Mediaboss Marketing

A restorative justice meeting that had been planned between Portland police and the 17 protesters arrested this summer during a Black Lives Matter protest was called off at the last second Wednesday, according to an attorney involved in the case.

The collapse of the agreement between prosecutors and the protesters will likely mean a return of criminal charges for the group, who could have avoided such penalties under the deal.

The two sides could not agree on how the meeting should proceed in two groups held separately, or as one and who should be allowed to observe the process. The district attorneys office attempted to enforce part of the agreement to divide the protesters into two sessions; the protesters wanted to remain together.

The protesters also objected to the presence of an observer from the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, and to the presence of Rachel Talbot Ross, a state legislator and head of the local chapter of the NAACP, who was asked by the protesters to leave.

It became very clear that they were not coming to the table with the conditions that we had laid out ahead of time, said Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Ackerman, who prosecuted the cases.

Ackerman said she gave notice to the protesters attorneys ahead of time that she would be inviting the ACLU and the NAACP to observe. It was unclear why their presence became an issue.

Part of the dispute seems to stem from the lack of specificity in the agreed-upon terms filed in court.

The two outside groups were never explicitly included in the agreement signed by the protesters, and the restorative justice process was to be completed as directed by the district attorneys office, according to court documents.

Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said that, in hindsight, her office should have spelled out all of the terms more clearly.

Anderson, who did not speak at the news conference but answered questions from a reporter afterward, said she was disappointed.

We should have had every single one of the defendants signs a contract, Anderson said. We bent over backwards to resolve these charges, and let me tell you, this left a bad taste in police officers mouths.

Each of the protesters who were arrested was charged with one count of obstructing a public way. Some were also charged with other offenses, such as disorderly conduct and failure to disperse.

The deal with the District Attorneys office allowed the protesters to admit to violating a city disorderly conduct ordinance, a civil infraction which was discharged by the court, in exchange for the chance at a future dismissal of all charges if the protesters fulfilled their end of the deal.

Each protester would have to donate $140 to the victims compensation fund and $60 to pay for the restorative justice meeting.

The plan had been for the 17 protesters to meet with Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck in two separate groups over the course of the day. But the protesters said they wanted to remain together during the meeting, said Attorney Stacey Neumann, who represented protester Shadiyo Ali.

Fred Van Liew, who was scheduled to facilitate the restorative justice meeting, agreed to the change, Neumann said, but Ackerman then canceled..

The original incident arose after demonstrators blocked a section of Commercial Street last July 15, a busy Friday night in the Old Port. Portland police said the protesters failed to get a permit and discuss their plans with police, unlike a similar protest the week before.

The leaders of the earlier protest had met with police beforehand to discuss their plans and the route their march would follow. By contrast, Portland police said they tried to contact the organizers of the July 15 march before it began, but were rebuffed.

The protesters gathered in Lincoln Park early in the evening and then marched, chanting, down Pearl Street to Commercial Street, with a police car in front of the group and two cruisers behind. There were a few shouts back and forth between protesters and some bystanders who objected to the Black Lives Matter chants, and a handful of drivers were delayed when protesters holding a banner blocked Custom House Wharf.

The demonstrators removed the banner when asked to by police, who watched the protest for more than three hours before making arrests when the demonstrators refused to disperse.

Other protesters continued the demonstration and those arrested were released a few hours after they were taken into custody.

This story will be updated.

Read more:
Plea deal between prosecutor, Portland Black Lives Matter protesters collapses - Press Herald

Black Lives Matter Vancouver may have only come together in 2016, but the group is eager to commemorate and celebrate the long history of the black community in Vancouver.

Cicely-Belle Blain said she started the group last summer in solidarity with the movement which originated in 2013 in the United States as a response to institutional racism experienced by black people.

"We wanted to also show that there are black people in Canada and racism is still a thing that exists here in Canada," she said.

Blain said the black community in Vancouver isn't huge, yet her group still gets comments like "this is an American problem" and "you don't belong here."

"Even though we're a very small group, there's still a lot about blackness to be celebrated ... particularly in this city there was a rich, vibrant black history."

Although her group is small, Black Lives Matter Vancouver founder Cicely-Belle Blain (centre) says she is eager to revive the spirit of Vancouver's historic black communities. (Vancouver Dyke March/Facebook)

Celebrating that community history is one of key focuses on the group in the month and year ahead.

"There used to be a very big population of black people here in Vancouver but then it was wiped out by things like the building of the Georgia [Street] viaduct which wiped out Hogan's Alley where there was a thriving black community," she explained.

"That led black people to be pushed further out into the suburbs or even east into the rest of Canada ... In Vancouver,we're kind of siloed and we don't really have much of a sense of community."

