released to the public via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request

    Ensure officers do not get paid after they kill or seriously injure a civilian

    Remove contract provisions and provisions in state Law Enforcement Officers' Bills of Rights laws that allow police officers to:

        receive paid leave or remain on desk-duty during an investigation following a police shooting or other use of deadly force
        receive paid leave or remain on desk-duty after being charged with a felony offense

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    Is the message diluted with the number and practicality of its statutory demands?

    Will Bernie or Hillary support this manifesto?

    If they don't, would it mean he and/or Hillary thinks BL don't matter, at least to folks at Campaign Zero?

    Will BLM/Campaign Zero support a candidate who DOESN'T back legislation to do all of this? Will they continue to disrupt campaigns?

    Is it a winner or loser as a campaign platform?

    I would say yes, no, yes, yes, yes, loser


    by NCD on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 12:29pm

    Thanks for the link. I wanted to read over this before I commented. This is what a lot of people have been waiting for.

    by Danny Cardwell on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 9:45pm

    Good post, Eric.  Every movement falters at first until they build a cohesive voice.  They know what they want, they don't yet know how to go about it.  The one take-away from movements like the Civil Rights Movement, Solidarnosc, and the Indian Independence Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, is that the leaders insisted that their followers move forward aggressively but with honor and dignity.  I'm not sure that would work today, but hurling insults at their allies will only serve to isolate them even more.

    I commend them for joining together to do something about the entrenched racism in this country but I do wonder how they'll fare in the long run.


    by Ramona on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 10:21am

    Danny, you said,

    "Technology has made getting a message out easier, but too many members of this generation are keyboard activists. once they share or retweet a message they feel like their job is done. BLM needs more sandwich board activists."

    That's the problem that I have with BLM - The reckless and poorly thought through attacks against Bernie Sanders has only served to antagonize the very hundreds of thousands of people who CAN provide the people-power and clout that BLM needs to make the movement more than just a public temper tantrum. Such tactics don't impress level-headed American people.  In fact, they only serve to reinforce the negative image of Black people as reckless, undisciplined, ungrateful to the people who TRY to help us, and lacking in common sense.

    I mean, how can you justify attacking a lifelong ally of the Black community ("So You Marched With Martin Luther King:  So What?"), while turning a blind eye to the clown car bulging with Republican fascists who are trying everything in their power to drag the Black community (and America in general) back into the 19th Century!!!?  There's only one word for it - stupid!!!  I'm Black and it's turning me off, so I can just imagine the impact that it's having on White civil rights activists and Bernie Sanders supporters. The behavior of BLM is so stupidly counterintuitive that I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the Koch brothers started contributing to the group.

    Then you went on to point out:

    "The boycott is a perfect nonviolent violent weapon I would like to see phased into your overall strategy, but the reality is: I don't know what your strategy is. What's the overall goal? Are you seeking federal legislation to create a national register for law enforcement infractions? Are you committed to the decriminalization of soft drugs, Are you calling for a stimulus in the form of infrastructure spending?"

    Let me answer your question. The answer is, the primary goal of the most boisterous within the movement is to get a photo op, and to obtain their personal 10 minutes of fame - it always is - and they have no agenda beyond that. And many of the people behind the fame-seeking self-servers have their hearts in the right place, but they're merely followers.  So essentially, BLM is a raging beast without a brain, and that constitutes a threat to the entire Black community. 


    While it may seem that I'm being overly critical of the BLM, we've seen such groups before during the 60s.  They were the primary tool used by the FBI during Operation Cointelpro to bring down the Civil Rights Movement. They used such groups to dampen the American public's support for the cause of civil rights.  And consider this - if the so-called "leaders" of BLM were actually concerned about Black lives, wouldn't they also be focused on the Black lives being lost as a result of Black street crime?  They'd have much more credibility if they were going after EVERYBODY who are taking Black lives.
     


    by Wattree on Sat, 08/22/2015 - 3:25am

    BLM is being monitored by Homeland Security. DHS is the threat to free speech and protest.

    https://action.aclu.org/secure/stop-surveillance-of-blm-activists

    ​BLM is the target of COINTELPRO

    It was easier to target Bernie Sanders because he does not have Secret Service protection like ​Hillary Clinton also a group of black people showing up at a Democratic rally is not as out of place as blacks showing up at a Republican rally. The security at the GOP rally would be suspicious of a group of young blacks at an event.

    Cornel West has thrown his support to Bernie Sanders. 

    http://www.inquisitr.com/2345153/bernie-sanders-endorsements/

    Violent crime has been decreasing for the past 40 years and black teen pregnancy is at historic lows.  There are protests about crime in urban communities that are not shown on television screens. Here is a link to an analysis of how the black community focuses on both urban crime and police abuse.


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 12:15pm

    As noted above by NCD, Campaign Zero, a platform for decreasing police abuse was just released .

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-lives-matter-policy-demands_55...

    BTW 

    Refarding COINTELPRO, isn't it interesting that many media outlets ran with a story of a prominent BLM member supposedly lying about his parentage. Some were all too willing to fall for the okey-doke and try to tarnish everyone in BLM. The nonsense used here is the same type of nonsense used against Shirley Sherrod, ACORN, and Planned Parenthood.

