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Western New Mexico University students celebrated Black History Month with a Black Lives Matter talent show at the Fine Arts Center Theatre on Tuesday night. The student-initiated, student-organized event showcased 10 judged performers, as well as professional artists from Albuquerque, to acknowledge widespread violence against black Americans.

Hakim Bellamy, former Albuquerque poet laureate, television personality and friend to WNMU, opened the night with a spoken word performance with fellow Albuquerque poet Colin Diles. For the rest of the evening, the pair acted as emcees for the showcase, introducing the parade of WNMU student acts. Those ranged from emotional renditions of hit songs to recitations of original poems, performed before an audience of more than 150.

I was so happy with the turnout and the reception, said WNMU graduate student and organizer Lauren Daizey. We got our point across with that event and brought the community together, which is the most important. We saw more students at this event than at most that happen on campus.

The point Daizey referred to was that crimes against African Americans are still too prevalent and we have to stop them. Organizers illustrated that point and advertised Tuesdays event with crime scenes spread across campus, complete with the white outlines of bodies on the ground.

They were making people aware that were not talking about history. Were talking about the present, said Emma Bailey, co-founder of the WNMU Center for Gender Equity, which sponsored the event.

They wanted to celebrate Black Lives on campus, said Lydia Huerta, another Center for Gender Equity founder. They wanted to bring a perspective that needs to be heard.

While turnout and reception from the audience encouraged organizers, the event did suffer some disappointment early in the day. Late Monday night, organizers hung a #BlackLivesMatter banner high above the front steps of the Fine Arts Center Theatre. By 11:30 a.m., it had been removed and taken away. Bailey and Huerta contacted the campuss head of custodial services to find out if it was the university itself that removed the banner, which students made for an event in 2016 and previously fluttered outside the Center for Gender Equity. Bailey said that the head custodian said he knew nothing about it.

Organizers still do not know who removed the banner.

Benjamin Fisher may be reached at ben@scdailypress.com.

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Black Lives Matter event draws crowd - Silver City Daily Press and Independent

A judge recently ruled that footage of Black Lives Matter protests in New York City must be released.

AManhattan Supreme Court Justice ruled this week that the New York Police Department must disclose their surveillance of Black Lives Matter protests, according toThe New York Daily News.

The NYPD must cough up the footage of Black Lives Matter protesters at Grand Central in 2014 and 2015. Department officials werereportedlydetermined not toreleasethe information withthe argument that protesters might be connected to the IslamicState.

Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez dismissedNYPD assistant intelligence chief John Donahues terrorism claims on Monday. However, his ruling didnt become available to the public untilWednesday.

His speculative and conclusive claims of potential related ongoing investigations of incidents against police officers, both in New York and outside of the state and generalized references to use of materials by the ISIS or ISIL terrorists, fail to provide a casualconnection to the protesters and are insufficient to state a generic risk, Mendezwrote.

Following the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, protesterJames Logue introduced the case by challenging the NYPDs denial of a Freedom of Information Law request for information on the rallies.

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Logue said that during the protests, he observed both uniformed and plainclothes police officers regularly and openly recording events as they were taking place.

In addition, hesaid,"The surveillance violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."

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Judge Orders NYPD To Disclose Surveillance Of Black Lives Matter Protests - Essence.com

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Rochester City School District has declared next Friday to be a Black Lives Matter day for all students.

February 17th will be Black Lives Matter at School: A Day of Understanding & Affirmation, set aside to be a day of education, dialog and action that will actively engage a significant number of educational communities throughout Monroe County in activities which support understanding and affirmation of Black Lives.

The school district also preemptively responded to criticisms that all lives matter, writing, Of course all lives matter. However, 57% of our students are black, and by almost every measure, people of color are not treated equally by our society. It is especially important to highlight the value of black lives in a society whose history involves centuries of slavery and denial of civil rights to black citizens, the impacts of which continue to this day.

Though the school tells parentsthat the event isnt connected to the national Black Lives Matter movement, links on theresource toolkit for the day include the website for the national movement and a TED talk with the founders of the movement.

The school resource toolkit splits up elementary level and secondary level students for teaching. The elementary level students are taught lessons likeLooking at Race and Racial Identity Through Critical Literacy in Childrens Books, and use coloring book pages that say Black Youth Matter.

Secondary level students must go through lessons titled, Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System, Using Editorial Cartoons to Teach Racial Profiling, and What is the School to Prison Pipeline?

Students also watch Jesse Williams BET speech, as well as formulate responses as to why All Lives Matter isnt a good response.

