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Inspired by Black Lives Matter Toronto's demonstration at the Toronto Pride Parade last year, members of the activist group in New York City are now calling forthe removal of uniformed police officers from their city's parade.

"Let us start off by saying that we stand in full solidarity with our siblings of the Toronto Chapter of #BlackLivesMatter," read a statement byBlack Lives Matter New York City on Sunday afternoon.

In addition to the removal of uniformed officers, the group alsocalled for Pride organizers in New York to do more to emphasize queer and transgenderblack communities.

The statement comes the same day that a group ofsome 100 Toronto police officers banned from marching in uniform at the Toronto paradetravelled with a group of union representatives to New York City to participate in that city's paradeat the invitation of the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL).

Speaking to CBC Toronto ahead of the march, the force's ownLGBTliaison officer,Const. Danielle Bottineau, acknowledged many in the community saw that move asa "slap in the face."

The president of the union representing Toronto police officers said they shouldn't need to make the trip.

"It's pretty pathetic," said Mike McCormack. "We should not be down here. We should be in our own city, marching with our own community that we police each and every day."

During a30-minute sit-in at last year's parade, Black Lives Matter Toronto members demanded that Toronto police floats and boothsbe barred from future Pride parades and community events.Their demands also included a commitment to increase representation among Pride Toronto staff and to better support black events during Pride.

On Sunday, the group made an appearance at Toronto's Pride parade despite not being registered to march this year.

The group took to the parade route just before the end of the day's festivitieswith raised fists and posters bearing the words, "May we never again have to shut it down."

Speaking to reporters after the demonstration, co-founder Rodney Diverluswouldn't say how long the group had been planning to show up.

"I don't think that's relevant," he said.

"Pride is actually ours. Queer and trans people of colour actually started this. We don't need to register for a deadline, we don't need to tell you we're coming, we don't need to pay money for afloat. We're just going to take up space," said Diverlus.

Pride Toronto did not return a request for comment by CBC Toronto Sunday night.

"Our police can't just escape us and [hope] that they're not going to be held accountable," Rodney Diverlus said. (CBC)

On Sunday, also Diverlus responded to the move by those members of the Toronto police who decided to march in New York City.

"Our police can't just escape us and [hope] that they're not going to be held accountable. Folks in Black Lives Matter New York reminded Toronto police that no matter where they go black people will resistthem. We know where you are.We know what you've done."

"We are here at Pride 2017 to remind the community,that we are still standing up for them," the organization tweeted Sunday afternoon.

Diverlus said part of the reason for appearing at this year's march unannounced was to draw attention to the list of nine demands that the group presented at last year's Pride Paradeissues he says have been overlooked with all the focus on "where police are at" this year.

As part of their message, the group also drew attention to what it called "the violence of police anti-Blackness" in the recent inquest into the death of 45-year-old Andrew Loku, the father of five who came to Canada as a refugee from South Sudan and was shot by police in an apartment corridor while holding a hammer in July 2015.

The group hasbeen highly critical of the Special Investigations Unit assessment of the case and what they perceiveas a lack of transparency from the police watchdog.

Is Pride a party or protest?2:18

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Black Lives Matter NYC 'inspired' by Toronto chapter's call ...

Earlier this week a controversial Buzzfeed article titled What Happened To Black Lives Matter? circulated around the web; questioning the visibility, leadership, and impact that the organization has made following the 2016 presidential election.

Black Lives Matter is still here. Its groups are still organizing, wrote Buzzfeed reporter Darren Sands. But Black Lives Matter is on the verge of losing the traction and momentum that sparked a national shift on criminal justice policy.

After catching wind of the article, the collectivethat has taken a stand for numerous Black and Brown lives since its inceptionreleased a statement standing up for themselves. In a piece featured on Mic, the organization claims that there were several inaccuracies in the article and is demanding that it be retracted.

These are dangerous times for our people, read the piece. History tells us that we need responsible, thoughtful and brave journalism. But movements can be stopped in their tracks by uninformed and inaccurate hit pieces that trade in gossip. We must consider what we believe in, who we stand with, and what we are fighting for.

