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Over the past three years, a powerful hashtag and movement has grown up to demonstrate against police killings of black people

PEPSI has been blasted for an advert featuring Kendall Jenner which appears to use an iconic scene from a human rights demo but what is Black Lives Matter?

The telly ad sees the 21-year-old model use a can of Pepsi to stop a stand-off between cops and a multi-racial group of protesters bearing resemblance to a protest.

EPA

The civil rights group came about in response to extreme police brutality which culminated in the shooting dead of three African/American men in 2013

More than 1000 people were killed in police in the US in 2015, nearly a third of them black.

This is despite the fact that black people are 13 per cent of the population.

Against this background there was the fatal shootings of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.

This sparked the Twitter slogan #blacklivesmatter

MARTIN FAMILY

But before the killing of Castile and Sterling, black people in the US and abroad were shocked by the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.

Martin was walking back from a store to his fathers fiancees house when he was shot by George Zimmerman who was not a police officer, but a volunteer for a neighbourhood watch scheme.

He was cleared of the murder of a black teenager, Trayvon Martin.

Reacting to this perceived injustice, theBlack Lives Matter slogan began appearing as a hashtag online.

People across the world including celebs have taken to Twitter to criticise the Pepsi advert since its release, with Charlotte Church stating: This makes me sick and retweeting Kris Jenners support of the commercial.

Viewers complain the imagery echoes that of the young woman Ieshia Evans serenely standing up to armed police in Baton Rouge while protesting the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling.

Others have been left in disbelief at how tone deaf the advert is. Daily Show writer Kashana Cauley wrote: So all us dark people have to do is convince a cop that the Pepsi were holding isnt a gun.

Bernice King, daughter of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King, tweeted: If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi.

Within 24 hours, Pepsi pulled the ad but it is online, with many mickey takes. In a grovelling statement, the drinks giant said: Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding.

"Clearly we missed the mark and we apologise.

"We did not intend to make light of any serious issue.

"We are removing the content. We also apologise for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.

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What is Black Lives Matter, what is the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad fiasco and how is it connected to Trayvon Martin's ... - The Sun

wbur Neal Blair, of Augusta, Ga., wears a hoodie which reads, "Black Lives Matter" as stands on the lawn of the Capitol building during a rally to mark the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March, on Capitol Hill, on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, in Washington. Black men from around the nation returned to the capital calling for changes in policing and in black communities. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Black Lives Matter movement originated as an organization to combat police violence but has morphed into an organization for civil rights issues. How does it compare to the civil rights movement, and the Black Power movement of the 1960s?

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Peniel Joseph(@penieljoseph), a scholar of African-American history and professor of public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin,about his cover story for the New Republic, "Why Black Lives Matter Still Matters."

On how Black Lives Matter compares tothe civil rights and Black Power movements

"I think it straddles really both movements, but it's more comparable to Black Power than civil rights. That's primarily because BLM movement has a structural criticism of racism. So, they're not just criticizing the justice system. They're making a claim that the justice system in the United States is connected to unemployment, public school segregation, environmental racism and inequality. So its just basically the police are the tip of a larger iceberg of systemic oppression. What makes them so interesting is this notion of intersectionality. The three cofounders of that hashtag were all black women, feminist and queer identified. When we think about BLM, they're really the first movement coming out of that civil rights, Black Power, black liberation struggle that places gender, sexuality, youth, poverty at the core of that movement for social change."

On women in historical black rights movements and Black Lives Matter

"The Panthers and the wider Black Power movement, and when we think about civil rights as well, deeply implicated in systems of patriarchy and sexism and misogyny against women. With that being said, black women were also key organizers of both the civil rights protests and also Black Power. Here, with BLM being so decentralized, you've had black women share the spotlight and take the lead in terms of both organizing the actions and disruptions of the BLM. So, it's really a change for the better, I would argue, when you have black women at the forefront of the leadership, but also when we think about the theoretical foundations of the leadership. They're thinking about black women being head of single-parent households in the United States. They're thinking about black women and rates of incarceration, the wealth gap between black and white women and the income gap, which is very important because black women are the major voters within the African-American community. They're the major breadwinners. They're the major people who raise the young black boys and young black men who are often victims of police violence."

"When we think about the BLM movement, they're both taking the civil disobedience tactic nonviolently from that civil rights struggle, but they're ratcheting up by calling for a systematic, wide change."

