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COVINGTON, La. More than a month after the St. Tammany Parish School System allegedly told two students they cannot wear Black Lives Matter masks, the district is reversing course.

The decision comes after the ACLU of Louisiana sent the district a letter claiming the system violated the students First Amendment rights. Although theyre allowed to wear their BLM masks, their mom believes this should never have been an issue.

Yall made a big deal about a mask. Not education, but a mask, Ebony Wright exclaimed.

Wright is still disgusted with the St. Tammany Parish School System and the obstacles her kids faced in order to wear Black Lives Matter masks.

A mask that says Black Lives Matter hurt someone so much that you had to take my children out of school and stop education to say what, Wright said.

According to Wright, her kids Suriah and Adrian were pulled from class in December and given in-school suspension. The district maintains that never happened.

When I requested the documentation, they told me there was no documentation, Wright said.

The ACLU of Louisiana believes the students did not violate the districts dress and grooming policy.

For them to be singled out is very troubling. It should have been obvious that their right to free speech is protected, said ACLU attorney Bruce Hamilton.

In order to get permission to wear BLM masks, Wright had to file an application for exemption from the dress and grooming policy. Although, a spokesperson for the district said no one has to file for exemption to wear BLM masks.

In documents obtained by WGNO News, Wright did file an application and had to justify why her kids should receive an exemption.

Ultimately, the districts lawyers sent two letters saying the exemptions were granted.

Hamilton said, We maintain that the policy is unconstitutional in its face.

The district said moving forward, families will not have to file exemptions over masks. A spokesperson said Wright was the first to make a case.

We asked Wright if she is planning to file suit against the district and she said she is leaving that up to her lawyers to decide the best way to move forward.

Read the original post:
District reverses course and allows students to wear Black Lives Matter masks - WGNO New Orleans

Posted on Jan 13, 2021 in Latest News, Newsroom

What:

Series of five Zoom Webinars about achieving racial equity in Hawaii. The kick-off event is Black Lives Matter and the Hawaii Experience.

When:

Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 from noon to 1:15 p.m.

Who:

Opening remarks by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald and introduction of speakers by First Circuit District Family Judge Rebecca Copeland. Panel members are Dr. Akiemi Glenn (Popolo Project), Josie Howard (We Are Oceania), Kamaile Maldonado (Office of Hawaiian Affairs), and Kristen Brown (NAACP Youth Chair). Brieanah Gouveia (Judiciary History Center) will serve as moderator.

Details:

The series is free and open to the public. A link to the registration page can be found at court.state.hi.us (look for Black Lives Matter & the Hawaii Experience banner) or click here.

Upcoming webinars:

Data & the Criminal Justice System, Jan. 29

Civil Rights & Access to Justice, Feb. 12

Making the Most of Implicit Bias Training, Feb. 26

Diversity, Inclusion, & Empowerment, March 12

# # #

Media contact:

Jan Kagehiro

Communications & Community Relations Director

Hawaii State Judiciary

417 S. King St. Suite 212

Honolulu, HI 96813

Office: 808-539-4914

Mobile: 808-260-5423

Read the original post:
Hawaii State Judiciary News Release: Confronting Racial Injustice: Black Lives Matter and the Hawaii Experience - David Y. Ige | Newsroom

Black Lives Matter, an exhibit of original artwork by local and regional artists, opened Wednesday, Jan. 13, at the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council Gallery at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls.

The exhibit is presented in honor of Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month, organizers say.

The display features a variety of two- and three-dimensional art, including paintings, collage, song lyrics and pen-and-ink artwork, as well as a series of 12-by-12-inch canvas pieces created by artists of all ages in this region.

The exhibition, which continues through Feb. 28, is located in the NWMAC Gallery at NCTC. The gallery is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To visit the gallery, enter through door A. Visitor parking is free in the large end lot.

This exhibit is in response to recent racist violence and long-time racism, which has caused the current unrest, according to a news release from the arts council.

We know people need art right now more than ever to express ourselves and cope with the many emotions weve all been feeling, Mara Hanel, arts council director, said in the release.

The exhibit is made possible with funding from the McKnight Foundation.

For more information, send an e-mail to director@NWArtsCouncil.org or call the council office at (218) 745-8886.

