Mediaboss Marketing

The singer is unapologetically standing with the organization with this P.S.A. she produced.

When Kat Graham was approached about doing a video for Black Lives Matter, she was eager to help. In 2015 she produced a film with creative partner, Darren Genet called Muse but hadn't done anything quite as serious before.

"I winded up meeting Patrisse [Cullors] and the other two leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement at the Glamour Women of the Year event I believe it was last year," Graham told ESSENCE.

"I said, 'Listen, I really want to do something with you guys. Let's exchange information. We'll figure something out.' Nothing had happened for awhile and I winded up being on a plane and sitting in someone else's seat on accident. And the guy's seat that I sat in, his name is Vann Graves."

That chance meeting turned into a conversation about passion projects, which led to Graham and Graves collaborating to create At Risk Youth.

In the one-minute clip a young man who's passed away is talked about in past tense by members of his family and community. Talking about the unfortunate nature of death one may assume he was armed when killed, but it turns out he was wearing a hoodie.

"Every single murder that happens where these officers are exonerated and there's no justice served, I felt gutted," Graham said about what prompted her to be apart of this project. "I think that I am somebody that has a pretty large social media following and I do a good amount of press, but there was a part of me that just felt that, you know, tweeting this or just the hashtag, it's just not enough."

RELATED: Kat Graham Cast as Jada Pinkett Smith in 'All Eyez On Me'

Graves, anadvertising executivewhospent 13 years in the U.S. Army after the September 11th attacks, was prompted by his son.

"As an African American man, I understand and accept that I have to deal with bias every day everything from micro-aggression to outright racism," Graves said about making the video. "But I was horrified by the realization that my innocent, beautiful son would be coming into a world that doesn't value his life."

Adding, "This is not about all white cops wanting to kill black people, but more so about the value of black lives. Black lives do matter and it has begun to feel that we (African-American's) are disposable."

RELATED: Subscribe to ourdaily newsletterfor the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.

Watch the video above and to learn more about BLM,go here.

Go here to read the rest:
Kat Graham Is Using Her Platform To Back Up Black Lives Matter - Essence.com

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said on MSNBC Monday the First Amendments protections on free speech dont apply to hate speech.

Her comments came during a discussion about comments President Donald Trump made over the weekend, which host Katy Tur characterized as essentially grouping white supremacists and counter-protesters together.

Cullors is a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement.

When asked to draw a distinction between the two groups that Trump seemingly put in the same bucket, Cullors said that white supremacists fight against equal rights, while groups like Black Lives Matter and the counter-protesters at this weekends Charlottesville, Virginia, demonstrations fight for peoples rights.

Hate speech, which is what were seeing coming out of white nationalists groups, is not protected under the First Amendment rights, Cullors said, explaining thats why its important to delineate the distinctions.

Unlike most other modern countries, especially in Europe, hate speech is a protected right of Americans and the Supreme Court has continually upheld it.

In general, all speech is protected under the First Amendment. The exception: fighting words, or speech that is lewd or obscene, libelous or profane.

In the 1942 Supreme Court case, Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, the court established the fighting words doctrine. Fighting words are written or oral speech intended to create hate or incite violence. They are not protected because they neither contribute to the expression of ideas nor the search for truth.

Most recently, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld these principles in Matal v. Tam this summer. They ruled that the government cannot deny a trademark to a brand that people might find hateful or offensive. In this case, it applied to the Washington Redskins.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the courts opinion: The proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate.'

While groups like Black Lives Matter may have noble goals, such as erasing the unmistakable roots of racism in our society, its deep progressive nature will inherently try to undermine constitutional protections extended to even the darkest segments of our society.

Neo-Nazis and their ideology must be rejected. However, they should still have the right to express themselves. Otherwise, we begin to erode the very principles that set America apart and have set it apart for centuries.

Link:
Black Lives Matter founder says hate speech not protected ...

According to tweets sent by Chicagos chapter of Black Lives Matter, the United States should ban all Confederate symbols in response to the white supremacist terror attack in Charlottesville, which left one woman dead and scores more injured.

The group, in a series of tweets, wrote, The fact that the Confederate flag & statues permeate the south is evidence that white supremacy was never overthrown in the United States.

Comparing Confederate symbols and monuments to Germanys ban on all Nazi-related propaganda, the group added, After WWII, Germany outlawed the Nazis, their symbols, salutes & their flags. All confederate flags & statue, & groups should be illegal.

The KKK & all other white supremacist groups should be illegal for the same reason Germany made them illegalfor crimes against humanity, the group wrote. The murder of Heather Heyer reveals white supremacists value no life, even white life. We must end white supremacy in the United States.