On how Black Lives Matter is more closely related to Black Power than the civil rights movement

"King is initially a reformer, and he becomes a political revolutionary. And in a way, except for adhering to nonviolence, he really starts to have a structural criticism against Vietnam, militarism, racism, human rights violations. When we think about the BLM movement, they're both taking the civil disobedience tactic nonviolently from that civil rights struggle, but they're ratcheting up by calling for a systematic, wide change. Their tactics have also been very disruptive, in line with the Black Power period. When we think them shutting down highways, some people were very supportive of that, but it's to the chagrin of others. There were Black Lives Matter rallies that were disrupting the status quo on college campuses. They were even disrupting people's brunch in New York City and other cities to the chagrin of many yuppies and buppies and elites of all stripes. So when we think about the BLM, it's really about both that structural critique and the robust, in-your-face tactics that they're using."

On the movements decentralization of leadership

"That's a good thing in that they're very similar civil rights organizing vis-a-vis the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Their nickname was SNCC, and when we think about SNCC, we associate them by 1966 with Stokely Carmichael and the call for Black Power. But initially, they were founded by Ella Jo Baker, whos an activist from North Carolina, a feminist, a trade unionist and really one of the most important organizers of the 1960s. And she tells the young people not to be hijacked or come under the thumb of any of the older leadership. Even though Ella Baker's around 60 at this time, she's making an argument that decentralized leadership is better than having one central political mobilizer like King, who the movement sort of rises and falls with. So, when we think about the BLM movement, what's so great about the dozens of chapters that they have is that there isn't one person who's leading all of this. That makes it harder for media to identify and set up neat narratives with the movement. But I think that it means that the movement's going to be much longer lasting because we actually have people doing work and organizing, and it's not a top down hierarchical leadership structure.

"And we've seen that through BLM and the Movement for Black Lives policy agenda that was published last summer that talked about ending the war against black people, divesting from criminal justice institutions that incarcerate and lead to mass incarceration and investing in black youth in neighborhoods and communities. I would say we do have several young activists who people know who they are, including Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, DeRay McKesson and others, who are organizing and young people know who they are. But it's just not the top-down celebrity culture that we saw in the context of the 1960s and '70s. And remember that also it didn't work. Very, very famous people didn't lead to the kind of substantive transformation that people had hoped for because if it had, we wouldn't have the need for BLM movement 50 years later in 2017."

On what he'd say to people who think the pendulum has swung too far fromgovernment standing up for law enforcement

"Well, I'd say that's absolutely the wrong perspective because the BLM movement really illustrated the depth and breadth of structural racism and state violence through law enforcement against African-American, against Latino and, at times, poor white communities in the United States. If anything, we need dramatic and radical reform that actually goes beyond what Obama's Justice Department politically could achieve. We have to change and transform this whole society. And in that way, they do go back to Dr. King and when King talked about a bitter and beautiful struggle for social and political change."

This segment aired on April 5, 2017.

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One Scholar On The Future Of Black Lives Matter09:47 - Here And Now

One of the Obama Justice Department's signature achievements was the creation of 14 police reform agreementscalled "consent decrees"with departments in cities including Baltimore; Ferguson, Missouri; and Cleveland that have allegedly been the site of systematic civil rights abuses. The Trump administration's Justice Department is led by Jeff Sessions, a 70-year-old white man from Alabama who is named after Jefferson Davis; Sessions is a little less of a leftist on civil rights issues than Obama and Eric Holder were. He has announced plans to "review" all of the consent decrees and has been trying to delay the adoption of Baltimore's, which was only agreed to this January. That delay effort ran into a wall Fridaya wall named federal judge James K. Bredar. Via the Baltimore Sun's Justin Fenton:

Read the original post:
Judge Rejects Jeff Sessions' Bid to Back Out of Baltimore Civil Rights Deal in Quite Spicy Fashion - Slate Magazine (blog)

By Joel Connelly, SeattlePI

When discussing marijuana legalization at Senate hearing, , Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., weightily argued: "Lady Gaga says she's addicted to it and it is not harmless." According to People mag, Gaga said that she smoked marijuana to deal with the mental and physical challenges of her career

Sessions is now U.S. Attorney General. Gov. Jay Inslee and three other governors, whose states have legalized recreational marijuana, want Sessions to keep his hands off a regulatory system that is working.

When discussing marijuana legalization at Senate hearing, , Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., weightily argued: "Lady Gaga says she's addicted to it and it is not harmless." According to People mag, Gaga said that

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no fan of the ganja. Here's some of the things he's said on it in the past.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no fan of the ganja. Here's some of the things he's said on it in the past.

Dosages can be constructed in a way that might be beneficial, I acknowledge that, but if you smoke marijuana for example, where you have no idea how much THC youre getting, its probably not a good way to administer a medicinal amount. So forgive me if Im a bit dubious about that.