Black Lives Matter also claims that it isnt opposed to critique or focused on ego or celebrity but is centered on their mission to combat systematic racism and evoke real change.

In the Mic statement, the collective highlighted the work that theyve done thus far including efforts to help those who have been wrongly incarcerated, their #ReclaimMLK campaign, and the several protests that they have organized to inspire individuals to take action.

What are your thoughts about the controversy? Sound off in the comments.

SOURCE: Mic, Buzzfeed

SEE ALSO:

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Go here to read the rest:
Black Lives Matter Responds To Claims Of A Dying Movement

CINCINNATI -- Black Lives Matter Cincinnati and several other groups plan to protest at the FC Cincinnati soccer game Wednesday at Nippert Stadium.

A Facebook event titled "Justice for Sam DuBose at UC" tells participants to meet at the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music Wednesday at 6 p.m. The event is hosted by Cincinnati Socialist Students, Cincinnati Socialist Alternative, McMicken FreeSpace, Democratic Socialists of Metro Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Students for Survivors.Peaslee Neighborhood Center,BLVCK SEEDS and the AMOS Project in addition to Black Lives Matter Cincinnati.

"A grave injustice occurred in Cincinnati when the Tensing retrial resulted in a hung jury, yet again a police officer walks free for the murder of a black man," the event page says. "The City of Cincinnati, and more broadly the American criminal justice system, told us once again that you can murder a Black man, lie about what happened, wear a confederate flag shirt under your uniform, and still walk free."

The event page tells those who plan to attend to wear black and bring signs.

"We will show up at the FC Cincinnati game to tell both UC administration and the City of Cincinnati that we demand justice for Sam Dubose," the event says. "We must show and stand up for justice."

Former UCPD Officer Ray Tensing's second murder trial ended with another hung jury Friday. Tensing is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 2015 fatal shooting of Sam DuBose during a traffic stop in Mount Auburn.

The prosecutor's office said Joe Detersplans to announce a decisionduring the week of July 10. Deters has until July 24 -- the scheduled date for the next hearing in the case -- to make a decision.

RELATED:Majority of jurors wanted to acquit Ray Tensing, defense says

The protest event description also names Officer Phil Kidd and David Lindenschmidt, two officers who arrived at the scene of the shooting, who originally said they saw Tensing being dragged by DuBose's car. The protests calls for Lindenschmidt and Kidd's firing; both are UCPD officers.

The Countdown to Conviction Coalition, made up of groups including Black Lives Matter Cincinnati and the AMOS Project, are planning protests for Wednesday to put pressure on city officials. It's unclear whether these protests are in addition to the FC Cincinnati protest Wednesday.

"My goal is to simply get a verdict for someone who is killed by the cops," said Brian Taylor of Black Lives Matter Cincinnati. "That message that's sent by that cop going to jail for a long time will do eons, mountains more than campaigning for legislation."

Mayor John Cranley said Friday thecity is readyfor protests and demonstrations.

"It's understandable and justified, and our police and everybody will make sure that people can also express their anger about what happened in court," Cranley said.

Sam DuBose's family said they were "outraged," but asked that only peaceful protest ensued.

"The family commends the prosecutors for their strong presentation in this case, but we are outraged that a second jury has now failed to convict Ray Tensing for the murder of our beloved Sam DuBose," the family said in a statement distributed by their attorney, Al Gerhardstein.

"We demand another retrial. We call on the community to join us in peaceful protest of this unjust result," the statement said.

RELATED: How did we end up with another hung jury? What happens next?

Sam DuBoses family is also demanding that the Cincinnati police chief investigate the officer who testified that Ray Tensings shooting of DuBose could be justified.

In a complaint to Chief Eliot Isaac, attorney Al Gerhardstein said Sgt. Shannon Heines testimony undermined the prosecution's case, suggesting that Heine prevented the jury from convicting Tensing and contributed to a second hung jury.

