Backlash against Black Lives Matter includes branding it as Marxist.

The attack has been made in recent weeks by Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trumps personal lawyer; Ben Carson, Trumps secretary of Housing and Urban Development; conservative talk show host Mark Levin; and PragerU, which has more than 4 million Facebook followers.

Arent sure what Marxism is, actually? It was developed by 19th century German philosopher Karl Marx and is the basis for the theory of communism and socialism. "Marxism envisioned the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism by the proletariat (working class people) and eventually a classless communist society," Encyclopedia Britannica and Oxford Reference say.

These days, Marxism usually means analyzing social change through an economic lens, with the assumption that the rich and the poor should become more equal.

In a recently surfaced 2015 interview, one of the three Black Lives Matter co-founders declared that she and another co-founder "are trained Marxists."

But the movement has grown and broadened dramatically. Many Americans, few of whom would identify as Marxists, support Black Lives Matter, drawn to its message of anti-racism.

"Regardless of whatever the professed politics of people may be who are prominent in the movement, they dont represent its breadth," said Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Princeton University African American Studies professor and author of "From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation."

"There are definitely socialists within the movement, as there have been in every single social movement in 20th century American history and today. But that does not make those socialist movements, it makes them mass movements," she said.

Trained Marxists

In a Facebook post labeling Black Lives Matter as a Marxist movement, PragerU included a video interview with Carol Swain, a Black conservative and former professor at Vanderbilt and Princeton universities. She said, "Now, the founders of Black Lives Matter, theyve come out as Marxists."

Swain alluded to Black Lives Matters three co-founders, who are still featured prominently on the groups website Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. Their primary backgrounds are as community organizers, artists and writers. Swain, though, was referring to a newly surfaced interview Cullors did in 2015, where she said:

"We do have an ideological frame. Myself and Alicia, in particular, are trained organizers; we are trained Marxists. We are superversed on, sort of, ideological theories. And I think what we really try to do is build a movement that could be utilized by many, many Black folks."

We didnt find that Garza and Tometi have referred to themselves as Marxists. But the book publisher Penguin Random House has said Garza, an author, "describes herself as a queer social justice activist and Marxist."

What Black Lives Matter says

Black Lives Matter was formed in response to the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in Florida. The group calls its three co-founders "radical Black organizers."

The project started with a mission "to build local power and to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes," the groups website says. "In the years since, weve committed to struggling together and to imagining and creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic and political power to thrive."

Included on its list of beliefs is one that has drawn criticism as being consistent with Marxism:

"We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable."

A spokesperson for Black Lives Matter; Kailee Scales, managing director at Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation;and the three co-founders did not reply to our requests for information.

"On one level, these are just put downs," University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor Richard Wolff, author of "Understanding Marxism," told PolitiFact about the attacks on Black Lives Matter.

If people declare themselves Marxists, they are in effect Marxists, but "there really is no standard" of what Marxism is, "theres no way to verify anything."

Black Lives Matter today

Its important to recognize that movements evolve.

Noting Cullors declaration of being Marxist trained, "one has to take that seriously: if the leadership says it is Marxist, then there's a good chance they are," said Russell Berman, a professor at Stanford University and a senior fellow at its conservative Hoover Institution who has written critically about Marxism.

But "this does not mean every supporter is Marxist Marxists often have used useful idiots. And a Marxist movement can be more or less radical, at different points in time," he said.

Black Lives Matters "emphatic support for gender identity politics sets it apart from historical Marxism," and the goals listed on its website "do not appear to be expressly anti-capitalist, which would arguably be a Marxist identifier," Berman added.

The groups support is broad.

Even as some Americans express support for socialism, most view it negatively, and few of the supporters would identify themselves as Marxist.

Meanwhile, 50% of registered voters support Black Lives Matter as of mid-July, up from 37% in April 2017, according to Civiqs, an online survey research firm.

In July, the New York Times reported that Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. history, as four polls suggest that about 15 million to 26 million people in the United States have participated in demonstrations over the death of Floyd and others in recent weeks. (That does not account for similar protests overseas.)

"I am fairly convinced these are mostly attempts to smear anti-racist activists. I think in some media, Marxist is dog-whistle for something horrible, like Nazi, and thus enables to delegitimize/dehumanize them," Miriyam Aouragh, a lecturer at the London-based Westminster School of Media and Communication, told PolitiFact.

Black Lives Matter "is not an organization, but a fluid movement; it doesnt actually matter if one of its founders was a liberal, Marxist, socialist or capitalist."

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PolitiFact | Is Black Lives Matter a Marxist movement?

BLM activists: Meet 9 people behind the Black Lives Matter movement - CNN

Story by Chris JamesVideos by CNN Digital Productions

Updated 7:00 AM ET, Sat February 6, 2021

Summer 2020 saw a paradigm shift in America's ongoing struggle for racial justice. In the midst of a deadly pandemic and historic levels of unemployment, people from all walks of life took to the streets to protest the deaths of Black citizens by police.

From George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, to Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and many others before them -- countless names in recent memory have been transformed into hashtags, human representations of a public safety system that time and time again has shown brutality and indifference toward Black lives.

But in the process of turning that devastating pain of untimely death into a purposeful rallying cry to "say their names," millions of peaceful and passionate voices have banded together in solidarity to demand a better society. These proud voices are inspiring hope, building community and breaking barriers.

The Tipping Point

The world watched in horror as then-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against the neck of George Floyd for more than seven minutes -- killing him while being filmed in front of horrified bystanders.

This single incident on May 25, 2020, would soon reverberate around the world. In a matter of days, Minneapolis became the epicenter of a reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement.

City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, 31, an artist turned politician, said he saw the crisis as an opportunity to reimagine public safety while actively listening to the concerns of constituents who felt victimized by an increasingly militarized system of policing.

For many residents, anger toward the status quo boiled over into what Kandace Montgomery, 30, founder of the Black Visions collective in Minneapolis, calls "righteous rage." As calls for equitable change are being rooted in reinvestment toward housing, education and health care, Ellison said he hopes Minneapolis can serve as an example for cities around the country.

Life of Activism

Over generations in America, the movement for civil rights and racial progress has been carried and organized by legions of dedicated Black women.

After the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020, it was largely the work of Black women that brought the case nationwide attention, as they took to the streets imploring as many people as possible to "say her name."

Nupol Kiazolu, 20, is one of these women, a self-described member of the "Trayvon Martin Generation."

As a sixth grader, she led a silent protest at her middle school. Armed with a bag of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea -- which Trayvon was carrying when he was killed nearly nine years ago -- and wearing a hoodie with the message "Do I Look Suspicious?" written on the back, Kiazolu said she understood at an early age the mere act of existing while Black could be deadly.

Nearly a decade later, she's become one of the most well-known activists in the Black Lives Matter movement and a member of the so-called Louisville 87.

After being arrested at a sit-in on the lawn of the Kentucky attorney general and fearing for her life in jail, she said she felt further emboldened to continue loudly and unapologetically spreading her message for justice.

A Social Movement

One fundamental difference between 2020's protest movement and others that have come before has been the increasingly sophisticated presence of social media.

With its growing influence over young people across the globe, the TikTok app became a particularly unlikely yet massive tool for activism and education.

Prior to the summer of 2020, TikTok influencer Jackie James, 17, said she had never felt the need to post about politics or social justice. But watching the video of George Floyd's death changed everything.

She began opening up about the racism she'd experienced as a Black teenager in Fargo, North Dakota -- urging her audience of 2.6 million to understand the devastating realities of inequality.

Across the country in Santa Clarita, California, Sofia Ongele, 20, was also employing TikTok to help her peers understand the Black Lives Matter movement. Using her expert coding skills as a so-called "hacktivist," she's created web apps and automatic email templates to help people more seamlessly lobby for change, helping mobilize thousands of her followers in calling for racial justice.

The Ally

One of the defining aspects of 2020's protest movement was its sheer diversity. At rallies around the country, people of all different races united in defense of Black lives.

Amid the pandemic, the very act of attending a demonstration in itself represented physical sacrifice. But for undocumented immigrants who joined the protest, they were taking on an entirely different level of risk by adding their voice for change.

Getting arrested at a protest could quickly jeopardize immigration status.

Mxima Guerrero, 30, is a DACA recipient who was taken into custody after attending a protest in Phoenix. If it weren't for the mobilization of her fellow activist community and quick-acting legal representatives, she could have been deported to Mexico.

While some might wonder why anyone would choose to risk so much just to attend a protest, Guerrero is adamant that she was doing the right thing. She said she sees the struggles of Black and brown people as interconnected, and is working with young organizers to inspire the next generation of leaders.

A Political Future

For some members of Generation Z, the death of George Floyd gave birth to an impassioned and unexpected sense of activism.

Chi Oss, 22, had never attended a protest until the summer of 2020.

Unable to forget the horrific video of Floyd's death, he said he found a therapeutic outlet for that pain and sadness on the streets of New York.

Protesting helped Oss process underlying trauma that he said had built up over his years living as a Black man in America. Within just a few weeks, he became one of the loudest voices calling for systemic change. And after months of organizing and engaging with community, he decided to take his activism a step further by announcing his candidacy for the New York City Council. If elected, Oss would be the youngest elected official in the city's history. In deciding to engage in democracy, he said he hopes to inspire others to realize the power of claiming a seat at the political table.

Going Viral

Within social movements of the digital age, there are often specific moments caught on camera that encapsulate much larger issues.

Whether they spark agreement or outrage, the raw emotion captured in these viral videos resonates with the millions of people who watch, share, debate and analyze.