The children will also be recommended websites discussing Michael Brown, as well as encouraged to read things like White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Womens Studies.

Finally, theres a link to the Black Lives Matter Syllabus, which touches on the moral ethics of black rage and riotous forms of protest, the hyberbolic media myth of black on black crime, and violent vs. non violent protest.

The full Google Doc for Black Lives Matter at School Resource Toolkit can be found here.

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Public School To Teach First Graders About 'Black Lives Matter' - Daily Caller

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Friday on his nationally syndicated radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh took aim at the federal judiciary on the day after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled not to overturn a lower courts ruling on a hold on President Donald Trumps executive order that halted immigration from seven majority Muslim countries to the United States.

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Limbaugh decried the judges as left-wing liberal hacks before playing a parody mocking the federal judiciary as Black Robes Matter.

[T]hese are not judges, Limbaugh declared. These are left-wing liberal hacks who wear robes. And, in fact, you know what we have here? Its not just the Black Lives Matter; we have Black Robes Matter, and weve just seen the beginning.

After the parody, Limbaugh said to expect more of this given it is where the left has populated themselves.

This is going to continue because this is where the left has populated themselves, he added. Theyve taken over the judiciary, and they are in the bowels of the bureaucracy in unelected positions.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

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Limbaugh: 'It's Not Just the Black Lives Matter We Have Black Robes Matter' - Breitbart News

Torontos police chief said Friday his force will not participate in this years Pride parade, pointing to divisions within the LGBTQ community as a reason for his decision.

Chief Mark Saunders said the move will have no impact on the forces ongoing outreach to LGBTQ communities.

We understand the LGBTQ communities are divided, he said in a statement. To enable those differences to be addressed, I have decided the Toronto Police Service will not participate, this year, in the Pride parade.

The citys Pride parade last summer was interrupted by a protest from Black Lives Matter and only resumed when Pride Torontos then-executive director Matthieu Chantelois signed a list of demands put forth by the group that included a ban on police floats in future parades.

Chantelois later said he only agreed to the demands in order to get the parade moving again. Last month, members voted at a Pride Torontos annual general meeting to adopt the Black Lives Matter demands, including the banning of police floats from Pride marches and parades.

The local chapter of Black Lives Matter said Friday it is disappointed with Saunders statement.

They are trying to flip the narrative and make it seem as if they are choosing to pull out of Pride when in fact they were uninvited, said spokesperson Syrus Marcus Ware.

Marcus Ware said they are frustrated that Saunders statement makes no mention of issues such as anti-blackness and policing, around issues of carding.

The group has been a vocal critic of the controversial practice of carding, also known as street checks, which it says unfairly targets young black, brown and indigenous people. Marcus Ware also cast doubt on the chiefs offer to meet with marginalized groups, saying Saunders has so far refused to meet with Black Lives Matter.

Saunders said Friday that Toronto police would continue to develop respectful relationships with trans and racialized communities, promising to sit down with any group who feels marginalized, who comes to the table with ideas on how to make things better.

In addition, he said, Toronto police will continue to hold its annual Pride reception.

The chiefs decision comes just days after Halifaxs police force said it would not participate in that citys Pride parade this year. Halifax Regional Police said the decision was made after several months of discussions with Halifax Pride, and took into consideration the national debate about police involvement in such events.

The local police chief cited Toronto specifically as an example of a city where there had been concerns about police presence in pride parades.

Mayor Torys statement on Toronto Police participation in Pride

I respect Chief Mark Saunders decision to have the Toronto Police Service step back from the Pride Parade this year.

I am disappointed and frustrated with the current situation. No one should feel excluded from Pride and no group should have to decide it is better if they just dont take part. This current situation is not good for a city as inclusive as Toronto. We know that diversity strengthens us as a city and pushing people apart weakens us as a city.

I have proudly participated in Pride for years and I want to thank the police for everything they have done to support this important event. I also want to thank police for how far they have come in their relationships with the LGBTQ2S communities. Our police officers should be commended for the bridges that have been built and that they are continuing to build.

Ive confirmed with the Chief that this decision will have no impact on the services ongoing outreach to LGBTQ2S communities. Thats important and the only way this issue will be resolved one day, hopefully very soon.

With respect to police participation in future Pride parades, I remain hopeful that the parties involved can find a way to resolve this issue as soon as possible and to ensure that we can continue to build those vitally important bridges.

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Toronto police won't participate in Pride Parade, Black Lives Matter responds - CityNews