Charlottesville, Virginia, Black Lives Matter activist Lisa Woolfork gave an interview to Truth-Out on Monday, speaking about Confederate symbols in the United States as well as the domestic terror attack.

Woolfork told the website that there has been a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville every month since May, and added that many of the rallies focused on Confederate monuments.

About the monuments, Woolfork said, One thing that I like to impress upon is that I think it is very important to retain attention on the Confederate monument. Of course, many people are turning to Louisiana and New Orleans as an example of a mayor who decided to step up and say, No more. These are relics of a racist past and I want us to build a better future as a city. We do not need these any longer. They have outlived their usefulness. Charlottesville has not done that. They have not done a complete process of reckoning.

Black Lives Matter has been very vocal about the removal of Confederate symbols and monuments since its 2013 inception, and in June 2015, Black Lives Matter-related graffiti was even scrawled across various Confederate monuments across the U.S.

Visit link:
Black Lives Matter: All Confederate symbols should be banned as a result of Charlottesville attack - TheBlaze.com

August 15, 2017 9:20 PM

(CBS) Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Chicago Tuesday for another round of demonstrations following the violence in Charlottesville and President Trumps response to it.

CBS 2s Audrina Bigos reports.

The protest ended at Chicagos Trump Tower because a lot of the messages here the anger and frustration were geared toward the president after he blamed many sides for violence that ended in a womans death Saturday. Trump denounced racist groups Monday under pressure, but again on Tuesday said counter-demonstrators shared some of the blame.

Tuesdays Chicago crowd of more than 300 was comprised of members of Black Lives Matter and 14 other local groups. The demonstration began in Federal Plaza.

If youre passive, then youre allowing it to happen, and Im not willing to allow it to happen, protester Seth Kim-Cohen said.

The anti-racism protest is the second in Chicago since the deadly violence during the United the Right rally in Virginia.

Protester Frank Chapman noted that white people have been abundant at anti-Trump protests.

Its becoming clear that the majority of the people in this country are not racist and do not want a racist president, he says.

At least three people were arrested Tuesday during the demonstration activities in Chicago, police said.

CBS 2

WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9FM

670 The Score

Connect

Mobile

Advertise With Us

Contest & Promotion Rules

About Us

Advertise

Ad Choices

Business Development

Contact

Only CBS

CBS Radio Jobs

CBS Television Jobs

EEO Reports

CBS Television Public File

CBS Radio Public File

Link:
Chicago Demonstration Ends At Trump Tower - CBS Chicago

Black Lives Matter and other groups plan to protest violence in Charlottesville Tuesday afternoon in the Loop. View Full Caption

DNAinfo/David Matthews

DOWNTOWN Black Lives Matter and other groups will protest recent violence in Charlottesville, Va. Tuesday afternoon in the Loop, denouncing a white supremacy movement the protesters feel is emboldened by PresidentDonald Trump.

The rally will start at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Federal Plaza, 230 S. Dearborn St. The Black Lives Matter activists will be joined by other groups including the Arab American Action Network, Organized Communities Against Deportations and Jewish Voice For Peace. The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression organized the event.

The protest will be the second in Chicago condemning racismsincea deadly "Unite The Right" rally this weekend in Virginia that left three people dead. Trump has been widely criticized for his response to the violence, which included an initial statement that cast blame "on many sides."

"The murder and attempted murder of anti-racist demonstrators Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., by armed thugs marching under the banners of openly white supremacist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organizations is not an isolated incident," the Chicago activists said in a statement.

Hundreds of Chicagoans marched to the Trump International Hotel & Tower on the Chicago River on Sunday after the violent protests in Charlottesville. A local flower shop now refuses to sell to customers who refuse to condemn "racism, Nazism and fascism" while shopping online.

The activists Tuesday are also largely behind a weekly series of Downtown protests that began after Trump was elected president.

An Ohio man faces murder charges after allegedly killing a 32-year-old woman with his car during the rally Saturday in Charlottesville, the home of the University of Virginia. Two Virginia state troopers patrollingwerekilled in a helicopter crash while patrollingthe rally, which drew hordes of far-right activists, including pro-Confederate and white supremacist groups andcounterprotesters.

RELATED STORIES:

This Flower Shop Won't Let You Buy Online Unless You Reject White Supremacy

White Nationalist Richard Spencer's Request To Speak At U. Of C. Rejected

Chicagoans Against White Supremacy Protest Charlottesville Violence

Weekly Anti-Trump Protests The New (Traffic Snarling) Normal Downtown

More:
BLM To Protest Charlottesville Violence During Rush Hour In The Loop - DNAinfo