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Despite insistence that its not a moment but a movement, national attention to the Black Lives Matter organization has faded.

Nonetheless, as a scholar of black representation and political movements, its clear to me that if were worried about how to create social and political change, we must turn back to Black Lives Matter and its model of organizing.

Black Lives Matter began online after the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin and blossomed into a real-time organization in the wake of the 2014 police murder of Mike Brown.

And today, according to a recent study,it has the support of more than 40 percent of Americans. #BlackLivesMatter is no ordinary group of protesters.

Journalist Marc Lamont Hill, who has charted the organizations rise, writes of Black Lives Matter and network of allies, Pushing aside civil rights-era orthodoxies, these groups have embraced queer, trans, female, and shared leadership, rejected rigid respectability politics, and resisted (to varying degrees of success) co-optation by the dominant power structure.

In so doing, they have practiced an inclusiveness, what its founders have called an intersectionality, and a protective indeterminacy, that is urgently necessary for any political success in the coming years of the Trump presidency.

Intersectionality for #BlackLivesMatter is not just a matter of making sure a womans march reflects all women, for instance, and not just those with pink pussies (but also brown or trans women) or the folks who can afford to attend such a march (like working class or poor women); it is also a radical refusal to pursue methods or goals that leave behind large swaths of Black America.

As scholar Keenanga Yamhatta-Taylor points out in From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, as a woman-founded organization with critical distance from more mainstream movements, #BlackLivesMatter has also made a much more deliberate intervention to expose police brutality as part of a much larger system of oppression in the lives of all Black working-class and poor people and, in so doing, has set its sight on broader goals than those of centralized national organizations like the NAACP with ties to government-backed funders.

Such breadth is clear in its mission statement and its policy demands, which insist not only on reparations but also ground-up change through the dismantling of the police apparatus itself.

Indeed, its #BlackLivesMatters wide-ranging vision, along with its intersectionality and its insistence that its efforts reflect its diverse and often locally, rather than nationally, organized constituents, that have set #BlackLivesMatter apart from both former and current civil rights movement organizations.

To be sure, today the assaults on Black life come not only in the form of police violence or even the resurgence of a discourse of hate directed at Mike Brown, whose spectral image is again back in the news.

Trumps governments defunding of the NEH will affect Black artists; climate change and the governments dismantling of the EPA will disproportionately affect Black children, who often live in more polluted and environmentally fragile neighborhoods; and the proposed increases in military spending will result in an increasingly militarized nation, again disproportionately affecting Black Americans, who have repeatedly suffered at the hands of the national guard and militarized police. And so it is only a movement with a deep understanding of how racial oppression works systemically, how it reaches out across branches of the government, social structures and institutions, that can help us fight against the violence this government is wreaking not only on our most vulnerable citizens, but on us all.

Instead of arguing about the goals or inclusiveness of the Womens March or the general strike as many of us have over the past months or planning interest-group event after interest-group event (the Scientists March, for instance), we should all join Black Lives Matter, find our local chapters, and work to revitalize its visionary protests, which serve not only what scholar Robin D. G. Kelley has called the freedom dreams of Black America, but the hopes of all of us that someday, somehow, the government will work to better our lives.

Liz Reich, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of film studies at Connecticut College, where she teaches and writes about race and cinema. She is author of Militant Visions: Black Soldiers, Internationalism, and the Transformation of American Cinema, and is a Public Voices fellow.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

Original post:
Black Lives Matter is not a moment but a movement | TheHill

BLOOMINGTON Representatives of Black Lives Matter say a photo that shows a 10-year-old boy in handcuffs surrounded by Bloomington police is an example of children of color being disproportionately targeted by police.

The youth was in juvenile court Wednesday to face charges resulting from an incident last June in which he allegedly spray painted graffiti at a neighborhood park. Because he had not written a letter of apology and served 10 community service hours as ordered, he returned to court where he was granted an extension until April 25.

On March 12, police were called for a report of a youth throwing rocks in a church parking lot. When officers arrived, the same 10-year-old reportedly ran to his home. Once there, officers handcuffed him. He does not face any charges in that incident.