In 2015, Kwame Rose, now 26, ascended to this viral fame after a confrontation with Fox News' Geraldo Rivera that was filmed by a bystander. Rivera had gone to Baltimore in the wake of Freddie Gray's death in police custody, in April 2015, which prompted massive protests and unrest.

Rose was livid that so many news outlets had come to his city to report on the burning buildings and not the millions of people living in poverty for generations.

This video would catapult Rose to the forefront of activism, changing his life in both positive and negative ways. Today he is dedicated to a guiding principle of helping people in his city, working with World Central Kitchen to provide meals for those in need during the Covid-19 crisis.

Creating Community

At a New York Pride Month protest called Brooklyn Liberation, thousands of people stood together wearing all white to call attention to the epidemic of violence against the Black trans community.

One of the attendees of that rally, Vanessa Warri, 29, said she sees her mere existence as a Black trans woman in America as a form of resistance in a society that has historically failed to ensure her safety. She's using her platform as a social welfare MSW/PhD candidate at UCLA to give a voice to a community that has long been silenced.

Warri said she is committed to this work not just for her own future, but to help improve the lives of an untold number of transgender people who continue to face immense challenges in a predominantly transphobic society.

The Survivor

Inner-city Black communities were hit particularly hard in 2020, and not just by the deadly coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis.

Aalayah Eastmond, 19, is a college student in DC who has experienced the terror of gun violence firsthand. As a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, she witnessed the murder of her classmates and managed to escape death herself.

In the aftermath of that mass shooting, she discovered her voice as a gun violence prevention activist. She's made it her mission to advocate for increased investment in inner-city communities, and says she sees it as the only way to effectively stop the disproportionate impact of gun violence on Black Americans.

Video producers: Chris James, Isabela Quintero, Alice Yu and Allison BrownEditors: Nick Blatt, Jesse Threatt and Amy Marino

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These BLM activists are fighting for the civil rights of the next generation - CNN

The five leaders named, Anthony Vickery, 21, Kongie Richardson, Keith Joseph, 24, Raelyn Person, 23, and Jason Bryson, were responsible for organizing one of Lompoc'slargestdemonstrations for social justice following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on Memorial Day.

The death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes on Memorial Day, sparked a national response that also shook Lompoc.

The June 2 protest, which drew hundreds of participants from various racial, religious and political backgrounds, remained peaceful, according to officials, who reported that no vandalism occurred.

Both Joseph and Vickery, on behalf the their group, thanked prize sponsorsValley of the Flowers United Church of Christ, and Vickery acknowledged all the nominees for their own community outreach and acts of kindness.

"It goes beyond the award just knowing that the community can come together when it wants to," Vickery said. "Everybody is so scared to make that change, but once one person does it, it's like a ripple effect. Things can happen."

Joseph explained that although brutality is nothing new, for him the death of Floyd tookmore time to process.

"To watch someone dieslowly on camera," Joseph said, "that one was different."

In contrast to focusing on Black lives solely, Joseph said the group's efforts were meant to benefit the community as a wholeand serve as a powerful reminder that the nation's not-too-distant history was plagued by racial segregation.

While the aim to improve mental health resources for local schools remains central to his campaign, Murkison, who is Black, said he also hopes to cast a wider net on youth representation and diversity while serving on the school board.

"We just spoke from the heart," he said, recalling the intensity of the protest and the many challenges of organizing it. "It wasn't just Black lives; it's just wanting to help the community."

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Lompoc Black Lives Matter organizers awarded Valley of the Flowers Peace Prize - Lompoc Record

Black Lives Matter lives on digital oxygen. Since the movements broad inception in July 2013, the reliance on social media has been an important component of the movement. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter predates any particular organized group bearing that name, and the usage of Twitter, Instagram, and Change.org to spread information and garner support have always been central to the movements survival.

Yet in 2020, something shifted. In the months following the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, a younger generation of the American public became more involved than ever in fighting against the plights of Black, Indigenous, and people of color. And while in general this has resulted in new air for the movement, there have been those who have expressed concern over what broader implications this aestheticization has had.

Now, putting #BLM and #ACAB in ones Twitter bio is as commonplace as putting ones astrology signs there. The posting of black squares on Instagram on and after June 2nd, as well as the obligatory protest selfie, have become staples in our visual-heavy culture. TikTok perhaps the largest new platform to emerge between BLMs inception and today became the site of numerous sounds, skits, and other short visual media dedicated to the movement. Some have begun to voice concern that these actions have turned the movement and its aims into an aesthetic as opposed to a movement of pure ideology.

It absolutely has, but theres a silver lining to be seen here. In America, ideas and political movements have two fates: They either become aesthetics, or they die.

Americas Always Been A Circus

It is important to recognize that this phenomenon is nothing new. The aestheticization of political movements in America both in the sense of creating visual artwork in reference to political movements and in the sense of a group banding together under commonly held aesthetic signifiers in reference to that movement, such as mottos dates back to the movements that started this country. As the Stamp Act was enacted and then quickly repealed by the British parliament in the 1760s, teapots were made and sold to reference and show support for the anti-Parliament cause. Considering the broadly important social aspect of tea drinking in colonial America, the parallels to modern-day activist aesthetics are closer than one may initially think.

We see this pattern repeat throughout American history. The phrase Votes for Women and related pieces of wearable propaganda surrounding it, from sashes to pins to buttons, had become so synonymous with the idea of womens suffrage that the suffragette and her related clothing had become an actual character in the public zeitgeist. Abolitionism also shared in this usage of public images by private citizens, such as in the case of William Hackwoods kneeling slave cameo and related images being placed on everything from pinholders to sugar bowls; similar images and slogans appeared during the Black civil rights movements of the 20th century. This happens again and again, from 1960s Black civil rights movements to 1970s queer liberation to modern day leftist movements and queer movements.

There are, of course, reasons for this. It allows people to unite easier, under common signifiers of cause. In general, catchy images and slogans work better than long, wordy, purist arguments, and this political aestheticization became increasingly effective as our nation became more image-heavy and image-conscious, especially during times when it was fashionable to be in favor of these movements and their adherents, just like today.

Trumpism vs. Romneyism

For a modern-day example, we can look at the difference in aesthetic viability and longevity between President Donald Trump and Sen. Mitt Romneys followings. The circumstances surrounding eachs presidential bidsare relatively similar. Neither one of them was necessarily the most popular pick heading into the Republican primaries, and neither had held federal office before. Furthermore, both had previously run for president, and both had downplayed their party affiliation, putting themselves as candidates for a broader American populace Most importantly, however, both Trump and Romney ran for president in the age of Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and Instagram the same environment that ignited the Black Lives Matter movement..

Yet for some reason, President Trump was able to cultivate an aesthetic around his campaign. From #MakeAmericaGreatAgain to the red MAGA hat to catchy, repeatable slogans like Fake News, the president was able to create such a powerful aesthetic around his movement to the point that the Trump supporter, much like the suffragette in decades past, is an identifiable character in the American zeitgeist. This aesthetic, perhaps as much as the presidents ideas, has allowed vastly different kinds of people to unite under one flag, even when the presidents concrete legislative initiatives remain unclear. Even the Trump rally selfie has become a nationwide phenomenon, not to mention the increasingly frequent Instagram bio tagline of #MakeAmericaGreatAgain.

There is no analogue to this within the Romney campaign. Romneys campaign slogan, Believe in America, is technically more original than Trumps Make America Great Again (which was used in the past by Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and even Bill Clinton), but it does not nearly have the longevity that MAGA boasts. The Romney supporter or the Romney campaign as aesthetic beings may exist within the broader aesthetic of moderate conservatism, but theyre not as ubiquitous or as well known as their Trumpist counterparts.

This difference shows in their longevity. When Romney lost, he had no steam to keep him in politics and didnt re-enter office until 2019. Trump, by contrast, has enough sustainable support now that he could simply run in the primaries again in 2024 and have a good chance at winning. One could say that Trump is a more interesting candidate than Romney, or that he had an easier opponent, but the Trump aesthetic has gone a long way towards keeping the movement alive, regardless or whether everyone who wears a red hat truly believes all that its inventor says.

A Silver Lining

Do not misunderstand: Turning Black Lives Matter into an aesthetic has had a lot of negative consequences. It has resulted in people being more preoccupied with how they are perceived by the digital public than their impact on the movement itself. It has resulted in some protestors not really knowing or caring about why they march and other protestors feeling like their voices are being stifled. The supreme aesthetic signifier of Black Lives Matter, the black square on your Instagram feed, actually ended up being detrimental to the activists trying to spread information. All of these effects need to be mitigated as soon as possible.

There is, however, a silver lining to all this. It means the movement survives. In our cancel-culture world, people, especially celebrities, posting black squares to seem woke retroactively reinforces in the public consciousness the idea that Black Lives Matter is correct and should be supported. It means that #BlackLivesMatter gets that much more widespread airplay. It means that more and more people will be forced to reckon with their biases and racist beliefs they hold because they have no choice but to see it. It means we are able to hold people accountable when they simply pretend to fight for equality and further engage in conversations about that equality.

We live in a nation where, for better or for worse, the image is mightier than the word. We live in a decade where, even more so than before, the country has begun to recognize the plight of the African-American in particular, and of American Black, Indigenous and people of colour in general. Black Lives Matter, as a movement, came into existence at the confluence of that nation and that decade. One could argue, as was the case with previous movements that attempted to solve the racism, sexism, bigotry, and aggression that has pervaded this nation, that Black Lives Matter was going to end up as an aestheticized ideal from the get go. The nature of the American activist, however, is that of unrelenting resilience. Hopefully, the aesthetic along with hard work of activists and protestors will allow the movements aims to eventually be more fully realized.

