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BY JASON STARR

Observer staff

The Black Lives Matter flag will fly above Town Hall in Williston.

The selectboard voted 3-2 Tuesday to raise the symbol starting March 1 and ending June 21, approving a motion from board member Ted Kenney that followed a request from a group of citizens.

The request was originally submitted in October and the board deliberated on it at three separate meetings, collecting about 140 written and verbal public comments that revealed strong opinions among residents both for and against the idea.

The flag already flies at local public schools, approved in 2020 by the Champlain Valley School Board.

In making the motion to fly the flag for four months, Kenney said he separates the sentiment black lives matter from the organization of the same name. Residents who spoke against the proposal Tuesday called the organization an extremist political group.

Board member Joy Limoge, who said she received hate mail as a result of her previously stated opposition to the request, voted with Gordon St. Hilaire to oppose the motion. Jeff Fehrs and Terry Macaig voted with Kenney to approve.

Black Lives Matter is a political organization with a radical agenda, said Limoge.

She believes the board overstepped its bounds with the approval.

This is not what our function is, she said.

St. Hilaire objected because he hoped to put the question to town voters.

After the vote, Macaig directed town administrators to acquire the flag and raise it on March 1. At a meeting in June, the board plans to consider whether to extend the display.

Several residents spoke at Tuesdays meeting, some urging the board to approve the proposal and others urging the board to reject it.

It would make me feel incredibly proud that Williston was able to use its voice to talk about a more just and equitable society, said resident Jerry Greenfield, noting the countrys history of slavery and unequal treatment of black people. To address the inequality in our history, you have to be willing to speak out about things that arent right.

Resident Cindy Provost asked the board what the flag display will accomplish and said it will deface the towns historic village.

Will it really improve how people act or think, she asked. I personally feel it will be something that will divide the town more, rather than bring it together. I dont feel like we have to have a banner to make people think we will include everybody in our town.

Fehrs said the flag display is a first step toward addressing racial inequality in Williston.

I believe we are a just and caring community, but we need to do better, he said. It takes courage to admit racism does exist in our communityand we want to address that.

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Black Lives Matter flag to fly at Town Hall Williston Observer - Williston Observer

And its primary means are twofold: Its members engage in street protests in lots of cities; and its leaders push for 10 specific reforms set forth in Campaign Zero, which calls for an end to broken windows policing, more community oversight of police departments, stricter limits on the use of force, independent investigations of police misconduct, community representation in municipal governments, body cameras, better training, an end to policing for profit, demilitarization, and union contracts that dont protect misbehaving police officers from being held accountable.

If you disagree with any of my characterizations about the means and ends of those groups, we are at odds over facts, not values, and I am open to seeing evidence that challenges my assessment of a complicated matter. Bearing that in mind can make hashing out the truth less fraught and more likely to proceed constructively and profitably.

Given my understanding of the facts, where do I stand?

Black Lives Matter

For starters, I dont think Black Lives Matter belongs in the online conversation about whether Americans should be denouncing violence on all sides. The movements end of stopping unjust police killings is laudable; and its leaders and the vast majority of its members openly favor nonviolent means. Plus, unlike Nazis, nothing about the future it desires is inseparable from initiating violence. That doesnt mean it is beyond criticism. It is a large, free-wheeling movement without clear leaders, and individual participants have no doubt acted badly on many occasions, as is true of groups as varied as the Sons of Liberty in 1775, anti-Vietnam War protesters, and the Tea Party. I have criticized Black Lives Matter activists in the past for disrupting a Bernie Sanders event and for the tactic of blocking freeways.

But I draw a distinction between objectionable acts of civil disobedience and engaging in violence. Some Black Lives Matter critics blame the group for the killing of five Dallas police officers. But the gunman acted alone, using tactics that the protest movement never urged or used, and group leaders denounced the killings. The group has the same relationship to the Dallas killer as nonviolent pro-life groups have to the extremist who perpetrated a mass killing at a Planned Parenthood.

Antifa

Note that I am speaking of self-described members of the group, not anyone who shows up in the streets to protest against fascists. Antifa and antifascism are no more synonymous than being a member of Black Lives Matter and believing that black lives matter.

The initiation of extralegal street violence by self-appointed judges in masks is ethically wrong, legally wrong, and in the case of Antifa, tactically idiotic. (I can think of nothing more likely to contribute to Donald Trumps reelection than roving bands of masked, violent leftists attacking not only Nazis carrying swastikas in the streets, but journalists covering protests, or crowds at Ann Coulter or Milo Yiannopolous speeches.) It is an easy call for me to denounce Antifa members who participate in or endorse extralegal violence. That does not contradict my simultaneous judgment that Antifas stated end of resisting fascism is laudable. If they showed up in force to protest Nazi rallies, but refrained from initiating the use of force, using it only lawfully in self defense, I would have nothing but praise for them.

Continued here:
Distinguishing Between Antifa, the KKK, and Black Lives ...

On Thursday's edition of ABC's"The View," co-host and conservative punditMeghan McCainequated the insurrection with the protests against police violence during thesummer of 2020.

"When I think of people doing things in the name of political violence, I just think of terrorists, I just think this is crap that happens in other countries," McCain said of the insurrectionists and rioters who capitalized on Black Lives Matter protests last June. "I worry about this line that has been moving and moving and moving since last summer, and now we see this."

Comparingthe Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol to last summer's race riots is a concerted right-wing effort to defend Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial.

McCaineffectively downplayed the violent attack by delusional Trump supportersby insinuating that killing five people and destroying the U.S. capitol based on a baseless lie that the election was stolen is somehow similar to millions of Americans taking the street to protest the continual murder of innocent black bodies.