A picture of the boy in handcuffs appeared on social media sites last week.

The image of the large officers standing over the small child offered the community a clear view of the Bloomington Police Departments heavy-handed criminalization of children of color, read a statement from the group.

While Bloomington police Assistant Chief Ken Bays said he could not address the specific incident because it involved a juvenile, he said that in general, there are various reasons why multiple officers would be called to a scene.

A call may look benign at first, and not require much, but other individuals could arrive at a scene and inject themselves into it and escalate it, he said. At some point, an officer has to make an assessment of what the motives of those individuals are and how that is impeding their responsibilities.

Bays said the safety of officers and the public is most important.

We have to make sure we have control of a scene and that is done by calling in additional officers, he said. So those officers may be on the scene and not have had anything to do with the original call.

Anyone can be put in handcuffs, including juveniles, Bays added.

If the individual is not listening to officers, that could be a reason, but again, it is more about adding some control to an unknown situation, he said.

Follow Kevin Barlow on Twitter: @pg_barlow

Continued here:
BPD, Black Lives Matter differ on photo - Bloomington Pantagraph

Photo Courtesy: YiouTube/Melina Abdullah

Todays police officers evolved from slave catchers, according to a Black Lives Matter organizer who spoke at a California State University, Fullerton, event last week.

Melina Abdullah also a professor and chair of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles described Black Lives Matter as police abolitionists because ofthe history of American law enforcement, the Daily Titan reported.

Police that we now have were the slave catchers, Abdullah continued, the paper reported. So that is where it comes from. You literally have a target on your back. That is what policing was founded on, and that is what it evolved out of. So the former slave catchers or paddy rollers, they were called slave patrols.

When Abdullah asked the audience what slave patrols are called today, the Daily Titan said the response was patrolmen.

LA Weekly characterized Abdullah as a key figure in the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter and noted she called the citys police department the most murderous police force in the country.

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Black Lives Matter: Police Officers 'Evolved' From 'Slave Catchers' - LawOfficer.com

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Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders decision to accede to demands from the local chapter of Black Lives Matter is supported by only 21 percent of the citys residents, according to a new Forum Poll released late last week.

In February, Saunders caved to pressure from Black Lives Matter (BLM) and agreed that Toronto Police would not participate in the 2017 Gay Pride Parade. At last years event, the police marched with a parade float, but the festivities came to an abrupt halt when BLM participants decided the presence of police made them feel intimidated.

Forum Research polled 966 Toronto voters and almost half (48 percent) disapprove ofthe Toronto Police chiefs decision not to participate in this years parade. Only 21 percent approve of the policy, 27 percent said they have not formed an opinion and four percent responded that they dont know.

That the Toronto police wont have a float in this years pride parade is unpopular; in fact, almost fifty-percent of everyone over the age of 34 disapproves. Thats a really broad spectrum of Toronto residents who would prefer the police have a presence in this years parade, said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research.

The poll was conducted on March 8-10, 2017,with results being considered accurate plus or minus three percent, 19 times out of 20.

Last years parade when more than its usual share of news when BLM demonstrators stopped the event to protest the police presence. Things only got started again after the executive director of Pride Toronto,Matthieu Chantelois, promised the black activists that he would agree to a list of demands that included a ban on any future participation by the police.

Chanteloisye said later that he only agreed to sign a promissory note as a means of halting the protest and resuming the parade.

Pride Toronto met again in January at its annual meeting and then voted in favor of the BLM edict, but it was unclear whether that edict included marching police officers or just floats.

In his explanation, Saunders referred to divisions within the LGBTQ organizers of the multi-million dollar event.

We understand the LGBTQ communities are divided, he said in a statement. To enable those differences to be addressed, I have decided the Toronto Police Service will not participate, this year, in the Pride parade.

The police acquiescing to their demands did not satisfy BLM.

They are trying to flip the narrative and make it seem as if they are choosing to pull out of Pride when in fact they were uninvited, said spokesperson Syrus Marcus Ware.