Image by Clay Banks is licensed under theUnsplashed License.

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#BlackLivesMatter: A Silver Lining to the Movement's Aesthetic - Harvard Political Review

LIVINGSTON, NJ In celebration of Black History Month, the Livingston Committee for Diversity and Inclusion (LCDI) recently announced a line-up of events that began on Saturday with the dedication of a Black Lives Matter banner that is now displayed on S. Livingston Avenue in the pergola in front of Roosevelt Plaza.

Although February has been recognized as Black History Month by U.S. presidents since 1976 to honor the achievements of African Americans and their central role in U.S. history, this is the first time the Township Livingston will be showcasing events. Following Saturdays kickoff event, the LDCI will continue to host programs throughout the month that include virtual presentations for residents of all ages, features about local black-owned businesses and more.

In attendance for the outdoor ceremony on Saturdaywhich was organized by LCDI Black History Month sub-committee co-chairs Amy Ipp and Keith Hineswere Livingston Mayor Shawn Klein; Deputy Mayor Ed Meinhardt; Councilman Michael Vieira, council liaison to the LCDI; council members Al Anthony and Rudy Fernandez; Livingston Board of Education members Vineeta Khanna and Seth Cohen; Darryl Jefferies, president of the Orange and Maplewood branch of NAACP; Essex County Commissioner Patricia Sebold; and a handful of Livingston residents.

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Black history is American history, said Klein, acknowledging that Black Americans should be credited with building much of this country. The Black experience has been under-described. We need to cast a spotlight on Black history and struggle [] as well as on the accomplishments of African Americans.

Although she recognized that Livingston has always been a welcoming town, Ipp state that this banner says it loud and clear while also raising awareness about the systemic racism that exists within the community and beyond.

One of our members, Simone Anthony-Brown, showed us a photo of the same banner, which they have in Maplewood, said Ipp. Our committee enthusiasticallyadopted this idea and proposed it to the town council, which approved it unanimously

There is unfinished work to be done, and the banner is one small contribution to the effort to fully include all people by recognizing basic human rights.

LCDI co-chairs Alyse Heilpern and Saba Khan thanked the Black History Month committee for their hard work, stating that the banner will demonstrate the townships commitment to ensuring that all community members are valued and accepted.

According to Ipp, the dedication of the banner was the first of several events for Black History Month that have been in the works since early January.

We are excited to bring these events to Livingston and look forward to honoring the rich history and culture African-Americans have contributed, she and Hines said in a joint statement.

Anthony-Brown, a local artist and owner of Express Yourself Studios in Maplewood, will present a virtual series showcasing the artwork of African-American Master Artists, including Faith Ringgold on Feb. 9, Jacob Lawrence on Feb. 16 and Howardena Pindell on Feb. 23. Each one-hour program will start at 5 p.m. and include a discussion and art project geared toward children ages 6 to 10. The links to register for these sessions will be posted on the LCDI Facebook page.

A cooking demonstration with Kai Campbell, local chef and owner of Newark restaurants Walla Burger, The Yard and Bragmans Deli will take place on Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. and will be moderated by Livingston High School graduate Shaylah Brown, a reporter at The Bergen Record.

The Healing Power of Hip Hop with Dr. Raphael Travis will be presented on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. The program is based on his book by the same title.

Professional storyteller Shirley Johnson of Sankofa Stories will share African folktales on Friday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m.

Additionally, a series of readings appropriate for various ages will be recorded and posted on the LCDI Facebook page throughout the month, beginning with Mayor Klein oratingThe Undefeatedby Kwame Alexander. The Black Student Union at Livingston High School will be reading additional selections.

Also throughout the month, LCDI will be featuring local black-owned businesses, and residents will be able to test their knowledge with the Black History Month Facts of The Day that will run on the two electronic bulletin boards located in front of the Livingston Public Library on S. Livingston Avenue and the Livingston Senior and Community Center on Hillside Avenue.

Ahead of Black History Month, members of LCDI recently served as moderators and guest speakers during a virtual presentation about systemic racism.During the event, panelists defined systemic racism, discussed the history of systemic racism and shared their personal experiences with systemic racism.CLICK HERE to view the presentation on the Livingston Education! Facebook page.

For additional details about upcoming LCDI Black History Month events, refer to the LCDI Facebook page BY CLICKING HERE or contact LCDI atlcdi.livingstonnj@gmail.com.

The full Black Lives Matter banner ceremony can be viewed BY CLICKING HERE.

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Livingston Kicks Off Black History Month Events with Black Lives Matter Banner Dedication - TAPinto.net

BLM influencersProvided

Celebrities and scholars, best-selling authors and everyday people are using their social media presence to lead the conversation on racial justice. Here are just a few of them spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms.

TikTok culture changer

With more than 562,000 followers and nearly 40 million likes, Erynn Chambers has become one of the most popular creators raising awareness of the Black experience and anti-Black racism on TikTok.Provided

In June, Erynn Chamberswatched a TikTok video from drag queen Online Kyne, talking about how statistics are manipulated to make it appear that Black Americans are more violent.

So the 28-year-old elementary school music teacher from North Carolina opened up TikTok and addedher own commentary, in song form.

Black neighborhoods are overpoliced, so of course they have higher rates of crime. And white perpetrators are undercharged, so of course they have lower rates of crime, she sang. And all those stupid stats that you keep using are operating offa small sample size. So shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up.

The video, labeled About yalls favorite statistics, blew up overnight. It was reposted again and again and has 2 million views.

It wasnt her only hit. Why is Rosa Parks the only black activist we learn about? also brought her attention as she examined how Parks came to be the face of the 1955-56 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.

With more than 600,000 followers and 48million likes, Chambers has become one of the most important creators raising awareness of the Black experience and racism on TikTok, which has been criticized for promoting white voices over Black voices.

Chambers says shed been on TikTok for five years but spent more time watching videos than making them until the pandemic. The death of George Floyd got her to do more research into racial equity.

I never really set out for it to be this big thing, Chambers told USA TODAY. I certainly didnt expect to have a half million followers at any point in time.

Anti-racism teacher

Anti-racism activist Rachel CargleRachel Cargle

In 2017 at the Womens March in Washington, Rachel Cargle posed holdingprotest signs with friend and activist Dana Suchow in front of the U.S. Capitol. Cargles read: If You Dont Fight for All Women You Fight for No Women.

The photo went viral and so did Cargle.

An anti-racism activist and author of the upcoming book on feminism through the lens of race, I Dont Want Your Love and Light with The Dial, Cargle works outside academia as a public academic." Shetours the nation to give sold-outlectures. "The Start," for example, is a three-hour workshop on how to be an anti-racist.

"I teach from a platform from a frame of knowledge plus empathy plus action," Cargle told Cleveland 19'sSia Nyorkor."You have to have each of these things to be actively anti-racist."

Cargle also educates her followers, many of them white, on structural racism from a virtual public classroom on Instagram. Coursework includes understanding the intersecting inequalities of race, gender, class and other identities. In heronline learning collective, The Great Unlearn, supported through Patreon, students learn about race and history from historians and academicsof color.

"It's not enough to say, 'Oh, I know it's happening and I hope it gets better,'"Cargle told InStyle. "It's saying, 'I see you and I feel you and I understand, and I'm going to hold myself accountable.' That is what will move someone into action to say, 'I can no longer be complacent. I can no longer be silent. It's not enough to be not racist. I have to be actively anti-racist.'"

In her hometown of Akron, Ohio, Cargle is making a difference in the physical world witha pop-up,Elizabeths Bookshop & Writing Centre, to amplify literature"that has been written away from the pen of the white, cis, hetero man and gives us a new way to understand the world. And she's founderof the Loveland Foundation which offers free therapy to Black women and girls.

A voice ofsocial justice

John Legend plays the piano during a drive-in get out the vote rally in Philadelphia on Nov. 2.MICHAEL PEREZ, AP

Following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others at the hands of law enforcement, singer-songwriter and longtime social activist John Legend lent his soulful voice to the anti-racist struggle, offering a Twitter primer on the defund the police movement and campaigning for Florida voting rights with Camila Cabello.

And Legends Oscar-winning civil rights anthem Glory from the 2014 film Selma became part of the 2020 soundtrack when he performed it with Common in August at the virtual Democratic National Convention. For the inauguration of President Joe Biden, he gave his rendition of the Nina Simone classic"Feeling Good"in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

These killings made clear to the general public what Black folks already knew: Racism is real, it is ugly, and it is woven into the systems that govern our everyday lives, Legend said at the virtual FN Achievement Awards the Shoe Oscars in December.

With his organization #FreeAmerica, Legend is working to reform the criminal justice system and end mass incarceration.

As a teenager growing up in Ohio, I watched my mother deal with depression and drug abuse after my maternal grandmother a person who filled our whole family with lovepassed away, Legend told PEOPLE in 2016. My mothers addiction didnt just tear her life apart. It tore me and the rest of our family apart, too.

By amplifying the voices of those affected by the criminal justice system and those working to change it, #FreeAmerica is working to build thriving, just, and equitable communities, Legend says.

Artists have a rich tradition of activism. We have a unique opportunity to reach people where they are, beyond political divisions, borders, and silos, Legend said in a video recently after being recognized by the United Nations human rights agency for his social justice advocacy work. Its been my privilege to use my voice and my platform to advance the cause of equity and justice.

Actress, singer, trans lives activist

Peppermint emerged in 2020 as one of the most important voices in the Black Trans Lives Matter movement.

