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A new coalition is challenging Trumps agenda with a radical vision of their own on a national stage.

Black Lives Matter activists march in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 4, 2015. (AP Photo / Craig Lassig)

Welcome to The Majority, a new coalition encompassing more than 50 organizations and groups, including the Black Lives Matter Global Network. On Thursday, The Majority announced its first national campaign: Beyond the Moment. From April 4 to International Workers Day on May 1, participating organizations will hold a series of actions across the country aimed at raising awareness around issues including white supremacy, economic justice, reproductive justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, indigenous rights, and attacks on Muslim communities. The focus, under the new administration, is to bring together activists, organizers, and groups with different missionsfrom the Fight for $15 to indigenous land rights.

Beyond the Moment is the first major national campaign launched by the newly formed Majority, but its not exactly the first time weve heard from them. Many of the participating organizations come out of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), another BLM organizing coalition that released an official platform last August with a list of 40 policy recommendations and demands focusing on a wide range of issues including demilitarization of police forces, decriminalization of drugs, and expanding unionization in industries that are largely nonunion, like on-demand economy jobs like Uber or Lyft. The platform was received as the first centrally planned document to emerge from BLM, a movement that had been criticized for being diffuse, and for failing to articulate policy goals. But that was before Donald Trump was elected, when many assumed the political future of the United States would be quite different.

This new organizing body, which involves many of the same players as in past iterations of BLM, comes three months into Donald Trumps presidency. Organizers, however, are careful to point out that while the fight looks different under a Trump administration, the tenets of the movement, laid out back in August, remain the same. These actions that were taking from April 4 to May 1 are a resistance against Trump and his administration, but its also part of a long-term strategy to build a world where people can live in dignity and where we can situate people at the margins to have power, Patrisse Cullors, one of the three founders of BLM, told me over the phone.

BLM is often understood as a series of protests in response to the indiscriminate killings of black Americans by law enforcement, but the first day of action planned by the Majority, on April 4, will include protests in two dozen cities centered on the fight for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, an issue that disproportionately impacts people of color. Its proof that BLM is working to become a broader movement.

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One place where youll see depth in the conversation is around protecting our communities, Cullors told me. That means from ICE raids, and from further criminalization and violence. Cullors said that this new iteration of the movement is not just about campaigns and strategic plans but a broad-based movement that coalesces around the idea of sanctuary for all.

Marisa Franco, director of Mijente, a Latinx rights organization, is one of the organizers of Beyond the Moment, and echoes Cullorss point about the need to embrace inclusivity. We cant say, hey dont let ICE on your campus and not call out over-policing of people of color on college campuses. We cant celebrate local police who might consider not working with ICE but who over-police and wont make those same proclamations for other communities of color, Franco said.

The planned actions, between April 4 and May 1, may mark a shift into national action for the movement, but Cullors reminds me that BLM is a movement that is rooted in local communities. Every community faces different challenges, Cullors explained to me, and emphasized the importance of organizers to continue to do work to secure protection for individual communities after May Day.

More here:
Meet the New Social Change Coalition: 'The Majority' - The Nation.

(1 of ) Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors speaks at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. (CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ) (2 of ) Patrisse Cullors (WWW.PATRISSECULLORS.COM) (3 of ) Alicia Garza, from left, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, arrive at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at NeueHouse Hollywood on Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

CHRISTI WARREN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | March 29, 2017, 9:41PM

In front of a crowd of about 200 people gathered in the Sonoma State University Student Center on Wednesday night, Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, issued a rallying cry and urged attendees not to give into fear brought on by what she called President Donald Trumps divisive policies.

Instead, she said, its time to mobilize.

Cullors is one of three co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, born in reaction to police-involved shootings of young black men, that campaigns for equality and justice for people of color. She was at SSU as the keynote speaker for the colleges first North Bay Women of Color Conference, a daylong event that offered a variety of workshops and panels centered on the experiences of women of color in the community.

