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Demonstrators confront police during a protest over the death of Laquan McDonald on Nov. 25, 2015, in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Lawyers for Black Lives Matter Chicago and other community groups filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday accusing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel of trying to cut a back-room deal with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and demanding federal oversight of the citys Police Department.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that six individuals and seven community groups are named as plaintiffs in the 132-page complaint, which could either force City Hall to the negotiations table or lead to a lengthy court battle. The suit was brought on behalf of people who have been, or in the future will be, subjected to use of force by the CPD.

The lawsuit also targets 15 police officers as well as the city of Chicago.

CPD officers abide by an ingrained code of silence and warrior mentality wholly disconnected from the policies that exist on the books, the plaintiffs lawyers wrote in the complaint. The thin blue line reigns supreme. The city of Chicago has proven time and time again that it is incapable of ending its own regime of terror, brutality and discriminatory policing.

The lawsuit comes just five months after the Justice Department announced that it had found the Chicago Police Department to have widespread constitutional violations. A hearing has been set for June 21 in front of U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee.

On Wednesday, Chicago Corporation Counsel Edward Siskel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said that the city wanted to take a different path to the same reforms, and Kevin Graham, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, promised to oppose the imposition of policies backed by this movement in every instance.

Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times.

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Black Lives Matter Chicago Files Lawsuit Demanding Federal Oversight of City's Police Department - The Root

TORONTO, June 15, 2017 /CNW/ -Black Lives Matter Toronto is attending the Toronto Police Services Board meeting today at 1:00 p.m. demanding an end to the controversial School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The program places police officers in schools where there are a high population of Black students. A motion to end the program was served at the last Toronto Police Services Board meeting. The meeting follows a demonstration held by Black Lives Matter Toronto last month, where teachers and students discussed experiences of harassment, brutalization and discrimination faced by Black children who attend schools where police officers roam the halls. The motion was stalled when Mayor John Tory called for a review of the program prior to making a decision to end it.

"Why do our kids have to continue to suffer while waiting for another useless review?" said Silvia Argentina Aruz, a parent and community organizer. "Children should not have to fear being handcuffed or confronted with an armed police officer while at a place of learning!"

When Black Lives Matter Toronto requested a list of each school in Toronto which runs the School Resource Officer program from the Toronto District School Board, they were initially told that a list did not exist. Black Lives Matter subsequently received a list of high schools that run the SRO program from an anonymous source.

"This list of which schools have cops proves what we have known all along: they are targeting areas with a high concentration of Black children," said Leroi Newbold, a teacher and an organizer with Black Lives Matter Toronto. "When I think of all the services that could be offered to truly keep our kids safe if we weren't wasting money on this harmful Black child intimidation exercise it just breaks my heart."

Black Lives Matter-Toronto is the Toronto chapter of #BlackLivesMatter, an international organization and movement fighting anti-Black racism all over the world.

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario

For further information: Rodney Diverlus: 647-456-8476 | media@blacklivesmatter.ca; Sandy Hudson: 416-722-8842 | media@blacklivesmatter.ca

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Black Lives Matter confronts police board; Demands an end to cops in schools - Canada NewsWire (press release)

No one appointed Black Lives Matter (BLM) to act as spokesperson for the entire black community. Much of the public, however, has taken them as representative of an entire race.

I am black and gay, and I do not agree with the divisive tactics adopted by BLM Toronto including its disruption of last year's Pride parade in Toronto, and its subsequent demand that uniformed officers not participate in the event.

In fact, a lot of black people in Toronto and elsewhere don't agree with the group, but they are afraid to speak out. Many are worried about being called an "Uncle Tom" or a "House Negro" for expressing their opinions.

American writer Zora Neale Hurston captured this idea when reflecting on her own disassociation with the black political elite, famously saying, "My skin folk ain't my kin folk."

Hurston was a Republican who was critical of the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision to desegregate schools, which made her an easy target for criticism in the black community. Her point, nevertheless, was that just because people share a racial background does not mean they necessarily agree with each other on certain issues a truth that is often overlooked in commentary about racial issues.

I, like many people who make up what is likely the silent majority, believe that the Toronto police should be allowed to participate in the gay Pride parade in their uniforms. For one thing, more uniformed officers would mean help would be easier to find if someone is in distress and immediately needs assistance.

But beyond that, the Toronto police has worked hard to build bridges with the gay community by formally apologizing for the 1981 bathhouse raids, by regularly participating in Pride parades, by raising a rainbow flag outside headquarters for the first time and so forth. Not allowing them to wear their uniforms at Pride is a step backwards forthe relationship.

Toronto police has worked hard to build bridges with the gay community. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)

What's more, Pride Toronto has worked hard to create safe spaces for gay LGBTQ people of colour. For instance, for the last near-20 years, Pride has hosted "Blockorama" during the weekend of the parade an area specifically for black artists, musicians, writers, singers, dancers and regular folk to celebrate black and African cultures. By contrast, there has never been an official program for LGBTQ people during the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly (and colloquially) known as "Caribana."

Indeed, I can honestly say I feel uncomfortable at Caribana due to black homophobia, which Black Lives Matter casually ignores. I am constantly looking over my shoulder in fear of being attacked, simply because I am a gay man. In recent years, I have stayed away entirely. Yet there is virtually no dialogue about anti-LGBTQ prejudice within the black community.