Race riots, however, are not a new phenomenon that 2020 miraculously uncovered. In fact, uprisings against the violence of white supremacyhave been around since the inception of this country, spurred on first by the violence against Native American genocide and then Africanslaves.

McCain's ahistorical reference to political violence being terrorismfailsto recognize that the point of BLM protests is to combat state-sponsored violence andterrorism against Americans.

"I'm just having a hard time watching this trauma and revisiting this trauma over and over again," McCain said of the new video footage from the Senate trial. "It's disgusting, it looks like something out of a third world country, or a horror movie, it's unfathomable, it almost doesn't look real."

"As an analyst, I understand that the argument from the Republican side is that we have to move on, we have to be focusing on Covid relief I disagree," she said. "I still think there should be a fine line and that there should be a standard that this cannot happen."

She continued: "But that fine line, for me, isn't only with the capitol riots, it's also when you are standing as a journalist on TV and there is a city on fire behind you and things are being rioted and small businesses are being looted. There is no political cause that I justify violence, or looting, or burning things down, or attacking people across the board. And i think we need to hold that standard no matter what, as Sarah said, no matter what your political ideology is."

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Meghan McCain suggests Black Lives Matter protests led to ...

By Nancy Salguero McKay

Why should we celebrate Black history? Because it is our American Historybecause it is our personal history. Every aspect of our society and everyday culture is influenced by Black history! The foundation of our country is based on the contributions, the labor, and daily struggles of Black Americans.

How can we discuss our present or our past without the influence of our neighbors, our friends, or our communities? Why do we ignore how all of us are connected in one way or another? Why do we see more differences than similarities in each other? We all want the same thingthe same healthy community, the same safe neighborhood for our children to grow in, and to feel that we belong and are accepted as we are.

The Black Lives Matter in American History Community Exhibit, organized by the Highline Heritage Museum, traces the struggles and resilience of Black Americans who have fought for equity and justice from our nations beginnings to the present. The Black Lives Matter movement is a cry to end the tragedies of gun violence and systematic racism that Black communities have experienced for generations. This community exhibit features work by our local artists, community members, and students alongside stories of courage from Black history. Together, they reflect national and local perspectives on American history and the Black experience.

In the installation of this community exhibit, we utilized 11 window fronts around downtown Burien. The Highline Heritage Museum was honored to collaborate with the African American Writers Alliance, Highline High School, Choice Black Student Union, Evergreen High School, Minor Matters, Lawtiwa Barbersalon, Classic Eats restaurant, local artists, and community members.This public exhibit runs from Feb. 5 to April 30, 2021.

In our preparation for this exhibit, we interviewed people who were able to share and vocalize their messages. There is a vulnerability to exposing your emotions in public. This project is not about them versus us; it is about slowing down for a moment and asking for understanding. We are honoring and celebrating Black History month, but this celebration should be organically happening every day.The importance of black history should be celebrated beyond February.

Heres a map and photos of the exhibits, courtesy Maureen Hoffmann:

This article was written for the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce by Board Member Nancy Salguero McKay. Nancy is the Executive Director of the Highline Heritage Museum located in Burien. The museums mission is to collect, preserve, and tell the stories of the Highline area and its people. For more information, please visit their website at

The Seattle Southside Chamber has served the communities of Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac, and Tukwila since 1988. For more information about the Chamber, including a full list of member benefits and resources, please visit their website at

The Highline Heritage Museum is located at 819 SW 152nd Street in Burien:

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Learn why Black Lives Matter in American History at Community Exhibits around Burien - The B-Town (Burien) - The B-Town Blog

TROY Four Rensselaer County men who wore body armor and carried police batons while walking through the citys peaceful Black Lives Matter protest last June pleaded guilty in City Court to a variety of charges, according to court records.

Shane Fleming of Averill Park and Shelbi Vanderbogart of Poestenkill pleaded guilty Thursday to disorderly conduct, a violation, according to the court files. They were fined $250, given a conditional discharge in which they must not be arrested for one year and surrendered seized weapons.

Shawn Fleming and Nathaniel Shepard, both of Averill Park, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor, according to court records. They were also given a conditional discharge, surrendered seizedweapons and were fined $750, .

A fifth man, Noah Latham, who was a soldier in the U.S. Armys 10thMountain Division, still faces a felony charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. That charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted. Police have alleged that Latham was carrying a gun near the protest.

The five men were believed by authorities to have ties to a regional militia group, the New England Minutemen, based on a tactical manual recovered when they were taken into custody by Troy police on June 7.

Troy police recovered rifles, ammunition magazines that hold up to 30 rounds and illegal police batons from vehicles belonging to the suspects on June 7. Lathams handgun was identified by authorities as a ghost gun, which is assembled from parts sold by companies that exploit a loophole in federal and state gun control laws by providing "unfinished" hardware with the drill bits and instructions including video tutorials needed to make a fully functioning firearm. Such weapons are assembled from parts and do not have serial numbers.

Latham was a drone operator based at Fort Drum. At the time of his arrest, he held the rank of specialist E-4. Authorities said Latham was discharged from the Army; they did not know what type of discharge he received. He was released to return to Fort Drum on the condition that he wear a GPS monitoring device under the supervision of the Rensselaer County probation department and was confined to the base.

The five men were at the June 7 demonstration that attracted a crowd of an estimated 11,000 people to downtown Troy. The rally was the largest in the Capital Region among the many racial justice and anti-police brutality demonstrations held across the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.

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Four men arrested at Black Lives Matter protest in Troy plead guilty - Times Union