Tapping her following on social media, she brought greater awareness to violence against Black trans women and the broader Black trans community and to the relentless toll of racism, homophobia, misogyny and transphobia.

I think were on the precipice of some really great change, Peppermint told Entertainment Tonight. Were able to speak about race and misogyny and sexuality in a mainstream way that weve not been able to do in years past without being shunned or canceled.

Peppermint attending the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, New Jersey.JEFF KRAVITZ, FILMMAGIC

The first trans woman to originate a leading role on Broadway in Head Over Heels, Peppermint rose to fame on RuPauls Drag Race, followed by performances on Pose, God Friended Me and Deputy.

She recently joined the national board of directors of advocacy group GLAAD and was nominated as outstanding music artist for"A Girl Like Me: Letters to My Lovers" inthe GLAAD Media Awards, which honors LGBTQ representation in media.

Im so thankful that the Black Lives Matter movement began after the murder of Trayvon Martin and continued with George Floyd, but what were not seeing is the same sort of energy when it comes to the women who have been killed: Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland and many others, Peppermint told the Guardian.

Author, activist, internet yeller

Writer Ijeoma Oluo attends the 2018 The Root 100 gala at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on November 8, 2018, in New York City.JIM SPELLMAN, GETTY IMAGES

Ijeoma Oluo, who for years has been writing and speaking on race, saw interest in her work soar after Floyds death.Her 2018 book, So You Want to Talk about Race, catapulted her onto must-read lists.

The latest from this Seattle-based author, activist and self-described Internet yeller is a sign ofthe nations growing racial consciousness. "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America" is about white male supremacy, which Oluocalls one of the most evil and insidious social constructs in Western history, from the violent takeover of indigenous lands and the genocide of native people to generations of trauma and loss from anti-Black racism.

The book title refers to the plea by writer Sarah Hagi in 2015: "Lord, give me the confidence of a mediocre white man.

This book illustrates clearly how this country must sustain the exploitation and oppression of Black people in order to protect white male power and white male mediocrity, Oluo told NBC News.

I want everyone who reads this book to see that we aren't just talking about a few bad dudes, we are talking about deliberately constructed identities and systems of power, she said. I want everyone to see what this costs us and to investigate how we each support these harmful norms and systems.

Writer, editor, cultural critic

Roxane Gay speaks onstage during the Hammer Museum's 17th Annual Gala In The Garden on October 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.PRESLEY ANN, GETTY IMAGES FOR HAMMER MUSEUM

Im a writer, editor, cultural critic, and sometimes podcaster, Roxane Gaytells USA TODAY.

And then some. Her trenchant insights on feminism, gender, race, sexuality and sexual violence have won her a large and loyal social media audience.

This year she launched a Substack newsletter, The Audacity, as well as The Audacious Book Club. Among the book clubs first picks from underrepresented American writers: Black Futures, edited by Jenna Wortham and Kimberly Drew; Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters; and The Removed by Brandon Hobson.

What makes her so popular is not just her searing memoir Hunger, or her best-selling nonfiction collection of essays, Bad Feminist, or her podcast, Hear to Slay. Or even that she was the first Black woman to write for Marvel Comicswith the Black Panther spinoff comic series World of Wakanda.

Shes an irresistible social media personality who also thinks and writes about fun things, as she puts it. Lighter fare includes her pop-culture likes and dislikes and adorable photos of her puppy in tiny clothing.

Then theres her inimitably good-natured shredding of critics. When one person tweeted at her Who cares what you think? she replied sweetly, You seem to care, dear heart.

Racial and economic justice activist

In June 2015, Bree Newsome Bass climbed a flagpole to remove the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C.BRUCE SMITH, AP

In June 2015, long before today's protests toppled monuments to Confederates, Bree Newsome Bassscaled a30-foot pole on the grounds of theSouth Carolina State House and removed the Confederate flag.

This nonviolent act of protest followed the massacreat Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, North Carolina. Eight Black parishioners and their pastor were killed by a white supremacist who posed with the Confederate flag.

When police ordered her down, she replied: "You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence. I come against you in the name of God."

In the following weeks, South Carolina removed the flag from the statehouse grounds andsome Southern states began taking down other symbols of racial oppression and terror.

Today Newsome Bass is a major figure in the struggle for racial and economic justice as an activist who organizes for housing rights. And her Twitter account is a one-woman racial injustice megaphone.

Everybody who didn't know is seeing America as it truly is right now. Can't provide resources for the pandemic but has all the resources at the ready to murder civilians in the street and teargas anyone who objects, she tweeted in May.

Anti-police brutality activist, writer, educator

Brittany Packnett Cunningham speaks onstage as Audible presents: "In Love and Struggle" at Audible's Minetta Lane Theater on February 29, 2020 in New York City.CRAIG BARRITT, GETTY IMAGES FOR AUDIBLE

In March 2015, President Barack Obama told Brittany Packnett Cunningham in a handwritten note that her voice would make a difference for years to come.

The elementary school teacher became a Ferguson Uprising activist and a member of Obamas policing task force after a white police officer killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, outside her hometown of St. Louis, in 2014.

Packnett Cunningham went on to co-found the anti-police-brutality platform Campaign Zero and the feminist media platform The Meteor and co-hosted the Pod Save The People podcast.

Whats your biggest flex of 2020? she recently asked her followers.

She had many of her own. Shes a cable news contributor, host of a new podcast, Undistracted, and a 2020 Fellow at Harvards Institute of Politics. Shes also writing a book and was on the cover of Vogue.

We want to build a group of people who are relentlessly undistracted who are focused on matters of intersectional justice, who are focused on leveraging all of their power toward that end, and who are committed to doing the work necessary, even when its difficult, Packnett Cunninghamtold W Magazine about her podcast.

Scholar, racist systems dismantler

Ibram X. Kendi visits Build to discuss the book Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You at Build Studio on March 10, 2020 in New York City.MICHAEL LOCCISANO, GETTY IMAGES

Less than a week after the 2016 election, Ibram X.Kendi,a 34-year-old assistant professor at the University of Florida, became the youngest author to win the National Book Award in nonfiction for Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.

Fast forward and today hes talked antiracism with Oprah Winfrey on her Apple TV+ show The Oprah Conversation and is considered one of the foremost anti-racism scholars.

The author of three New York Times bestsellers including 2019s How to be an Antiracist is not just writing about racism. As a Boston University humanities professor and founding director of that universitys Center for Antiracist Research, hes developing programs to dismantle it.

Coming out in February is Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, which he co-edited with historian Keisha Blain.

The heartbeat of racism itself has always been denial, and the sound of that heartbeat has always been Im not racist, Kendi, a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor, said in a recent TED interview. What I am trying to do with my work is to really get Americans to eliminate the concept of not racist from their vocabulary and realize, were either being racist or antiracist.

Best-selling author andProject Runway judge

Elaine Welteroth speaking at the Ms. Foundation 30th Annual Gloria Awards in 2018.MONICA SCHIPPER

George Floyd died 15 days after Elaine Welteroths wedding. She married musician Jonathan Singletary on their Brooklyn stoop, then threw a virtual block party.

It felt like one week we were dancing in the streets with our neighbors, many of whom are Black families that have been on our block for decades, and the next we were in the streets protesting, the bestselling author, Project Runway producer and judge andhost of "The Talk" on CBSsaid in People magazine.

When the first protest broke out in Brooklyn I remember saying immediately, I have to be out there. There wasn't even a question, said Welteroth, author of More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are No Matter What They Say. I needed to channel my outrage and my anger and my sadness with a community of people who were in mourning and ready to fight.

A former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, the youngest ever appointed at a Cond Nast publication in 2017, Welterothused her fashion industry influence to create "The 15 Percent Pledge." It calls on major retailers to devote a minimum of 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses and to increase representation in their workforces.

"Right now, we are at an inflection point in this country, shewrote on Instagram. What you say and do in this moment will be remembered as a reflection of the value you place on human life. Let the energy and focus of your fight be directed at a system that has enabled terrorism against Black people on our soil for generations. Times Up. This is a war for human life. Which side are you on?"

Published11:37 am UTC Feb. 2, 2021Updated7:23 pm UTC Feb. 2, 2021

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BLM influencers: 10 Black Lives Matter activists on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter you should follow - USA TODAY

The five leaders named, Anthony Vickery, 21, Kongie Richardson, Keith Joseph, 24, Raelyn Person, 23, and Jason Bryson, were responsible for organizing one of Lompoc'slargestdemonstrations for social justice following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on Memorial Day.

The death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes on Memorial Day, sparked a national response that also shook Lompoc.

The June 2 protest, which drew hundreds of participants from various racial, religious and political backgrounds, remained peaceful, according to officials, who reported that no vandalism occurred.

Both Joseph and Vickery, on behalf the their group, thanked prize sponsorsValley of the Flowers United Church of Christ, and Vickery acknowledged all the nominees for their own community outreach and acts of kindness.

"It goes beyond the award just knowing that the community can come together when it wants to," Vickery said. "Everybody is so scared to make that change, but once one person does it, it's like a ripple effect. Things can happen."

Joseph explained that although brutality is nothing new, for him the death of Floyd tookmore time to process.

"To watch someone dieslowly on camera," Joseph said, "that one was different."

In contrast to focusing on Black lives solely, Joseph said the group's efforts were meant to benefit the community as a wholeand serve as a powerful reminder that the nation's not-too-distant history was plagued by racial segregation.

While the aim to improve mental health resources for local schools remains central to his campaign, Murkison, who is Black, said he also hopes to cast a wider net on youth representation and diversity while serving on the school board.