Blain said her group will be hosting some events like an art workshop which she says will be primarily for and within Vancouver's black community.

"It's going to be our focus this year to look more internally and create spaces that are safe and comfortable for black people," Blain said.

With files from The Early Edition

To listen to the interview, click on the link labelled Black Lives Matter Vancouver founder on Black History Month

Go here to see the original:
Black Lives Matter Vancouver marks Black History Month - CBC.ca

Time Magazines February 2017 cover will feature the Womens March on Washington (WMoW), with the caption, The Resistance Rises: How a March Becomes a Movement.

The WMoW has rapidly become an umbrella protest for a variety of causes, and now shows signs of becoming a movement not just for protest, but to advance womens rights and effect policy changes. But successful social movements dont effect change simply via polite organised marches in Washington; they disrupt the status quo and pressure lawmakers into making changes with real consequences. And unlike certain other movements at work in the US today, the WMoW marchers are in a privileged position to make this happen.

After the WMoW on January 21, President Trump took to Twitter to demonstrate his approval: Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I dont always agree, I recognise the rights of people to express their views. This is in stark contrast to Trumps statements about Black Lives Matter (BLM).

Just before the election, he singled out a BLM protester at one of his rallies and said he should be roughed up. He has called the movement divisive. His new administration has added a new page to the White House website entitled Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community which states:

The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter.

Many in the BLM movement have read this as a threat to protesters. So why the apparent double standard?

One obvious explanation is that the womens marchers were, in Trumps terminology, peaceful no clashes between police and protesters, no violence, no rioting or looting. Indeed, many who supported the WMoW took to social media the next day to pat themselves on the back for executing a peaceful protest during which no-one was arrested.

But unsurprisingly, many BLM activists argued that white privilege played a major role in how the protest was perceived by the public and handled by the police. The Washington march itself was attended overwhelmingly by white women and was far less radical in tone than a BLM march despite their common goals.

Clearly, the two movements are disconnected. Two viral photos from the WMoW demonstrate the distance between them.

This image of Angela Peoples has received widespread attention. Its a fair point: 53% of white women in America voted for Trump, and while the estimated 500,000 women protesting in Washington most likely didnt, most of their peers did.

In this second photo, protester Amir Talai draws attention to the divisions between WMoW organisers and attendees about the role of race in the protest. As some women of colour began criticising their white allies, they started to make them feel alienated from the cause and the sometimes heated dialogue between white women and women of colour on the WMoW Facebook page is testament to the tensions that persist.

While the WMoWs white protesters are willing to accept women of colour in support of their cause, many arent willing to return the favour by supporting BLM: only 51% of white Americans aged 18-30 support BLM, and far fewer actually show up at protests.

It would be a huge wasted opportunity if these movements couldnt bridge the gap between them. We should expect more and more protests during the Trump Administration, and the time is right for action.

Clearly, WMoW has something to learn from BLM. Here are five core lessons.

The WMoW must be inclusive of all women, regardless of race, class, religion, age, political beliefs, sexuality, or their possession of a vagina (yes, trans women are part of this movement too). BLM has done this very well: spearheaded by LGBT women, many of the movements leaders are to this day young, queer, and trans women of colour. If the WMoW wants to succeed as a movement, it will have to live up to that standard.

The key to mobilising a movement beyond one march is to organise self-sustaining sub-groups across the country. This will include local organisations coming together under the banner of one name, whether the WMoW, the Resistance or something else. It also means lobbying local and state politicians. Activists can do this by asking their mayors to designate their cities as sanctuary cities for immigrants, or by calling state representatives to oppose legislation that would limit womens reproductive health options.

BLM has deliberately represented itself as revolutionary in political orientation, often supporting left-wing candidates but not aligning itself with a particular political party. That helps it push candidates harder. From before the primaries even began in early 2016, its protesters were highly visible throughout the campaign, making their demands a constant issue. If the WMoW wants to match its power, it will have to step away from partisan alignment and push policy demands across the spectrum especially once the 2018 midterm elections start to ramp up.

A variety of nonviolent civil disobedience and peaceful protests must be used to have the greatest effect. Civil Rights campaigners in the 1960s used civil disobedience to resist Jim Crow segregation by sitting at whites-only lunch counters, resisting efforts to remove them; today, BLM protesters have taken to stopping traffic on busy highways. In short, peaceful protests are fantastic for bringing awareness to a problem, but they dont disrupt the status quo or bring pressure on lawmakers to make changes.