    Edit to add

    Here is an excellent analyst of the nonsense surrounding Shauna King

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/08/shaun_king_trolling_cons...


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 2:50pm

    RM,

    Cornel West throws his support behind whoever is drawing the biggest crowds. Have you noticed how now that Tavis Smiley is out of favor with the Black community you don't see Cornel West with him anymore?  They used to be connected at the hip when Smiley was riding high. Some would say that's the case because West is only now beginning to recognize some of Smiley's missteps.  But in response to that I ask, if he's found out something about Smiley that's serious enough to cause him to cut ties with him, isn't it in the "Black prophetic tradition" for him to let the public know about it, just like when he rushes to the cameras to let us know every time Obama develops a hangnail?


    by Wattree on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 2:47pm

    People move on without "cutting ties" or something nefarious. West's ideas are closer to Sanders' than Hillary's, so no surprise that's where his heart and activities are for the moment. Doubt it has to do with size of crowd except like everyone he's following the buzz.

    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 1:19am

    Thanks for taking time to comment. I don't think going after Bernie was the smartest thing, but it did get a result. I think your right that there are some in the movement seeking personal gain, but I've met with some people who are very serious about social change. I don't know how federal legislation would work, but there's some movement in the Commonwealth of Virginia that could lead to police reforms. I would like to see more consistency when it comes to homicides committed in our neighborhoods.

    by Danny Cardwell on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 9:57pm

    Here are a few changes that have occurred since protests against homicides of unarmed citizens by police.

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2015/08/_blacklivesmatter_is_ge...


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 08/22/2015 - 6:08pm

    Not one 'change' due to loudmouths grabbing microphones from Sanders BTW. And only one new law in Missouri home of Ferguson.

    Obama's  DOJ will do its work with or without never ending street protests.
     


    by NCD on Sat, 08/22/2015 - 9:08pm

    Sigh

    Booker T Washington was a loudmouth

    Ida B Wells was a loudmouth

    Fannie Lou Hamer was a loudmouth

    W.E.B. DuBois was a loudmouth

    MLK Jr was a loudmouth

    Julian Bond was a loudmouth 

    Will with see what changes are forced to the forefront by BLM.

    The U.S. has a habit of falling in love with loudmouths after they have attacked their efforts. Loudmouths are always told that change will come if they just sit and wait.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 1:10am

    It's a bit unfair to put all expectations of black equality on BLM just because they jumped to the head of the line here, nor Ferguson protests - little was done post-Rodney King so we have a worse situation 25 years later both with opportunity and police abuse. BLM's tactic worked to a degree - sorry it tripped up Bernie's plans, sorry if tripped Up Hillary's - that's the way the cookie crumbles, that's politics

    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 2:21am

    America is full of loudmouths, especially in politics.

    The hard work isn't done by shouting about it.


    by NCD on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 12:04pm

    The point is that people who had great impact on society were called loudmouths in the beginning. Frederick Douglass was uppity. DuBois was a loudmouth radical in his time, nowhere is revered. MLK Jr.'s message was heresy. His Letter From A Birmingham Jail was criticism of Progressives who thought King was asking for too much, too soon. Julian Bond was not allowed a seat in the state legislature because of opposing the Vietnam War. Bond had to wait for a decision from the Supreme Court to take his seat. 

    People considered heroes now we're the loudmouths of the past. We don't know where BLM will fare.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 1:01pm

    Let's say leaders of previous generations seemed better prepared, organized, more articulate, easier to understand intent. MLK didn't just wake up 1 day and head to Selma. He seemed to have an agenda when speaking with LBJ.

    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 3:47pm

    King did have time to develop his agenda. There were disputes even within SCLC. There were differences with the NAACP and SNCC. BLM is in its early phase, but it does want the issue of police abuse addressed. They have caused Presidential candidates to address the issue.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 6:41pm

    Yes, unlike say numerous war protesters and Wall Street protesters who have confronted candidates and presidents and been manhandled by security, evicted or thrown in jail, BLM was allowed to talk. Luck of the draw and timeliness of the issue. BLM has had a year since Ferguson to develop its agenda - I'm not sure it takes more than a weekend to put something coherent and compelling together. In any case, their 15 minutes of fame will fade quickly - hope they use it well.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 6:50pm

    I've worked in minority and poor communities, in prisons, been held up at knife point, seen people beat up with baseball bats in broad daylight, heard gun shots over my shoulder and tried to provide health care in public health settings to some of the poorest people in this nation. Seen the drunkenness, kids with brain damage from physical abuse, FAS, poverty, women who get beat up by the spouses.

    The problems in these communities go far beyond making lists of 100 ways to clamp down on bad police work. Those other problems need solutions and hard work from within the community.


    by NCD on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 4:06pm

    I think I've got your experience trumped because I was born a black male in the United States of America. I work to improve health conditions and education. I have had up close and personal encounters with law enforcement. I have seen more real blood and guts than you ever will.