Dosages can be constructed in a way that might be beneficial, I

As U.S. Attorney in Alabama in the 1980s, Sessions famously said he thought the KKK "were OK until I found out they smoked pot."

As U.S. Attorney in Alabama in the 1980s, Sessions famously said he thought the KKK "were OK until I found out they smoked pot."

Attorney General Sessions also called Obama's lax approach to marijuana "one of his great failures."

Attorney General Sessions also called Obama's lax approach to marijuana "one of his great failures."

Stay off our pot, Inslee and governors tell AG Sessions

The Trump Administration should keep its hands off states that have legalized recreational marijuana, Gov. Jay Inslee and three other governors said in a Monday letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The open letter asked Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to "engage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems."

The letter was signed by governors of four states where voters have legalized cannabis for recreational use: Inslee, Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon, Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska, and Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado.

Sessions railed against pot during his days as an ultraconservative senator from Alabama, taking particular exception when President Obama told an interviewer that alcohol was more dangerous than cannabis.

"Lady Gaga says she is addicted to it and it is NOT harmless," Sessions told a hearing with then-Attorney General Eric Holder.

Growing, possessing and using marijuana remains a crime under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. As AG, however, Holder fashioned a policy that let Colorado and Washington go ahead with legalizing and regulating marijuana use.

The feds laid down key conditions and stipulations, namely no cannabis trade with other states, and keep gangs out of the business.

The governors' letter calls on Sessions and Mnuchin to keep the guidelines established under Holder.

They warned that a federal crackdown on marijuana "would divert existing marijuana product into the black market."

And, the governors argued that legalization has reduced "inequitable incarceration" of peoples of color. Recent evidence shows that African-Americans were a target when the Nixon Administration launched its "War on Drugs" in 1970.

"Any forced change in federal enforcement policy will interrupt the collaborative approach we have taken with local law enforcement and the federal government," Mark Bolton, an adviser to Hickenlooper on marijuana policy, said in a statement.

"Our hope is that we can continue working with the administration to build on a regulatory system that prioritizes protecting public safety and public health."

As a recently minted grandfather, Gov. Inslee in 2012 opposed the statewide initiative that legalized recreational marijuana. The initiative passed, however, carrying counties on both sides of the Cascades.

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Stay off our pot, Inslee and governors tell AG Sessions - seattlepi.com

The second-ever edition of the Tallahassee Democrat. Founder John Collins named the then-weekly paper in keeping with his promise to "follow the true and tried doctrines of the 'Old Time Democracy.' "(Photo: Democrat files)Buy Photo

For those who like researching history, the new online archive service of the Tallahassee Democrat can be addictive. One search leads to another and each yields intriguing revelations.

Here are a few nuggets found in a recent search of the 1.4 million pages of stories published by the Tallahassee Democrat since its founding in 1905.

Some Like It Hot

In the mid-20th century, the Democrat regularly ran standalone wire photos of bathing beauties, providing a bit of cheesecake in a buttoned-up era. Many of the women were Hollywood starlets making their first national appearances.

One of the most famous made her debut in the Democrat on Feb. 2, 1947: Marilyn Monroe, in a two-piece bathing suit. The caption said Monroe was 18 and had worked as a model and babysitter: One night, she went to babysit at the home of a movie talent scout. You guessed it. Now shes got a contract with 20th Century Fox.

Learn about the archives:Tallahassee Democrat archives are open

Tips and Tricks:Navigating the Tallahassee Democrat archives is simple

Birth of a legend, Part I

One of the most famous Tallahassee residents made his first appearance in the Democrat on Oct. 13, 1950: Bobby Bowden. The future legendary Florida State University football coach was then quarterback of the Howard Bulldogs, who lost to FSU in Doak Campbell Stadium. In the day before the story about the game, it was written: Howard is expected to pin its hopes for an upset on the passing of quarterback Bobby Bowden, a capable operator of the Bulldog T attack.

Birth of a legend, Part II

The great Florida A&M football coach Jake Gaither began his career at FAMU in 1938 as the lone assistant coach of head coach Bill Bell, a fact noted on Oct. 21, 1938. The adjectives began flowing the next year: On Oct. 6, 1939, Gaither was praised in a Democrat story as, the capable assistant of Bell who has built an enviable reputation for the sterling backfield combinations he has turned out.

Begin exploring the archives now

It seemed like a good idea

Lake Ella, named for the daughter of the man who once owned the lake and surrounding farm, became city property in the 1930s. The first reference to it in the Democrat is Nov. 12, 1933, when it hosted a livestock show (the fattest hogs, the sleekest bulls, the prettiest milkers in Leon County).