Black Lives Matter could use their political and social power to actually raise awareness about this issue, but it is apparently easier for them to target the white gay community than it is to tackle black homophobia. And Pride Toronto yields to their requests, as if the black community is a monolithic entity represented by a single group.

In her essay "The Problem of Speaking For Others," feminist writer Linda Alcoff writes about the quandary of certain individuals or groups speaking on behalf of marginalized communities, which she argues can stifle the diversity of voices being heard. Indeed, that seems to be happening here.

Yet no one appointed BLM to speak for the entire black community. The police, Pride Toronto, the media and the public need to remember that.

This column is part ofCBC'sOpinion section.For more information about this section, please read thiseditor'sblogandourFAQ.

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I'm black and gay. Black Lives Matter Toronto doesn't speak for me - CBC.ca

If you ask a social justice jihadi, everyone besides straight white males is oppressed, period. But Leftist groups that don't fit one of those descriptors are lately engaged in a battle for oppression supremacy, which PhD sociologists with no other marketable skills refer to as "intersectionality."

For those of us who prefer fact- and evidence-based reasoning, it's hysterical to watch these Oppression Olympics take place -- such as when Black Lives Matter halted the Toronto gay pride parade to air theirgrievances:

We are calling you out! Alexandria Williams, co-founder of the groups Toronto chapter, shouted through a megaphone as the Black Lives Matter float came to a halt and marchers sat down. Amidrainbow-colored smoke bombs, she accused event organizers of harboring a historical and current culture of anti-blackness -- a curious claim considering how the festival welcomed Black Lives Matter as guests of honor.

Black Lives Matter refused to budge unless pride organizers acquiesced to a list of demands, which included increased funding for black-related pride events, prioritizing black trans women in hiring, and a commitment to more black deaf & hearing ASL interpreters. Surely, these issues -- which are alwaysdemands,never requests -- could have been taken up in a constructive manner before the parade. But dialogue has never been the preferred mode of communication for Black Lives Matter, not even, apparently, in uber-polite Canada.

It took only 30 minutes for festival organizers to surrender to this bullying. Gay rights activists are adept at challenging authority. Beginning with the very act of coming out, gay liberations whole gestalt is defiance. Thats easy to do when it comes to a government denying you basic equality. When their interlocutors are people claiming to be more oppressed, however, gay progressives are at a loss. Out-radicalized, theyre utterly helpless.

This is part of the self-created problemthat Leftists don't seem to really grasp an answer for at this point: how to unite when you believe ina hierarchy of oppression. Their belief in intersectionality means some supposedly marginalized groups have it worse than others, meaning a group considered higher on the scale will be treated as just another oppressor.

Black Lives Matter has made it abundantly clear that it only views itself as important. The linked article contains other examples of BLM's petulance regarding gay pride parades -- including one group refusing to take part because there would be police there.

At some point, the Left will need to figure this kind of thing out. Are blacks more oppressed than gays? What about women? Would Black Lives Matter stop a women's march until they complied with their demands?

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Black Lives Matter Halts Toronto Gay Pride Parade - PJ Media

At a hearing in Eureka City Hall on Wednesday, it was determined that Humboldt Bay Firefighter Matt McFarlandwill not be permitted to continue wearing a Black Lives Matter pin on his uniform.

Its on the news every night, McFarland said at the June 6 hearing. There are systematic problems for people of color who are hesitant to approach anybody with a badge, anybody in a uniform.

He had been wearing the pin since November 2016 when in March of this year Chief Bill Gillespie ordered him to remove it.

We work to stay neutral, Chief Gillespie has said about his orders. We dont take a side or a stance on any kind of a movement because while it may support some members of the community, it may offend or put off other members of the community.

According to the Humboldt Bay Fires uniform policy, only one pin may be worn and it must be related to fire service and in good taste.

McFarland feels that his BLM pin meets the standards set.

Baton Rouge cop sues DeRay McKesson over BLMrally

My pin is without a doubt related to my service as a firefighter because recent political events have created an environment of heightened fear and anxiety among communities of color, and increased distrust of law enforcement. This sentiment is highly detrimental to our ability, as emergency responders, to do our jobs well, said McFarland.

He went on to say, Nobody is safe when a large portion of our community is reluctant to engage with emergency services when these services are needed. We can choose to continue to deny or ignore the difficult experiences of the people suffering most in our communities or we can choose to listen to them, believe their lived experiences, and work together to improve the systems we share. I believe that this is a discussion worth having, and I want to live in a community that is courageous enough to have these conversations, even when they are messy, uncomfortable, and imperfect.

This is sickening that one man wants to take a stand in this community and everybody goes against him, said community member Kim Trevillion. Im standing firm. I will stand with him in solidarity, and this community needs to come together.

Jason Campillo, a fellow firefighter has a different take.

While I support Matt as my union brother, I always support my brothers whether its the streets, in a fire, whatever. I do not support him on this. Campillo stated. I will not I can not stand for it. Im a strict constitutionalistpolitically, but this is no place to espouse your political views.

See the article here:
Officer wearing 'Police Lives Matter' pin and firefighter wearing 'Black Lives Matter' pin clash - The Grio