Originally posted here:
Arts council to open 'Black Lives Matter' exhibit in Thief River Falls - Grand Forks Herald

Brad Petrishen|Telegram & Gazette

WORCESTER Court officials have asked police to probe a racist video Zoom bomb that interrupted Central District Court on Friday during a virtual hearing for people charged during aBlack Lives Matter protest June 1 in the city.

Lawyers representing nine people accused of failing to disperse after the protest got out of hand were arguing motions on Zoom around noon, when the online disruptionoccurred.

The N-word could be heard repeatedly on the broadcast. One person wrote Heeil Hitleer (sic) on the chat, while another laughed. A pornographic video was also cast on the screen briefly.

Court officials ended the broadcast soon after, and resumed without issue about 30 minutes later.

Clerk Magistrate Brian M. DAndrea said this is the first time this has happened in Central District Court, while Jennifer Donahue, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Trial Court, said she has not been made aware of this happening before in any other court.

The District Court has referred this matter to the Trial Court Security Department, which in turn referred it to the state police for further investigation, Donahue wrote in an email.

DAndrea said court staff Friday were, for the time being, disabling the ability of users on the call to cast their screen onto the Zoom or to unmute themselves to speak.

There were about 70 people on the Zoomincluding a judge who was physically on the bench in the courtroom.

The court has generally been using default Zoom settings, which allow people to chime in themselves when their case is called. The alternative is unmuting people manually, which can be time-consuming.

DAndrea said he has tried to keep the hearings as open as possible to foster transparency during the pandemic.

Not all courts have allowed so much virtual access during the pandemic, he said, adding that he doesnt plan to curtail access in Worcester.

We need to strike a balance, he said. What we dont want is a small group of folks intent on disturbing the process to force us to change.

Known as Zoom bombing, the practice of interrupting Zoom proceedings with racist, anti-Semitic and pornographic images has increased as people use video chats ubiquitously during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hector E. Pineiro, a lawyer who represents nine defendants arrested at the Black Lives Matter protest in Main South, said Friday he does not believe the interruption was random.

Of course, he responded when asked whether he thought it was likely the work of a person or persons who wanted to mock the protesters or the protest.

See more here:
State asks police to probe racist screed broadcast during virtual Worcester court hearing for Black Lives Matter protesters - Worcester Telegram

Christina Nina Boneta marches in New Port Richey, Florida on Sept. 7, 2020.Dave Decker

The City of New Port Richeys attempts to make Black Lives Matter protesters literally pay for speaking out loudly about police reform have met a dead end.

On Thursday, at least two protesters facing fines related to noise violations told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that their citations have been dropped.

Marlowe Jones confirmed to CL that his noise citations had been dropped, and Christina Nina Boneta, whos accrued more than $2,500 in fines, also stated that her citations and fines have been dropped.

CL reviewed the nolle prosequi (stop prosecution orders) filed by the City of New Port Richey, which show that at least five different protesters including Jones and Boneta saw their cases dismissed.

Joshua Sheridan represented Boneta and a handful of other Pasco activists who were hit with noise violations. He told CL that the ordinanceoriginally meant to crack down on bars, but used broadly by police this summer to try and muzzle protestersis poorly written and rarely used.

In a social media post from Sheridans firm, the Tampa lawyer wrote that a team of attorneys including Laurie Chane, Luke Lirot and James Shaw Jr. did all the heavy lifting, adding that, Today we were pleased to learn Pasco County finally dismissed those citations.

Both Jones and Boneta told CL that this week, the New Port Richey city attorney also tried to offer them $75 plea deals.

It was obviously an attempt to do what they always doscare people. Like, Hey you can either fight this and pay all this money, or why dont we give you a good little number, you know $75, and plead guilty or no contest, Boneta said. That was their last attempt. They know that they were wrong, and they knew that they were targeting us.

CL left a message for New Port Richey City Attorney Tim Driscoll.

Boneta said that in the next few days, BLM protesters are laying low due to the possibility of violence in the wake of last weeks insurrection at the Capitol, but added that local activists would continue to demonstrate and call for change. One particular agency of interest for Boneta is the Pasco County Sheriff which the Tampa Bay Times says has been monitoring and harassing Pasco residents using a cutting-edge intelligence program meant to curb crime.

This is a developing post.

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Read more:
Noise citations and fines dropped for Pasco County Black Lives Matter protesters - Creative Loafing Tampa