"We just spoke from the heart," he said, recalling the intensity of the protest and the many challenges of organizing it. "It wasn't just Black lives; it's just wanting to help the community."

Originally posted here:

Valley of the Flowers Peace Prize awarded to Lompoc Black Lives Matter organizers - Lompoc Record

On a Saturday night in early June, Shard Davis, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut, was sitting on a couch in a rented apartment in San Diego, scrolling through her Twitter feed. She was in California to do research on a project that was funded by a Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowshipplans that had been affected somewhat by COVID-19 and the widespread protests for racial justice. Davis herself had gone to a Black Lives Matter protest in La Mesa the previous weekend. The event had started out peacefully but turned ugly when California Highway Patrol officers squared off with thousands of protesters on the I-8 freeway. There were reports of bottles thrown, tear gas unleashed, arson, and looting.

A week later, after attending another protest, Davis still couldnt calm down. As she sat alone on her couch, ruminating about the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and news coverage of the La Mesa protestthe crowd had been mostly white and Latinx, she said, but the media made it seem as though Black folks were the ones destroying propertyshe felt more and more enraged.

She asked herself repeatedly, What can I do? She was already thinking about what it would look like for universities to cut ties with police departments. I think I was just drawing the very obvious connections, she said. Academia is seen as a very liberal and progressive place, but systemic racism is running through all of these different institutions.

Although she was not an avid Twitter user, Davis came up with the hashtag #BlackInTheIvory, thinking it might be a good way for Black people to share their stories about racism in her sphere of influence. Folks tout the liberal ivory tower, she told me. They hide behind it.

She texted a friend, Joy Melody Woods, a doctoral student in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, to see what she thought of the hashtag idea. I love it, Woods replied from her iPhone. Already tweeted it out. Davis followed suit, using the hashtag while retweeting a physician named Shaquita Bell: Black individuals in the United States have endured events in our everyday life without an audience or validation of our experiences.

The next morning, Davis and Woods found their notification in-boxes filled with hundreds of tweets from Black academics and graduate students, sharing their stories of exclusion and pain. By Sunday night, #BlackInTheIvory was one of the top twenty hashtags in the country. #BlackInTheIvory is being asked during your first week of college if youre sure you can handle it, many said, or being asked on campus if youre in the right place or lost. #BlackInTheIvory is having campus security constantly ask for your research-lab badge, residence-hall identification, and/or drivers license. Marc Edwards, now an assistant professor of biology at Amherst College, recalled that, in graduate school, at another institution, a dean suggested he wear a tie to class in response to incessant profiling. #BlackInTheIvory is being thrashed in student evaluations for discussing racial injustice, Danielle Clealand, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote. And my personal favorite: #BlackInTheIvory is being asked to serve on endless diversity committees and write endless diversity reports, without regard for ones labor or time, also known as the Black tax. To drive the point home, Woods and Davis posted Venmo bar codes on their Twitter feeds for anyone who might care to contribute.

The movement took off, with feature stories in Nature, The Chronicle of Higher Education, NBCNews.com, and the Boston Globe. Davis and Woods created a Web site, which sold branded merchandise and launched an effort to match Black graduate students in need with donors. Not the Diversity Hire, read the text on one coffee mug.

Youre finally seeing people opening up and sharing these experiences, Woods said. We had been feeling like we were alone.

When Woods and I spoke in June, she told me the story of her own experience as an incoming graduate student. In the fall of 2016, she was the only Black student on her track in a masters program in public health at the University of Iowa. The college had no Black faculty, and Woods said that professors made it clear that she didnt belong, that she wasnt smart enough. One professor told her directly that she didnt have the skills to be a graduate student.

I was feeling maybe I am dumb, she said. I thought I was going insane. I would just be on the floor crying.

Toward the end of her first semester, Woods tried reporting one faculty member to the universitys Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, but the complaint went nowhere. Its hard to prove microaggressions, she said. Thats why we think were going crazy.

In Woodss second semester of graduate school, a private psychologist tested her for learning disabilities. She discovered that she had three: a reading impairment, a visual-spatial processing disability, and a nonverbal learning disability. The psychologist told Woods that she didnt know how she had managed to finish high school. Yet her professors refused to provide learning accommodations, as is required by law. (In response, a spokesperson from the college said that we have made progress since 2016, but it is not enough. We are determined to do better.)

So she left. Walked right across the bridge, as she put it, transferring to the College of Education, where she found three Black professors, an Asian-American adviser, and far more Black students in her classes. I was never the only anymore, she said. The course readings also featured more diverse authors, and, because they explicitly addressed issues of inequality, it was easier to have open conversations about racism. In her new program, Woods completed a masters degree in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies with an emphasis on the sociology of education.

But, in many ways, Woods is an exception. Both of her parents have bachelors degrees in electrical engineering, and her two older sisters have graduate degrees in medicine and science. Many other Black students leave graduate programs in despair, but Woods felt that her family simply wouldnt accept her defeat.

She persisted, but her education came at a cost. These experiences are traumatic, Woods said. They can be isolating and emotionally battering. The problem of being the first and the only Black person in any institution is that being alone makes it much easier for white majorities to dismiss ones perceptions.

As a doctoral student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I experienced the same isolation and resentment that Black women are now once again shouting about from their Twitter-feed rooftops. I know all too well what #BlackInTheIvory is about. I was already writing about my time in graduate school when I came across the hashtag. It took a moment for its meaning to sink in. For so long, I had recalled my experiences in isolation, pushing them to the corners of my memory and doing my best to make them small. #BlackInTheIvory reminded me that, like Woods, I wasnt alone.

In 1988, I was the first Black woman to enroll in my Ph.D. program in ten years. I was there, really, only because my undergraduate mentor, Elliott Butler-Evans, a Black professor in English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, had insisted on it. He had attended the program and received his own Ph.D. there, some years earlier. He told me about the dearth of Black women with tenure in the U.C. system. In his eyes, getting a doctorate was my civic duty. So I went to graduate school.

There were seven incoming students at the history-of-consciousness program at U.C. Santa Cruz that year: five white men and women, me, and a Chicano from Los Angeles named Raul. One afternoon, the conversation in our first-year seminar turned to race.

Our professors for the seminar, Donna Haraway and Jim Clifford, were two of the most formidable minds I had ever met. The conversation was stimulating, as I recall. Something about how racial meaning is socially constructed, perhaps, rather than strictly biological. I was only just beginning to wrap my head around post-structuralism and theory, and the concepts were still fresh and new. But it soon became apparent that a young woman in our cohort was becoming agitated. Ill call her Mary. She shifted in her seat as though biting her tongue.

Its just that Im Italian-American and... I get really tan in the summer, Mary said. She paused, searching the room. It seemed that no one had a clue what she was getting at. Raul and I exchanged confused looks, waiting for her to complete her thought.

I mean, I get even darker than her, she said, crooking her chin in my direction. And thats when she hit me with it. So... I dont understand, why does she get to be Black?

I wish I could say that anyone had a good response to what Mary had said. If they did, I dont recall. I remember only the silence.

I was isolated in a program in which not a single student or faculty member looked like me, or my mother, or my grandmother, or anyone in my family. All around me were hippie-like surfer students, white kids who found it perfectly acceptable to walk the woodsy paths barefoot on a warm day, or to wear their straight hair in clumped mats. For so many of them, college was an inevitable part of growing up. They treated the privilege with a certain casualness that I, as a first-generation student, did not share.

And, although I didnt think of it that way at the time, I crossed a bridge that year in search of bolstering, just like Joy Woods. I made my way across campus, over to Kresge College, where I found the writer Gloria Anzalda working on a doctorate in literature. Gloria called herself a Chicana-Mexicana-mestiza. She had edited a seminal book for Black and brown feminists, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, that was mandatory reading in womens-studies courses across the country. I also found Ekua Omosupe, an African-American single mom from Mississippi. We three became friends. I was no longer alone.

Im putting together another anthology, Gloria told me one day, and I was wondering if you have any essays or poems youd like to contribute? She did that thing which is so often missing from our lives as Black scholars and academics. Nurturing.

It doesnt have to be polished. Just send me what you have. My essay, which I called Light-Skinnedded Naps, appeared in Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras the next year. It was my first published piece of writing. I was twenty-three years old.

Not long afterward, the literature department brought the novelists Toni Cade Bambara and Buchi Emecheta to campus, as distinguished visiting professors, and my life changed again. I became their teaching assistant, crossing campus regularly to commune with my newfound Black community.

One day, after class, I walked with Toni back to her office. The day was bright and impossibly bluewhich made her next words seem incongruous. She pulled a small AM radio from her pocket. Always carry a short-wave radio, she told me. For when the revolution comes. I loved her commitment to revolutionary ideas, and to Black people, and to me.

I plopped myself down in a chair in her office, continuing our conversation. Mostly, I was hungry for her affirmation, which she gave freely. Years later, I found an old cassette tape of an interview she gave for my dissertation, on nationalist desire in Black television, film, and literature. Playing it back, I was mortified to discover that I had done most of the talking. Toni listened patiently, offering mm-hmms in all the right places.

With Buchi, a Nigerian novelist, one day in particular stands out in my memory. She stood before a class of white students, pausing to survey a Douglas fir outside the window.

For you, the trees and the forest are very beautiful, she said. Beau-ti-ful, she repeated, enunciating each syllable with her thick, British accent. But for me I see something more in the forests.

Uh-oh. I surveyed the room, sensing what was coming.