I deeply believe that although many of us were not prepared for this moment, were resilient, she said, speaking of Trumps surprise presidential victory. We have an opportunity to fight back against probably the biggest enemy of our lifetime, to change the course of history. We have an opportunity to save our childrens lives, and their childrens lives. This isnt just about America. This is about the planet. And so our work right here, right now, is investing in your local context. It is showing up, and it is speaking out.

The call to action was exactly what Marquisha George, 21, a senior at SSU, came to the conference to hear.

The sociology major showed up early for Cullors talk with two other friends from SSUs Black Student Union.

Im interested in politics, she said. But I feel like you have to get people active in order to get them involved in the process.

Though Cullors talk and many discussions throughout the day centered on resisting Trumps agenda, planning for the program actually started last summer, well before his election.

The idea arose as part of a conversation about the absence of women of color on Sonoma States campus, said Patricia Ayala Macias, 22, who co-organized the conference.

I think, especially in higher education, its hard to see ourselves reflected because there arent a lot of women of color faculty or staff on campus, and so when you speak about finding a role model, its hard to see yourself, she said.

Ayala Macias is a first-generation college student, double-majoring in Chicano and Latino studies and business administration.

It took her seven semesters, she said, to have a woman of color teach a business class.

I didnt see myself as a business student, she said. I didnt see myself as graduate school material. When you see yourself reflected in these classrooms, it makes you feel like someone understands me.

That confidence is something, she said, that came just from being involved in planning the conference.

Its really empowered women to see themselves as leaders, and thats what I want this conference to be a place for them to network, a place for them to see themselves. A place for them to learn about themselves, and not just talking about it, but doing something about the issues they see as important.

Excerpt from:
Black Lives Matter co-founder speaks at SSU to crowd of 200 - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

By Olivia Krauth

A sign supporting the Black Lives Matter movement was stolenfrom the Kent School of Social Work Thursday night.

According to an email from Kent School Dean David Jenkins to students, someone cut the banners ties and removed it from the building.

Since it was hung on that small balcony on the second floor, someone had to be serious about getting access to it and wanted it down pretty badly, Jenkins said.

Earlier today, a student returned the banner, saying they found it across the street. Jenkins said the banner hasnt been taken down since it was hung in October and it was promptly rehung this morning.

Jenkins said while feedback surrounding the banner has been mostly positive, there has been some negative feedback. One person called earlier in the week, saying the sign was offensive and it should be removed.

Regardless of the response, we, as a faculty of social workers and our staff, believed it was important for us to do something in response to the events that were happening across the country, Jenkins said.

Jenkins said University of Louisville Police have been notified.

This story will be updated.

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Black Lives Matter sign stolen from Kent School - Louisville Cardinal Online

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Black Lives Matter student activists were enraged with their college president following a meeting between the two parties Wednesday, insisting that the interaction was white supremacy, patriarchy, and that the president should not have his job.

The College of William and Marys BLM movement, named Built on Our Backs, issued demands to President W. Taylor Reveley III in a live-stream of the meeting to their Facebook page. The demands includeda tenured diversity position, a required social justice course, an Africana Studies department, a zero-tolerance policy for racism, the hiring of more staff for W&Ms Center for Student Diversity, an emphasis on recruiting black students, and more employment and retention of black faculty.

President Reveley took issue with the nature of the groups speech, suggesting that they try requests or suggestions instead of demands.

I dont deal in demands, he said. I dont make demands of other people. I dont expect to receive demands from people. I love to get suggestions, recommendations, strong arguments.

The student activists werent pleased.

This is what being censored looks like, meeting attendee Erica West, a student coordinator at W&Ms Center for Student Diversity, said on Facebook after the meeting. This is what white supremacy looks like. This is what patriarchy looks like. This is what condescension looks like. This is what being told you, your issues and your life dont matter looks like. THIS is why we say #BlackLivesMatter.