Ware said the police chief failed to mention such issues as anti-blackness and policing and carding a standard practice of patrolling dangerous sections of town that BLM insists is aimed a non-whites.

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Toronto Police Caving To Black Lives Matter Lacks Support: Poll - Daily Caller

In an open letter to Mayor Lovely Warren on Wednesday, leaders of one of the city's Democratic committees rebuked what they described as "bigoted, disrespectful and false statements" by City Councilman and Warren backer Adam McFadden.

Committees in each of the legislative districts in the city of Rochester meet to decide what city candidates should receive the party designation or endorsement.(Photo: Monroe County Board of Elections)

The dustup is the latest in an ongoing feud dating to last summer, when Rochester's Black Political Caucus called out what they saw as aneffort backed by New York State United Teachers to take over the city's Democratic committees that determine which candidates the party endorses. The committee in question did flip. And it is a notable one: The city's 25th Legislative District, which for decades was led by the late Willie Lightfoot.The 25th predominantly representsthe southwest side, east of Genesee Street.And it had, until the flip, beenin lockstep with the party faction aligned with Assemblyman David Gantt.

Now the committee is led by Beatriz LeBron, a candidate for city school board and a vocal supporter of mayoral challenger and County Legislator James Sheppard.

Lastweek,the 25th hosted a candidates night at the East End Tavern on Charlotte Street, and McFadden attended to speak on Warren's behalf. He later took to Facebook, posting "Willie Lightfoot is turning over in his grave," and elaborated in a separate post, saying the committee now waspredominately white with folks who don't live in the community or, in some cases, in the city.

"All in an effort to give James Sheppard the Democratic Party endorsement," he wrote, reiterating the charge against the union while noting that the committee met outside the district, in the East End. "I'm sorry if you are black and supporting Sheppard. Please be aware that he is working with a group of people who is purposefully disenfranchising black Democrats."

Black Political Caucus protests union 'takeover' in Rochester

There is much more to all of this, of course. Why it matters is that it strikes at the integrity of the process. Jamie Romeo, chairwoman of Monroe County Democrats, likened it to the questions and challenges that arose during the presidential primary. Then, as now, there is a need for introspection, she said, to be open and review established bylaws and practices. That is under way. There also is a need to make sure people understand and believe in the process, she said, adding: "That, at the end of the day, is my main responsibility that people trust this process."

But it would seem that to understandthe process, in this current circumstance, is to question its validity.

In their letter, also directed to McFadden, the 25th LD committee leaders countered McFadden's portrayal of the committee, stating that membership was 18.3 percent white while the population of the district is 30 percent white, and noted the diversity of its executive committee that includes a Latina and two black men. The letter calls McFadden's remarks at the meeting and on Facebook "shameful," intended to bully and intimidate committee members, and to inflame racial divisions.

"It is difficult to express how aghast we are that a current elected official made hateful statements aimed at community activists, many of whom are his constituents, with intent to delegitimize us," reads the letter that issigned by the executive committee, whose members include Paul Hypolite, a regional political organizer for NYSUT.

Not addressed was the residency issue.Like other committees on the west side, the 25th is populated with a smattering of residents living outside the neighborhood, mostly in the northeast.

Follow this link to an interactive version of this map.

Members of the city Democratic committee representing most of downtown inside the Inner Loop and areas immediately west and southwest.(Photo: Brian Sharp)

City districts are determined by county legislative districts, some of which have been redrawn to include a greater share of the suburbs, but membership is determined by state Assembly districts. This has been the case at least since 2006, and is why, to McFadden's point, not just suburbanites but residents from elsewhere in the city end up sitting on committees in the southwest while living in the northeast.

Overall, 40 or 4.5 percent of the 873 city Democratic committee members do not live in the city, Romeo said. Just .9 percent of the 25th committee live in the suburbs, however, while in the 26th LD, which extends along the city's western border, 19 percent live outside of Rochester. The issue of residency is being discussed by party leadership, and Romeo said she expects there to be a proposal made that would address the matter. But it would not affect the current nomination process, which has already begun.