I see fear and danger. She pronounced this last word dan-jah, allowing it to linger in the coffee-scented air for a beat or two. You just dont know who might be behind those trees. The class considered her words in silence. She was right, and they knew it, although I doubt that a Black person had ever said this to them before in quite that way.

And, if something happens, well, then... Im just another Black woman gone. I wouldnt even get two sentences in the newspaper. Buchi paused, allowing students to sit with their discomfort awhile. One rustled papers. Another crossed and uncrossed her legs.

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How Black Lives Matter Came to the Academy - The New Yorker

From Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter: The fight for Equality Continues

Hear from original Black Panther, Dr. Saturu Ned, BLM Bay Area's Cat Brooks, and young activists about the historical and continued efforts for equality. Candese Charles reports.

In 1967, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense walked into the California state capitol, armed. Dr. Saturu Ned, then known as James Mott, followed them inside.

"We walked onto the floor of the senate and they were all under their desk right and they werent there to do anybody no harm. They were there to read the statement that talked about our constitutional rights to defend our community," says original Panther, Dr. Saturu Ned.

It was the first of many public actions with the Black Panther Party for Saturu, but not the last.

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born in Oakland in 1966 to police the police.

An extension of the Civil Rights movement, the Party members fought for freedom.

"The idea was taking it a step forward and the concept came out," says Dr. Ned, "What do we really need? Black Power."

Saturu helped create 63 surivial programs based on the 10 point platform and program to build a foundation of stability for black Americans.

"The black panther party refuses to let you get slaughtered," Bobby Seale said this in 68 at the memorial service for a young Black Panther.

It was his death, the death of Lil Bobby Hutton in 68, that amplified the focus on police brutality.

Decades later a new movement would spring up, sparked by the death of yet another young black man that would go unpunished: Trayvon Martin.

"This is a stop on a long continuum in the struggle for black liberation,"

Shaped by the realities of the moment, the black lives matter movement continues to fight the iusses that spurred the Panthers into existence.

"We still cant get those 10 things done: decarceration, education, housing, food, clothing,"

Cat Brooks organizes Black Lives Matter demonstrations and marches against police brutality and says though the organizations aren't idential, the hopes are the same.

"We would not exist were it not for them," says Brooks, who also runs the Anti Police-Terror Project.

With technology propelling the movement, the world was forced to listen.

"We say now that the camera was more effective than the gun,"

The hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter, stretching from sea to sea and giving activists the safety net, access, and exposure the Panthers never had, sparking a new generation ready to take the movement further.

"It feels weird to just be like yea Im here and these are the consequences and Im not going to do anything about it," says Jayden Brooks, Cat's 15 year old daughter.

This summer she helped organize BLM demonnstrations with the Black Youth for People's Liberation.

"Im not the type of person to let the government, to let the state, walk all over me," Jayden says.

It is unclear what the future of these organizations hold. But, the streets of Oakland, the hometown of both organizations, will forever feel their legacy.

Though the Pather Party officially shut down in the early 1980s, they are far from one. The party continues to pair former Panthers with the youth in the Black Panther Party Legacy Keepers Program.

Passing on the fight to liberate all people to a new generation.

"Who knows I might be the next revolutionary," says 13 year old Anaya Cooley of the Black Panther Party Legacy Keepers Program.

Brooks tells me she believes the way to continue to propel the movement is to create a united front. She says she hopes black activists in neighborhoos throughout America will come together to work toward a greater good.

Find out more about the Black Panther Party here, the BPP Legacy Keepers here, the Anti Police-Terror Project here, and the Black Youth for the People's Liberation here.

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From Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter: The fight for equality continues - KTVU San Francisco

A man in Illinois pleaded guilty on Tuesday to his role in inciting a riot in Champaign, Illinois, according to the US Department of Justice.

Shamar Betts, 20, was charged with inciting a riot that began on May 31, 2020. Court documents show Betts posted to Facebook on May 31 advocating to start a riot at the Market Place Shopping Center in the names of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter. It called for people to "Bring friends & family, posters, bricks, book bags, etc."

A Facebook post from Shamar Betts on May 31, 2020 calling for a riot in Champaign, Illinois. Department of Justice

Court records show SWAT team officers with crowd-control substances arrived early to the scene in an effort to prevent a riot from taking place. The crowd grew in size as 50 to 75 people trickled into the location before people began smashing windows and looting inventory from stores.

As the riots continued, federal prosecutors allege that Betts live-streamed the incident and bragged to the stream, saying "look what a n----r just started."

Court filings show that the riots began at 3:12 p.m. and later left the shopping center to move to other locations. According to the News-Gazette, a newspaper in the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, the mayor of Champaign announced a curfew during the riots in an effort to curb the rioting.

Read more: The George Floyd protests may become a defining moment in the future of American politics

Despite the new curfew, the rioting ultimately continued throughout the night and into the early morning of June 1. By riot's end, approximately 50 businesses had been looted or vandalized in some form.

George Floyd's family denounced the rioting and unrest the same day. Terrence Floyd, George's brother, said: "That's not going to bring my brother back," and urged people to channel their frustration into voting and peaceful activism instead.

The Champaign Police Department later received video footage of a man matching Betts' appearance with several pairs of khaki pants in hand with tags from Old Navy, a clothing store located in the mall.

Betts admitted in court that he fled to Mississippi directly after the riot and later used his phone to search "can police find your location by logging in messenger," "can police track your facebook," as well as "what are charges for starting a riot." US Marshals found Betts in Mississippi on June 5.

According to a sworn affidavit from Special Agent Andrew Huckstadt of the FBI, Betts deleted the original post advocating for a riot, but investigators found an additional post from Betts where he wrote "They tryna portray me to be some type of monster yet I'm a fucking hero if we don't stand for something we'll fall for anything love my black people #JFG."

Betts' sentencing is scheduled for June 14. The statutory penalty for inciting a riot is no more than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Betts' attorneys were not available for public comment.

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A man in Illinois pleaded guilty to inciting a violent riot in support of Black Lives Matter - Insider - Insider

ELLSWORTH A nonprofit that helps inmates recover from substance abuse could be allowed back in the Hancock County Jail starting Friday, seven months after the agency lost access over its support for Black Lives Matter.

County Commissioner Bill Clark, Healthy Acadia Executive Director Elsie Flemings and Sheriff Scott Kane met Monday morning.

Clark said Monday afternoon that as a result of Monday mornings meeting, a memorandum agreement is being drafted and should be finalized by Friday.

Sheriff Kane canceled the contract after Healthy Acadia issued a June 10, 2020, statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Kane disagreed with allowing an organization in the jail that supports a movement that he says wants to harm law enforcement.

The Hancock County Commissioners met Saturday evening via Zoom, an online meeting platform.

Fleming reached out to me and weve set a date 9 oclock on Monday morning, that if we can get an agreement, she can start recovery coaching immediately, Clark said Saturday. Im confident we will have recovery coaching by the end of the day [Monday].

Commissioner Paul Paradis said he had talked to the sheriff earlier Saturday. He was a perfect gentleman, Paradis said.

Kane will be making a public statement at beginning of the commissioners meeting, on Tuesday [Feb. 2], said Paradis.Iview this as very positive and I want to thank the sheriff, Elsie Flemings and Chairman Clark for the work in re-establishing recovery coaching.

Recovery coaches, according to Flemings, provide an opportunity for inmates to develop an action plan for their release as well as work on their recovery.

The organization posted statements last summer supporting Black Lives Matter and the racial justice movement and criticizing racism and police brutality. Kane characterized the movement as seeking to harm police.

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Nonprofit barred for supporting Black Lives Matter may be allowed back in Maine jail - Press Herald

Researchers are working to preserve the history that is being made today.

COLUMBIA, S.C. The University of South Carolina is launching a new projectto showcase and preserve first-hand experience of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Last summer, the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others prompted an outpour of voices for Black Lives Matter in the United States.

Now, researchers at USC are hoping to preserve these experiences for future generations through a grant from USC'sRacial Justice and Equity Fund.

Amie Freeman is a scholarly communication librarian at USC and is helping to form Voices of SC: Black Lives Matter.

As a librarian, we sort of recognize what is going to be historically important in the long term," Freeman said.

The project is asking for those who are willing to share their experiences with the project, whether that be photos, videos, art, poems, stories or whatever else may be significant to their experience.

These are experiences that deserve to be lifted, that deserve to be documented and deserve to be preserved just because future generations are going to look back at this moment and they are going to want an understanding," Freeman said, "They will want to hear first hand from all of the people who were involved in doing this work.

Black Lives Matter South Carolinas founder Lawrence Nathaniel thinks what USC is doing is a good way to preserve their history.

Preserving the history so our next generation can have the opportunity to understand the mistakes and to understand what we all learned to help our country and our state move forward, he said.

One of the things that's really important to us is having potential participants understand that we care about them and we respect their privacy and their right to participate or not participate as they see fit," Freeman said, "Because it is a very personal decision and we want people to feel comfortable with whatever it is that they decide.

Freeman says they hope to eventually have a virtual museum experience to permanently hold these records.

Students can also earn money through the project's Student Outreach Partner program where you help recruit people to tell their stories.

To read more about the program and submit an experience, visit their web page here.

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USC looks to preserve the Black Lives Matter Movement through firsthand experiences - WLTX.com

INDIANAPOLIS After a summer of Black Lives Matter protests, Republicans at the Indiana Statehouse introduced a slew of bills aimed at relieving the strife and civil unrest of business owners and law enforcement.

We had businesses that were destroyed in downtown Indianapolis and those owners really were helpless, Sen. Michael Young, who chairs the Corrections and Criminal Law committee, said Tuesday.