Angela Peoples photo speaks a very particular truth: many of these white middle-class American cisgender women are new to protest politics. That is not a bad thing but if the WMoW is going to effectively challenge the Trump Administration and Congress on womens rights, they are going to have to keep showing up. Even when they dont feel like it. Even when its inconvenient. Even when they might get arrested for civil disobedience. Successful social movements are not all sunshine and pussyhats; much of the work is tedious, tiresome, and thankless.

BLM protesters understand this. They show up day in and day out to have their voices heard. The Resistance, or whatever were calling it, will have to do that, too.

Read the original post:
What the Women's March on Washington can learn from Black Lives Matter - The Conversation UK

BLM protesters meet with Portland Police

Katharine Bavoso, WCSH 12:06 PM. EST February 01, 2017

BLM protesters arrested (Photo: WCSH)

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER)-- Portland Black Lives Matter protesters will have a discussion about the July 15thdemonstration with Portland Police officers on Wednesday morning at First Parish Church.

Protesters and police will be able to talk about what lead to and what happened that Friday night. Eighteen people were arrested when a peaceful demonstration became unruly and protesters swarmed the old port, blocking off traffic on commercial street. By admitting to disorderly conduct last week and coming to the meetings Wednesday morning, the charges against 17 of those arrested will be dropped in six months time. In an agreement with prosecutes, in addition to the meeting, each protester must pay $140 to the victim's compensation fund and another $60 to the restorative justice program.

Due to the number of protesters, two meetings with police will take place at the church, the first starts at 9am.

( 2017 WCSH)

View original post here:
Portland Black Lives Matter protesters to meet with police - WCSH6.com

Lynnette 'Diamond' Hardaway and Rochelle 'Silk' Richardson - better known as Trump-supporting hosts of 'The Viewers View', 'Diamond and Silk,' - joined us Wednesday to share their thoughts on President Trumps first days in the White House.

WASHINGTON - Lynnette 'Diamond' Hardaway and Rochelle 'Silk' Richardson - better known as Trump-supporting hosts of 'The Viewers View', 'Diamond and Silk,' - joined us Wednesday to share their thoughts on President Trumps first days in the White House.

PROTESTS

"You know, I think it's time to stop protesting and sit down and let President Trump work for you," Hardaway told FOX 5s Allison Seymour. "It's really time for those protesters to either get on the 'Trump Train' or get out of the way before they get ran over." Hardaway also added she feels many of those protesting have been paid to do so.

TRAVEL BAN OR TEMPORARY PAUSE?

"First of all, we call it 'temporary pause' on immigration until we properly vet people that are coming into our country," Hardaway said about Trumps executive order to restrict travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Hardaway referenced incidents like the San Bernardino attack and the Boston Marathon bombings to reinforce the need for the change. "We already have enough problems in this country. We don't need to add it to. It's a pause - so that we can properly vet people when they coming into our country."

"Where were the protests when President Obama did the same thing in 2011?" Richardson added, referencing the 2011 action the Obama administration took to slow processing for Iraqi nationals seeking refuge following the arrests of two Iraqi nationals on terrorism-related charges.

As far as those who were caught up in the travel restrictions - Hardaway says it was for the good of the country. Hardaway said that the inconvenience was necessary and similar to what happened in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

TRUMP SUPPORT

"Because he don't waver. He don't back down and he's going to do what he say he is going to do, Hardaway said when asked why the sisters are suck vocal Trump supporters. "We sent him to do a job and he's doing his job and we love it!"

"The common sense approach he takes with these different issues. It's the common sense approach that resonates with all Americans, Richardson said. "That's why he's in office right now and that's why he is President Donald Trump."

SUPPORT FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER?

"Hold up. I don't see eye to eye with the Black Lives Matter movement because their movement is now a mess," Hardaway told Seymour after a previous interview showing their support for the group was mentioned. "Listen, I can be on your team. I understand that there are bad apples - we will get rid of the bad apples. But we cannot treat our police like we don't need them. Because when something go down at my house, I can't call Black Lives Matter. I pick up the phone and I call 911."

"I am in agreement with the President. We have to have law and order. We can no longer have chaos," Hardaway continued.

MEDIA THE OPPOSITION?

"Because they are biased," Hardaway said when asked by Seymour why the sisters dont like the media. "All they do - they take and they twist and they don't tell the truth."

"Like they said that Hillary Clinton is going to win the election - look how they spread fake news for months," Hardaway continued. "And look who won. We told them President Donald J. Trump was going to be the 45th president. And now look - he's the 45th President of the United States."

"For all people," said Richardson.

MORE ONLINE: http://www.diamondandsilkinc.com/the-viewers-view/

Read this article:
Black Lives Matter movement a 'mess' and media is 'biased' say Trump supporters 'Diamond and Silk' - FOX 5 DC