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Isnt it sad that the basis of our platform for BLMs 10 demands is better education, namely required education in Black history? Damiana Dendy, a W&M student and former intern at the US Department of Education, wrote on Facebook. Its sad that we still have to justify ourselves and our collective history, that this College was #BuiltOnOurBacksand we still have to fight for our stories to be heard.

He felt the need to validate the humanity of a former African American male colleague of his by prefacing his story with he was handsome, great work, good guy and the like, and did not see this as a microaggression, she continued. Dendy also detailed a long list of complaints about the president on Facebook, saying: This man should not be President of our College.

You can effectively go to William and Mary for 4 years, even 5 years, never take a course in Africana for example, never take a course that is non-western thought and I feel that [is] very important that that is required, Dendy said in the meeting.

In response, President Reveley noted that W&M has a Chief Diversity Officer.

But the BLM group demanded a tenured faculty member, detailing that they would like a Vice Provost of Diversity and Inclusion, and citing that other Virginia schools, such as the University of Virginia have such an officer. Marcus L. Martin, UVAsVice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity, earned $338,800 in the 2015-2016 academic year.

Ive got color too; Im white, Reveley said at one point.

Sir, youre white, with all due respect, West replied, moving to leave until another student started speaking.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Dendy, West, and President Reveley, but received a reply from only the president, in which he stated that he appreciated the students recommendations.

William & Mary has been working hard on racial issues, said Reveley. Over the past year, actions include increased efforts and funding to recruit a more diverse faculty, naming two residence halls for people of color, training for faculty and staff, and additional staffing for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Our admission office continues to seek a diverse student body.

While we have made progress, there remains much to be done. Racial discrimination at William & Mary is flatly unacceptable. We all have a role to play to ensure that our university is a place where everyone is welcome and respected and where we can and do learn from one another.

William and Mary has above average ethnic diversity for students, according to College Factual. While its student body has only a little over 7 percent blacks, whites comprise less than 60 percent. The school has average faculty ethnic diversity, with almost 14 percent blacks and nearly 74 percent whites.

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BLM Activists Furious With College President: 'This Is What White Supremacy Looks Like' - Daily Caller

The movement for black lives is alive and well across Americaand on social media, but you probably wouldnt know that from watching CNN.

Reported incidents of anti-blackhate crimesandpolice-involved deathsare actually higher this year than they were two years ago, when coverage of cops killing people of color was so ubiquitousit was impossible to ignore. One would think this would be front-page news.

But Donald Trump is our president now and the mainstream media apparently no longer has the bandwidth to cover alleged discriminatory treatment and brutality inflicted on African-Americans by police. Cable-news pundits are too busy trying to kill off the campaign-season, ratings-friendly Frankenstein monsterthey createdover the previous two years.

This reality makes the mission of activists likeKimberly Ortiz that much more difficult.

Theyre diverting our attention to Trump so we dont have to talk about these issues, the 32-year-old Bronx mother of two said on Monday night. She was standing at the corner of 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem,before she andabout 30 other protesters marched through the New York City neighborhoods streets, shouting verbal indictments and obscenities at the two dozen NYPD strategic response officers who shadowed them in police cruisers.

Their flashing lights illuminated the angry black, brown and white faces of Ortiz and her comrades. Smartphone-wielding pedestrians recorded and documented the scene. Members of the press were notably absent.

The people who have influence are being distracted by the grabbing of the pussies, the Russian spy investigations, Ortiz added.I think its intentional.

A founding member of the pro-Black Lives Matter group NYC Shut It Down, Ortizspent the evening doing the same thingshe and her fellow activists have done every Monday for more than two years now: calling attention to the violent killingof black men, women and children by police or other overtly racist acts.

This weeks subject wasRamarley Graham, anunarmed black teenager who was fatally shot five years ago by an NYPD officer inside the 18-year-olds Bronx home. The killing was witnessed by Grahams 6-year-old brother as well ashis grandmother, whom the officer, Richard Haste, also threatened to shoot as shewatched her grandson dying on the bathroom floor.