The committee discussed and heard testimony for Senate Bills 187, 198 and 199 that seek to create a policy statement on historic monuments, enhance rioting penalties and expanded self-defense protections, respectively. Bills 198 and 199, both authored by Young, R-Indianapolis, were held back for further amendments but had testimony.

Senate Bill 187, by Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, passed unanimously with no opposition.

Guy Relford, founder of the gun rights group 2A Project, spoke on SB 199, which expands the definition of reasonable force in relation to self-defense. Under the bill, business owners can defend their properties from threats of violence with reasonable force which includes pointing a loaded or unloaded firearm.

Under Indiana code its a crime to point a firearm at someone unless youre justified in using reasonable force, Relford, an attorney, said. The problem what (is) when one is defending their property, theyre not only talking about their home. Were talking about property other than their home (which) could be a business.

Relford said that current law would make protecting your business with a loaded firearm a felony or a misdemeanor if using an unloaded firearm.

Michael Moore, the assistant executive director of the Indiana Public Defender Council, worried the bill would encourage citizens to act as law enforcement officers.

Young said the above issue would be examined and possibly addressed by amendment next week.

Youngs other bill, SB 198, had over an hour of testimony and opposition from both public defenders and prosecutors. He said he crafted the bill to protect the rights of peaceful protesters but wanted to send a message to those who destroyed property.

But other committee members worried about how the lengthy bill would impact Hoosiers without foreknowledge of any crimes.

The unlawful assembly definition as we discussed here is kind of confusing and its very broad, Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, said. You may have a group that comes to peacefully demonstrate something and all of the sudden somebody in that group spontaneously committed some(thing) that turned into a melee. Now all of the other people who come to this demonstration can be charged.

Taillian noted that, under this law, everyone at the D.C. riots on Jan. 6 would be held responsible for the five deaths that occurred, possibly even law enforcement officers who underestimated the crowd.

Moore said his organization had serious concerns about the bill, its impact on the right to assemble and its denial of bail to those charged with crimes.

The bill essentially ignores the root causes of why people protest; it goes to the aftereffects of when some people turn and riot its important to understand that riots dont happen first, protests do, Moore said.

Moore said that looting, vandalism, battery and criminal mischief already had penalties under criminal code. Requiring people to leave a rally turned violent or report the crimes was unprecedented and could be used to criminalize bystanders and observers.

We have concerns that this is a wide net that could encompass a lot of people and make them a criminal when in fact they were a bystander, Moore said.

Tallian wondered if the bill could be used to prosecute journalists reporting on riots and other legal observers.

David Powell, the executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, similarly opposed the bill and its limits on prosecutorial discretion by allowing the attorney general to step in and press charges if local prosecutors refused to do so.

We just dont see a need for this, Powell said. We can live with a lot of it, but there are things that need to be cleaned up.

Young said amendments to both of his bills would be considered in the upcoming weeks.

The bills authors, Young and Koch, both said the summers events inspired the bills, though a report found that 93% of Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful and just 7% qualified as riots.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which conducted the analysis, found that counterforces against protesters, such as armed military officers or militia groups, played a role in escalating the violence seen at protests.

The IndyStar wrote that Indianapolis businesses reported more than $2 million in damage and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears charged 27 people out of the 100-plus arrested.

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Bills filed to counter Black Lives Matter protests - The Herald Bulletin

Nearly ayear after Breonna Taylors death, manypeopleare remembering her as an iconic symbol of the BlackLives Matter movement: a youngfirst-responderinnocent of any crimewho lost her lifein a hail ofpolicebullets in her own home. Photos and illustrations of her have been on magazine covers, spotlightingher as a victim ofoverzealouspolicing, with accompanyingarticles demanding justice and change.

But when JuNiyah Palmer thinks about Breonna Taylor, she calls her sister. She remembers her sister as a confidante and friend.

She was lovely, she was caring, said Palmer.

In a December interviewwithUSATODAY, Palmer, 21,recalled the summers she and Taylor spentwith their grandmother in Grand Rapids, Michigan.One moment etched in her memory is the car ride back home to Kentuckyone year.Theydusually taken the ride with their mother, Tamika Palmer, but thistimethey were driving the route by themselves.

It started to pour down rain. Taylor, who was driving,couldntsee.The carinched along in the middle of the highway.It was just really funny, because she really stopped and started crying because she couldnt see, and called my mama, Palmer said.

Their mothertold them to pull over to the side of the highway and put the hazardlights on, but theydidntmove.They stayed in the middle of the highway for about 20 minutes, until the rainpassedandTaylorfelt fine to drive again.

To Palmer,Taylor was playful, yet vulnerable in otherwordsvery much like any otheryoung Black woman.

Tamika Palmer, left, embraced her daughter Juniyah Palmer during a vigil for her other daughter, Breonna Taylor, outside the Judicial Center in downtown Louisville, Ky. on Mar. 19, 2020. Taylor was killed during an officer-involved shooting last week. The family chose the vigil site because it is across the street from the Louisville Metro Police Department.1-Vigil01 Sam [Via MerlinFTP Drop](Photo: Sam Upshaw Jr., Courier Journal/ USA TODAY Network)

Astheanniversary of her deathapproaches,Palmer andsocial justiceactivists areworking to keep her legacy aliveby pushing for police reforms and public policies that would prevent more needless deaths like hers.

Breonnas life mattered,saidBrittany Packnett Cunningham, founder ofthe social impact firmLove & Power Works and host ofaMeteor/Pineapple Street Studiospodcast,Undistracted.We have to wake up every day and ask ourselves what we owe her.

Taylor, 26, was killed in her home at about 1 a.m. March 13, by Louisville Police who had a "no knock" search warrant for her apartment. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III, were in the apartment that morning when they heard loud pounding at the door. According to Walker, the police did not announce themselves before breaking down the door. Fearing a home invasion, Walker fired one shot, hittingSgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.

Police responded by firing 32 shots. Taylor was hit multiple times and died on the floor of her hallway whileMattingly, whowas wounded, was rushed to surgery.

In September, a grandjury charged former Detective Brett Hankison with wanton endangerment because some of the 10 shots firedwent into a neighboring apartment. But none of the three white officers involved were charged with Taylor's death.

This undated file photo provided by Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar shows Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky. In news reported on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, Louisville police have taken steps that could result in the firing of an officer who sought the no-knock search warrant that led detectives to the apartment where Taylor was fatally shot.(Photo: Taylor Family attorney Sam Aguiar via AP)

"Breonnas Law," legislation banningno-knock search warrants, was adopted in June by the city of Louisville. Similar no-knock bans existinFlorida, Oregon andVirginia.But such laws haven't been universally adopted, not even inKentucky.Soactivists worry thissame scenario could play out elsewhere.

You owe it toher tosee Breonna in every Black woman you encounter at work, schoolor delivering your groceries, andtreather like her life is worth living before she dies, Packnett Cunningham said.

Activists in Louisville and beyond arepushing for police reforms and accountability for police officers. They continue to demandcharges against the officers involved in Taylors death despitethe refusal of the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council last December to appoint someone to pursue the case.

Imani Smith, a native of Kentucky and sophomore at Centre College, said she owes her activism to Taylor. After learning about her, Smith formed her own organization called the Youth Resistance Collective.

She is also collaborating with organizations like Change Today, Change Tomorrow;Play Cousins Collective and The Louisville Urban League, and pushing forward in social justice work by bringing awareness toTaylors story. The work involves changing policies, creating strategies that sustainthe Black dollarand teaching Black history.

Right now we are still in that process of still pushing, but also being conscious that we have to heal too because this was traumatic for a lot us, Smith said.

Protesters demonstrate on the steps of the Tennessee Capitol on Sept. 26, 2020, in Nashville in response to a Louisville grand jury decision about the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.(Photo: Mark Zaleski, The Tennessean/ USA TODAY Network)

During last yearsBreonnaConevent in Louisville,convenedto inspire activism in the wake of Taylors death, young Black women like Jaida Hampton,22, Youth & College President of the Kentucky NAACP State Conference, heldvoter education and registration sessions and legal roundtables.

Being a Black woman myself, living in Kentucky alone, (I know) that could potentially happen to me, and I have older sisters as well that are the same age as Breonna Taylor, Hampton said.

Black women are not safe at all in this country(if)you can innocently be sleeping in your own home and all it takes is for someone to make a life decision for you. That is just scary, Hampton said.

If Palmer could have told Taylor one thing on March 12last year,she would have told her to go to their moms housethat night, or to work some overtime. If this was adream,I would literally tell hertogo to pick up that shift at work that you planned on picking up, or go to moms house, and go out like you planned,Palmer said.

The days are longer than normal for Palmer, who shared the apartment with Taylor just as she had shared a room with her growing up.She wasused to coming home and seeing Taylor getting ready to leave for work. Taylor workedeveningsas an emergency room technician at the University of Louisville HealthJewish Hospital and Norton Hospital,and wanted to become a nurse.

Rosie Henderson tries to protect a Breonna Taylor memorial from rain Sept. 27, 2020, in downtown Louisville, Ky.(Photo: Max Gersh, Courier Journal/ USA TODAY Network)

Other times Palmer would come home and gointo Taylors room toplayfully bother her sister as she watched TV.Little memories like this,ormundane tasks like cleaning her room or washing her car, make Palmer miss Taylor the most.My outlook of the future has changed, any day could be really anybodys last day, Palmer said.

When Palmerseesimagesof her sisterpainted on muralsin brighthues or printed on the cover of magazines it makes her feel joyful.