Watching all of this is another Democratic mayoral challenger, former WROC-TV reporter/anchor Rachel Barnhart, whose campaign manager Joe Rittler weighed in Wednesday, issuinga statement that read:"We respect the committee members and the designation process, but it's clear that there is a predetermined outcome. The designation process is not representative of voters generally. Nonetheless, we believe everyone has a role to play in our city, and all voters have a right to know where the candidates stand on issues. For that reason, we feel it is important to participate in this process."

McFadden, in an interview, said he made no mention of the 25th LD committee's racial makeup at the meeting but felt compelled to note it later. Heis the leader of the adjoining 27th LD representing the 19th Ward, and his City Council district includes the 25th. He acknowledged not being aware of the full membership of the 25th, but based his assessment on those who identified themselves as committee members at the meeting a group, he said, that was predominately white.

"I wasnt even trying to assess the blackness or whiteness of the room," he said. "When I saw who raised their hand, I made a mental note. ... (Willie Lightfoot's)whole thing was making sure people of color had a seat at the table and a voice in the process. I know, because I came up through that.

"There is no way I could walk away from that and not say what I saw."

The letter called on Warren topublicly reprimand McFadden. Warren said that she had not yet seen the 25th LD's letter and had no comment.

"It's all about the nomination for mayor, and thats what it's about, and that's wrong," Gantt said in an interview this week, having previously expressed his concern over similar issues with committees in the northwest."If you can't vote for a person (in an election),then you ought not be voting them on the committee."

Follow this link to an interactive version of this map.

Where members of the northwest side city Democratic committees live.(Photo: Brian Sharp.)

Angie Rivera is a member of the 27th LD, and was one of the chief organizers of an effort last fall that resulted in a number of sitting committee members facing primaries. NYSUT supported that effort by assisting with the gathering of petition signatures. Rivera is president of Rochester Association of Paraprofessionals, representing about 600 teachersaides and assistants. In all, the effort helped placewhat Rivera estimated were 75 or more people, not all of them union members, onto city committees.She said at the time that the issue was grassroots, diverse, unassisted by any elected leader and not about the mayoral race, but education and labor issues, including the minimum wage.

"I believe that our voices will be heard moving forward," she said. "We are going to be involved in plenty of other races. It is not a one-time only. It is not about one issue. ... We want to be involved in the decisions, all of the decisions."

On the eastside, the committee membership appears more in line with district boundaries but exemplify another issue: Check the addresses of the combined 310 listed members of the three committees, and you find 58 duplicate addresses meaning more than a third of the membership is potentially related or at least are close acquaintances. In two instances, three committee members live at the same residence. In the northwest, with a combined 164 members listed, there are 25 duplicate addresses, with three residences each listing three members. Again, roughly a third of the total.

Warren and her husband both are members in the 21st District. Barnhart is not listed as a committee member, and was denied when she sought appointments. Specifically, she sought appointment to the 21st where she livesbut said the leader, Anthony Plonzynski, also Sheppard's campaign vice chairman, told her there were no seats available.

Barnhart's case highlights one of the problems with making the simple rule change Ganttsuggests. If a committee has no open seats, newcomers are denied the opportunity, or established members get knocked off. It also closes the door for people living in areas without an established committee. In Chili, for example, 23 percent of committee members, five in all, live in Ogden or other areas outside the town, Romeo said. There is nocommittee yet in Ogden, though the party wants to be more active there. This way, they can bring people into the fold rather than turn them away.

It is without question that the Democratic Party needs to find a path forward," Romeo said in formal statement issued in response to the 25th LD letter. "It is without a question that we have a growing number of voices, interest and ambitions from people all cross this community that are looking for ways to contribute in the political process. However, what also remains clear is that we as leaders of the Democratic Party must continue to prioritize and push for a constructive dialogue regarding our future. I will continue to urge our leaders to participate in our partys process to find our path to move this party forward.

BDSHARP@Gannett.com

Follow this link to an interactive version of this map.

Where members of the east side city Democratic committees live.(Photo: Brian Sharp.)

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Democratic Party politics get messy in Rochester mayoral race - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (blog)