On Sunday after years of stalled criminal and civil rights investigations that resulting in no disciplinary action, let alone jail time, Haste quit his jobin lieu of being fired.

An internal affairs probe found the officer guilty of misconduct, saying he had exercised poor tactical judgment leading up to the discharge of his firearm and acted with intent to cause serious physical injury, which led to Grahams death.

The story was covered by The New York Times and other local media outlets but drewlittle or no coverage from national cable news networkslike CNN, MSNBC or Fox News part of a growing trendof flagging mainstream media attention.

Mass media outlets are very selective on the news they report. We already know that, Ortizs friend and fellow activist Shannon Jones of Bronxites for NYPD Accountability said onMonday. This country is not attuned to showing black plight. Its not going to happen over an extended period of time.

Two years ago a slew of disturbing videos of police killing unarmed black men, women and children were plastered all over the 24-hour cable news cycle, making national headlines almost weekly.

In a one-month span late in 2014, police fatally shot 12-year-oldTamir Ricein Cleveland andAkai Gurleyin Brooklyns East New York neighborhood, while grand juries in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York Citys Staten Island, respectively, declined to indict the officers who admitted to killingMike BrownandEric Garner, who bothhad been unarmed.

A few months later in April 2015, another onslaughtof daily media coverage covered the day-to-day developments intheEric Harris, Walter Scott, and Freddie Gray;this was followed shortly thereafter by white supremacist Dylann Roofs church massacre in North Charleston, South Carolina, and the mysterious Julydeath ofSandra Bland, the black woman who died in police custody in Texas after a questionable traffic-stop arrest.

But since Trumps election in November, many similarlytroubling videoshave gone viral on Facebook and Twitter, while the mainstream media has turned a relative blind eye.

Last week self-proclaimed white supremacist James Jackson rode a bus from Baltimore to New York, where just a few blocks from Times Square he fatallystabbed through the chest a randomly selected black mannamed Timothy Caughman with an 18-inch blade.

Jackson, who now facesterrorism charges, said he chose to do this in New York because its the media capital of the world, and he wanted to send a message. Thatmessage was apparently lost on reporters and editors at theNew York Postand theNew York Daily News, who for some reason maligned Caughman, rather than his killer, as a career criminal. This has drawn criticism from at leastone writeramong the Daily News ranks as well as members of the pro-Black Lives Matter community.

Media coverage of the racist New York terrorist attack was muted nationally amid the unending litany of stories focusing on Trump congressional hearings concerning hisridiculous tweets, his partys latestfailed attemptto repeal and replace Obamacare andFBI probesof the Trump campaigns possible ties to Russia.

Not only was [Caughman] murdered on the streets, but he was murdered again by the media, organizer Jason Walker of the advocacy group Vocal New York told a crowd last weekof more than 100 people gatheredat the steps of the Union Square park in Manhattan, before a march organizedin the wake ofCaughmans apparent murder.

Other pro-Black Lives Matter activists like Carmen Perez of Justice League NYC, Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York and Nelini Stamp of Resist Here and the Working Families Party marched with Walker to the corner of Broadway and 38th Street,where supporters created a memorial using bouquets of flowers and flyers bearing Caughmans likeness.

One protester held up a sign that read BLACK LIVES STILL MATTER, echoing the idea that Americas national focus has shifted away from the movement.

[Caughmans] death is reminding us to not be distracted, Sarsour told the crowd at one point during the protest. We dont see the same type of outrage that we did back in 2014. . . . I want you not to be distracted by the clowns and white supremacists in the White House.

But Ortiz saidthis lack ofmedia attentionis hardlynew for Black Lives Matter supporters and it wont stop her from fighting for whats right.

As long as our black and brown brothers and sisters are still dying and there is no accountability, I will march until I cant march no longer, she said with a laugh. And even then, Ill haunt yall motherfuckers!

Originally posted here:
Black lives blackout: Has the mainstream media forgotten about police violence and African-American resistance? - Salon