Isaac responded briefly to a question about Heine during a Friday news conference.

I am concerned about a number of things that occurred during the trial, not only Sgt. Heines testimony, but also some of the comments made during the closing statement," Isaac said. "The matter is under review, and I will have a little bit more later regarding that.

For complete trial coverage, visit wcpo.com/TensingTrial.

Continued here:
Black Lives Matter plans to protest at FC Cincinnati game Wednesday - WCPO

Its my beautiful Appalachia, too, and I want to re-imagine it safe, black, and queer.

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I live in the thick of Appalachia. Whats beneath this sun here? A local auto parts store, ferocious trees, nearby trails, plenty of lakes, and a vast sky. We are a small town just above the cut of the coal mining district. Its a majority white town, about 97 percent with, surprisingly, a black mayor. I see him during Sundays service at the towns only black church. I hug him and ask if hes building us a movie theater or underground monorail this year. He asks if I would want to run for the infamous school board.

Im fearful to live in Appalachia sometimes. Simple rural imagery can be beautifully treacherouslike a child propped in the flatbed of a truck, eating ice cream, inhaling the saltire of the Confederate battle flag from his T-shirt. A Blue Lives Matter flag flaps behind me across the local fire department. Not too far from my home, dipping into the state of West Virginia is a sign that shouts White Lives Matter. The list of Ten Commandments are displayed across businesses and landmarks. Across the street from my home is a barbershop door masked in Bible verses, gun idioms, and a meaty sign that always stings me: The Silent Majority Support Trump. Oppression and silence are wickedly evil bedfellows, and although I carry faith, I curdle at its manmade kinship to governance, marginalization, and guns. But I live in this beautiful thicket, and I walk outside black, beautiful, and queer. It was the Black Lives Matter movement that helped get me to this place.

Several years ago, I read a story about a man being lynched in Georgia from Debra Walker Kings work, African-Americans and the Culture of Pain. For a time, the winds carried the flames and smoke directly in his face so that he could not speak. Later the winds shifted and members of the mob, unaffected, recognized the hymn he sang as Nearer My God To Thee. At the time, that story lodged itself into my throat. When I went hiking, every tree, bulbous with strong branches, became a depraved site of lynching. I couldnt see innocuous beauty or my black joy in terraform.

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Kings 2008 book came out nearly a decade after Matthew Shepard was mistaken for a scarecrow. Shepards death came two years before two lesbian hikers were horrifically killed on a Shenandoah hiking trail. Gradually, the wilderness that I always envisioned as queer turned against me. Eventually, I did get over the nightmare as I hiked more often with friends and by that time, in 2010, I identified as queer. Then Trayvon Martin was murdered. Instead of being afraid, I was angry and wanted white folks to feel my wrath. I protested, shoved my loneliness and bitterness down to my feet. Racial justice or even revenge was more important than anythingeven eating right, caring for myself. But at these organizing meetings, women and queer folks were chorus again, shooed like houseflies. I became more bitter and helpless.

Honestly, I didnt do much research into BLM strategies at the beginning of the movement. I followed the crowd and group-think until I finally sat, slowed down to study its leaders and their principles. It brought me to this interview with co-founder Patrice Cullors with On Being. She talks about re-imagination:

When BLM created their website, I read and was surprised to find that queer affirming and loving engagement were guiding principles. My sexuality and desire to hold hands with another man or woman was beautifully embracednot when I get liberation, or when police training changes, or when George Zimmerman gets punishmentbut now. I deserve to be visible in my joyful, queer, black selfnow. Through BLM teachings and BLM mentors, I started to realize that I needed to reimagine blackness to include queer love and self-preservation. I was separating, suffocating my sexuality preemptively and casting it aside if I felt it got in the way of black liberation. I also bound my identity to overwhelming trauma and death instead of expanding new life and love.