    This is a nonsensical argument blacks work in urban communities, whites work in urban communities. Both try to change things for the better.

    If BLM didn't present a list, they would be considered loudmouths with no specifics. Now that they have a list of issues, they are criticized because it does not magically solve any problem. Damned if they do, Damned if they don't.

    Latinos have worked for years on immigration and economics. LGBT groups have worked for years on marriage and workplace discrimination. Both groups made progress through protest. BLM is part of black protest over state sanctioned homicides and an attack on voting rights.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 6:51pm

    Changing things for the better is what it is all about white or black or Latino.


    by NCD on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 7:25pm

    I have not seen evidence that BLM is not working to change things for the better. 


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 8:01pm

    White, Black or yellow if I lived in Ferguson I would hope BLM did not come in next year to protest the 2nd anniversary of Michael Browns murder. Enough is enough of the confrontations.

    West LA black preacher saying about what I am saying, from Fox News.

    Note: I do not watch Fox News, I knew the murder rate in Baltimore with a black Mayor and (had -just fired) a black police chief has had a huge rise in murder rates since BLM protested the Freddie Grey death, I was trying to look up to see what BLM was doing about the rise in Baltimore homicides, found nothing that they are doing to help Baltimore, I found this, the video is at the link

    Johnathan Gentry, minister at West Angeles Church of God in Christ, yesterday said that presidential candidates should not be afraid of the “superficial, shallow” Black Lives Matter movement.. He said that 2016 contenders should ask the group, “Why are you not cleaning up your own community if black lives matter?”

    The minister asked: Where was Black Lives Matter in Chicago, in Baltimore and in Ferguson when 9-year-old Jamyla Bolden was shot to death in her own home?

    Gentry said that candidates shouldn’t fear the “superficial, shallow movement.”

    “They are cookies with no milk, Lamborghini with no 12-cylinder engine,” he said.


    by NCD on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 12:07am

    Blacks who become regular fixtures on Fox are there to criticize other blacks. Google Jesse Lee Patterson, Stacey Dash, and Larry Elder. Google Johnathan Gentry. They all feed into Fox News' racist pathology.

    Your default position appears to be that police abuses can only be addressed after there is a decrease in black crime. Black crime was at 40 year lows until blatant police abuses were documented. The take home message is that black crime is never going to be low enough to remove it as a diversion from changing policing and the judicial system.baltimore flared after a death at the hands of police.

    Regarding Jamyla Boyden, Google her name and St. Louis Post-Dispatch and tell me how many hits you get.(zero). The community held a fundraiser and a candlelight vigil for the slain 9-year old. 

    http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/crime/2015/08/19/9-year-old-fatally-shot-...

    In the case of police violence there is a record of the shooter. In the case of Kamyla Boyden, the shooter is unknown.


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 9:03am

    My default position is BLM seems to be a publicity seeking protest outfit with no real plan to help communities beyond organizing confrontations.  For instance, aiding on the ground, the mayor of Baltimore in dealing with the rising homicides and violence in the city.

    And when the website of Campaign Zero names Newark, with the 3rd highest homicide rate in America, as a public safety center of excellence, my position is are they crazy or just kidding?


    by NCD on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 11:00am

    Yep it's all BLM's fault. The fact that urban communities have been abused by police for years has nothing to do with the lack of respect for law enforcement. Baltimore paid out millions in legal settlements of police abuse cases without changing the way law enforcement was practiced. If there are no programs directed at urban unemployment, there will be no relief in sight.

    There have been protests of violence in Baltimore including a march to DC to draw attention. If people protest, it's called ineffective action. If people don't protest it's called an ineffective response. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

    There is no trust in the judicial system and there is unemployment and poor schools. Do you think it is more effective for jobs and education to be addressed or for BLM to tell people to have hope in a hopeless situation?


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 11:20am

    Before BLM, it was all Sharpton's fault. Before that it was Jesse's fault. It was King's fault, It was Fannie's fault. It was Malcolm's fault. It was DuBois' fault. It was Washington's fault. It was Ida's fault. They were all loudmouths who ignored black-on-black crime.


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 11:38am

    The diversion of black crime as opposed to dealing with state sanctioned violence against black people is an old one

     When Ida B. Wells, the world’s leading anti-lynching activist and black social worker of the early twentieth century, tried to explain to a wealthy suffragist in Chicago that anti-black violence in the nation must end, Mary Plummer replied: blacks need to “drive the criminals out” of the community. “Have you forgotten that 10 percent of all the crimes that were committed in Chicago last year were by colored men [less than 3 percent of the population]?”

    http://www.thenation.com/article/darren-wilson-americas-model-policeman/


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 12:19pm

    BLM is no different than previous protest groups. MLK protested LBJ even after passing the Voting Rights Act. CodePink confronts Obama. ACTUP was part of focusing attention on the AIDS epidemic. AIDS attacked Liberals and Conservatives. The aggressiveness of BLM is nothing new. A former member of ACTUP reminds us of its history.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelangelo-signorile/black-lives-matter-...

     


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 9:33am

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