But the archives also track the history of Lake Ellas most famous residents. A small gaggle of 25 ducks and geese had taken up residency at the lake, when the Democrat carried a story March 24, 1957 in which City Manager Arvah Hopkins announced an agreement with wildlife officials to make the lake a refuge for injured geese and ducks who could no longer migrate.

Apparently, most of those ducks and geese were later killed by cars and dogs, so the city tried again on Nov. 28, 1961. Acting on a suggestion by businessman Payne Midyette, the city agreed to stock the lake with Mallard ducks and swans, and feed them from an island in the middle of the lake.

Not sure what happened to the swans, but dozens of ducks still call the lake home today.

Photos of actress Marilyn Monroe, center, ran four times in the Democrat in 1947, the year she appeared in her first two movies.(Photo: Democrat files)

Springtime of Yesteryear

For more than 40 years, the Springtime Tallahassee parade has proceeded south on Monroe Street to the Florida capitol. But it wasnt always that way. As the Democrat archives show, the parade wound around downtown its first five years (1968-1972).

In 1969, the parade traveled north on Monroe Street from the old Capitol, turned west on the south side of divided Park Avenue, turned south on Adams and finished at the old Capitol. In 1978, it proceeded north on Adams from the old Capitol, turned east on Call Street, then south on Monroe and finished at the old Capitol.

In September 1972, Adams Street was closed at Pensacola Street for construction of the new Capitol just west of the old Capitol and every Springtime Tallahassee parade since has traveled south on Monroe Street.

Springtime 2017:Heres who won the day at Springtime Tallahassee

Springtime 2017:Springtime Tallahassee attracts families, newcomers

Current Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum made his first appearances in the Democrat in Febburary 2000, as a FAMU student leader organizing protests against Gov. Jeb Bush's ending of affirmative action guidelines.(Photo: Democrat files)

The road to the mansion began in 2000

Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum began his political career more than 17 years ago as president of the student senate at Florida A&M.

Gillums first mention in the Democrat was Feb. 1, 2000, when he was among the 50 students at a FAMU meeting questioning Gov. Jeb Bushs One Florida initiative to remove racial considerations from state university admissions and the awarding of state contracts.

A week later, Feb. 9, 2000, the baby-faced and bespectacled Gillum led 2,000 FAMU students on a march to the capitol to protest One Florida, which was followed a month later by a rally that drew thousands of protesters from around the state.

One Florida passed. But Gillum has kept moving forward. In 2001, he was elected FAMUs student government president. In 2003, he was elected to the Tallahassee city commission becoming, at 23, the youngest commission member in history. He was elected mayor in 2014, and now he is running for governor.

All the news that fits to print

Newspapers often miss stories as our critics are wont to point out. And there are many milestones, events and people the Democrat did not track as assiduously as we could have. Two examples:

The Democrat's front page the day after Sept. 11, 2001.(Photo: Democrat files)

Centennial Field was Tallahassees chief sports and civic arena from 1924 to 1975. It was home to baseball and football games, boxing and wrestling matches, high school graduations and many other events. Construction of Centennial Field was one of the chief accomplishments of the citys 100th anniversary celebration in 1924 as noted years later in an interview with Florida Secretary of State, R.A. Gray, who served as centennial chairman.

Oddly, however, it appears the Democrat never wrote any stories about the city commission decision to build Tallahassees first stadium. The first mention is a story on Nov. 13, 1924 about the next days football game between visiting Madison High and Tallahassees Leon High being played at Centennial Field.

Similarly, the paper apparently never wrote a story about Clinton Street being renamed College Avenue by the city council which happened in 1909, according to a 1929 story.

Maybe such a story was unnecessary. Starting in 1906, the Democrat began referring to Clinton Street as the College Avenue in stories or put the name in parentheses after Clinton Street (College Avenue). By June 25, 1909, the Democrat no longer used quote marks or parentheses. And a Sept. 20, 1936 story explained the presence of FSU at the west end of the street meant Everybody said College Avenue ignoring Clinton Street.

Clinton Street was named in 1826, when Tallahassee streets were first laid out. Historians are unsure whether it honors two-time U.S. Vice President George Clinton or his nephew, New York governor DeWitt Clinton, who spearheaded construction of the Erie Canal.

Gerald Ensley is a retired Democrat reporter. He can be contacted at geraldensley21@gmail.com.

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A collection of fascinating finds in the Tallahassee Democrat archives - Tallahassee.com