Slowly, I was starting to recognize how I was ignoring my body, suppressing emotional fixtures of loneliness, desperation, and restlessness. I defined blackness as a roar against whiteness. There was no time for love, kinship, and vulnerability. But then I could barely get up in the morning. I didnt want to acknowledge my ire against an America that had betrayed me. After ignoring my body for so long, Ive come back to heal the consequences: plantar fasciitis, stomach issues, and emotional anxiety. What I forgot was how much I love being in love. This is the part I want to slowly embrace again. I love women, and I want my feet to leave the ground againvisibly queer and unapologetically black in Appalachia.

Right now Im feeling a vertigo because the KKK is hosting rallies in college towns and white nationalist groups are having membership BBQs while advertising with grass-roots language. Because time traveling is happening, Im researching Appalachian history and found a group of folks that migrated to Chicago and formed an organization in the 1970s called the Hillbilly Nationalists. They worked collaboratively with the Black Panthers, and there were also other, similar white working-class groups forming coalitions with black groups. Frustratingly, gender and queer issues were hardly integrated during the 1970s racial justice movements; but at the very least I stumbled on a forgotten history: Appalachian folks fought against the silent majority.

If all this time traveling continues, perhaps there is a chance these same alliances can form again but, following the example of BLM, with the integration of gender and queerness this time. This keeps me going as I talk shop and broach light politics with my neighbors. We have different experiences and values, but we have a shared history. Its my beautiful Appalachia, too, and I want to re-imagine it safe, black, and queer.

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Black Lives Matter Gave Me the Confidence to Be Visible in Appalachia - Slate Magazine (blog)

(CNN) -- Once again, a police officer has been acquitted after killing a black man -- but the officer's employer is shelling out millions of dollars to the family.

This time, it's happening in the case of Philando Castile, whose final moments were broadcast by his girlfriend on Facebook Live. On Monday, lawyers announced a $3 million settlement between the Castile family and St. Anthony, Minnesota, the city that employed the officer acquitted in Castile's death.

While officer convictions are rare, killings that have spawned "Black Lives Matter" protests have led to notable outcomes -- including settlements to stave off civil lawsuits and changes to police policy. Here's how some of the most high-profile cases have turned out:

Philando Castile, 32

Date of death: July 6, 2016

Where: Falcon Heights, Minnesota

What happened: St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez pulled Castile over during a traffic stop. Castile told the officer he had a firearm on him, which he was permitted to carry. Castile reached for something and Yanez shot him five times. During the Facebook Live video, Castile's girlfriend said he was reaching for his license; the officer later said he thought Castile was reaching for his gun.

The outcomes: Yanez was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter, but the city of St. Anthony settled with Castile's mother for $3 million.

"The settlement will be paid through the City's coverage with the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. No taxpayer monies from the City of St. Anthony Village will be used to fund this settlement," a joint statement from the city and the Castile family said.

By reaching a settlement, the Castile family and St. Anthony avoid "a federal civil rights lawsuit which may have taken years to work its way through the courts exacerbating the suffering of the family and of the community," the statement said.

Jordan Edwards, 15

Date of death: April 29, 2017

Where: Balch Springs, Texas

What happened: Officers responded to a house party after reports of underage drinking. Police spotted a car leaving with five people inside.

Officer Roy Oliver fired into the car with a rifle, fatally shooting Jordan, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Police Chief Jonathan Haber initially said the car had been moving "aggressively" toward officers. Later, Haber corrected himself and said body camera footage showed the car was driving forward -- away from the officers.

The outcomes: Haber fired the officer, saying Oliver "violated several departmental policies." Oliver was arrested in May and charged with first degree murder.

Meanwhile, Jordan's classmates at Mesquite High School grieved the loss of the beloved football player and straight-A student.

Alton Sterling, 37

Date of death: July 5, 2016

Where: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

What happened: Sterling was selling CDs outside a convenience store when police received a call of a man with a gun. Cellphone video showed police tackling Sterling and pinning him to the ground before Sterling was shot. Police said Sterling was reaching for a gun.

The outcomes: Federal prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to file charges against Baton Rouge police officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II.

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'Black Lives Matter' cases: What ended up happening after controversial police killings - Amsterdam News