It makes me feel like people are still thinking about her, were no longer lonely about the whole situation, Palmersaid.

Walker talked about protests in Breonna Taylor's name, and how his life has changed since her death. Louisville Courier Journal

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Breonna Taylor: A beloved sister becomes a symbol of pain, an icon of hope - USA TODAY

In retrospect, the zany-keen ideas behind productions spawned by indie opera company Heartbeat Opera appear to be no-brainers. Celebrate the 250th birthday of a classical music composer who lost his ability to hear (yes, Beethoven) with the sound of revoked-by-incarceration and often-silenced voices of singers and volunteers from six prison choirs? Simple concept!

But the concept goes deeper than that. Engage professional vocalists and dancers to join the choirs and an exceptional eight-member band (with instrumentalists from the prisons featured in given selections) to create nine interconnected music videos? Yeah, sure thing! Add a contemporary slant by curating the cast and crew with an ear to young talent and eyes aiming to rectify historical imbalances when it comes to presenting people of color in classical music? For repertory, choose excerpts from Beethovens Fidelio, Negro spirituals, and musical works or words by Harry T. Burleigh,Florence Price, Langston Hughes,and Anthony Davis andThulani Davis?

Certainly, we could have thought of all of that ... except we didnt, and Heartbeat Opera not only thought of it all, they made the visual album project titled Breathing Free happen during a pandemic that had the artists rehearsing remotely on Zoom. The cast recorded individual audio tracks and videos that were filmed in separate locations. A music team compiled the recordings and a team of cinematographers led by filmmaker Anaiis Cisco collaborated on the videos that complete and connect the nine episodes forming the 45-minute work.

Presented with support from Santa Monicas The Broad Stage in a series of West Coast virtual premieres during Black History Month, Breathing Free is directed by Heartbeat Opera co-founder Ethan Heard. The song cycles Black voices arrive unfiltered and emerge without pretense from the rubble of events in 2020. Speaking raw truth to power, the lyrics and texts echo most unforgettably with the pain of George Floyds murder or arrive textured with the reverberations of a contentious political environment. In other sections, powerful unity demonstrates a people equipped to counter the forces of systemic bias perhaps these voices strengthened by the Black Lives Matter movement and how it spread around the world yet the music is rarely without grief-stricken tones lamenting twin pandemics COVID-19 and racial injustice that continue to disproportionately devastate the lives of black, brown and indigenous bodies. From the guest artists, the singers inside these six prisons and the voices of protest and resilience heard in traditional spirituals and newer compositions, the song cycles themes include strength, pain, dignity, honor, protest, betrayal, grace, and most hopefully, future dreams of justice and equity.

The program is presented Feb. 10 and 13 by The Broad Stage, and Feb. 2027 by the Mondavi Center. Follow the venue links for more details.

Each screening of Breathing Free is followed by a live panel discussion with the artists and advocates speaking on themes introduced by the film. Prison choirs participating in the project include Oakdale Community Choir, KUJI Mens Chorus, UBUNTU Mens Chorus, HOPE Thru Harmony Womens Choir, East Hill Singers and Voices of Hope.

Repertory presented in Breathing Free includes:

Balm in Gilead traditional,arr. Sean Mayes

Lovely Dark and Lonely music by Harry T. Burleigh, words by Langston Hughes

Malcolms Aria from X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X music by Anthony Davis,libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis,arr. Sean Mayes

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child traditional

Songs to the Dark Virgin music by Florence Price, words by Langston Hughes

Four excerpts fromFidelio music by Ludwig van Beethoven, libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner and Georg Friedrich Sonnleithner,arr. Daniel Schlosberg

Abscheulicher! (Abominable one! Leonores aria)

O welche Lust (Oh what a joy prisoners chorus)

Gott! Welch Dunkel hier! (God! what darkness here Florestans aria)

Euch werde Lohn (You shall be rewarded Act II trio)

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Beethoven Meets Black Lives Matter in Heartbeat Opera's Breathing Free - San Francisco Classical Voice

It's Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Resources and a starter kits are available, along with the new contest-winning logo from a South Carolina high schooler.

The first week of February isBlack Lives Matter at School Week of Action. This year, BLM at School is not limited to February's Black History Month. Instead, the Week of Action comes in the midst of BLM at Schools Year of Purpose, during which every month of the academic year focuses on a specific principle. Februarys principle is Unapologetically Black. The website offers resources, including a starter kit, for the Week of Action.

The 2021 student creative challenge prompt is, What makes you feel free to dream, safe to thrive in schools and communities? Students are asked to share their response on social media with the hashtag #BLMAtSchoolChallenge.

[Read: Curricular Correction: Using Resources To Teach Black History and Culture]

South Carolina high school student Naima Whitted won the 2021 Black Lives Matter at School logo contest.

I wanted to show the importance of #BlackLivesMatter by showing the past and present coming together, said Naima, a high school freshman in Columbia, SC. The girl in the image has modern braids and wears a COVID mask, but the Black Power fist has a history from the 1960s that still has meaning today.

The logo appears on merchandise and social media posts.

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Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action 2021 - School Library Journal

Vanessa Newman can remember exactly where they were when they first saw Emory Douglass work. They remember the sound of '60s jazz vinyls playing before heading to the grocery store with their dadan embodiment of their love for Black people as a Black queer kid navigating the world. Douglas's work was integral to the music and, really, every day of their childhood.

A revolutionary artist and the former minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, Emory Douglas was a formerly incarcerated youth who fell in love with graphic design in trade school and after attending San Francisco City College connected with the likes of party cofounder Bobby Seale. Together, they created The Black Panther in 1967, the newspaper reaching its peak with a 200,000+ weekly circulation. Also a living vessel of Black radical history and visioning, Douglas used printmaking and graphic design to best articulate the Black liberatory politics of the Black Panther Party via comics, illustrations, and visual propaganda.

Its fitting that Newman was so drawn to Douglas's work. This current iteration of young Black queer people building a new visual statement through the Movement for Black Lives looks to the Black Panther Party as a starting point. Designers like Newman and Fresco Steez, the former minister of culture at BYP100, uses the poetics of adornment, a clarity of political values, and a hunger for a new world that many deem impossible. These designers are melding together past, future, and current realities to make revolution irresistible. Douglas and his work have provided the blueprint for that liberatory design.

Joe AmonGetty Images

Anyone dedicated to a future that requires Black liberation must use all the tools available to make the fight visually, linguistically, and spiritually appealing to those invested in their own freedom. As Douglas stated in 1967 of his mission in helping to create the Panthers' newspaper, also with Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver, "We were creating a culture, a culture of resistance, a culture of defiance and self-determination."

Like Newman, Steez is a designer dedicated to creating the visual language of this social moment. Born in Chicago, the community organizer is deeply involved with BYP100, a chapter-based organization founded in 2013 in response to George Zimmermans acquittal. Dedicated to advancing the Black communitys economic, social, political, and educational freedoms, BYP100 sees the future through a Black queer feminist lens. Throughout her time there, she designed all the merchandise for the organization, from hockey jerseys donning Lucille Clifton quotes to "Unapologetically Black" T-shirts inspired by Kanye Wests GOOD Friday music drops.

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Steez is also the former lead digital strategist at the Movement for Black Lives (or M4BL), where she recently designed bomber jackets, sweatsuits, and full regalia for fellows that speak to the continued defunding of the police campaign work. Further, she is currently working with Levis for its Black History Month capsule due out this month.

Steez began her design work at BYP100 as a reflection of two vital aspects of her life: community organizing and hip-hop. She thinks critically about what hip-hop culture means for organizing internally and externally. As a teenager doing organizing work, I was required to study the five elements of hip-hop (tagging, beatboxing, break dancing, emceeing, deejaying) and streetwear culture. And while we know that streetwear culture is Black culture, it has been commodified by all different identities of folks in order to build profit. This exploitation is compounded by luxury brands at the expense of Black and third-world people.

Steezs mother, Sheila Rollins, was a teacher by trade and matriarch of design by craft in Chicago. Steez follows a legacy of Black feminist ingenuity that keeps her rooted in the liberatory needs of Black people. My early understanding of how Black folks use visuals, fashion, aesthetics as a culture to resist poverty; to say, 'Despite the conditions we live in in this country, were gonna adorn ourselves in ways that glorify our experiences,'" Steez says. "We know that our clothes can be a vision for what our lives can be around beauty and around the full and expansive life that we deserve.

She continues, The thing that has inspired me in all the work that I do are the political histories and movements. What were the visuals? What was the culture behind them that was intentional? What gave them a visual identity to the community that they were working within?

The type of intentionality and care that Steez puts into her work is a deep nod to Douglas's work in developing a visual culture for the Black Panthers. As the party grew in notoriety and political acclaim in the late '60s, so did the surveillance of its leadership, namely the creation of COINTELPRO, a counterintelligence program focused on monitoring and dismantling the radical organizing work of the Black Panther Party by the federal government. These acts of intentional upheaval through COINTELPRO included everything from disrupting newspaper distribution to destroying the childrens breakfast program. These tactics of destruction are still ever present in the FBI's more recent creation of the Black Identity Extremists designation and the policing of Black activists across the country amid protests against police violence. The legacy of the suppression of Black liberatory struggle continues to this day.

We know that our clothes can be a vision for what our lives can be around beauty and around the full and expansive life that we deserve.

There is a cold eye of intimidation being used now to quell the fight for Black liberationa similar intimidation that killed and nearly wiped out the Black Panther Partybecause of the radicalization power that can happen with visual art. At the height of the uprisings this summer, there was a need for personal protective equipment, or PPE, which many didnt know how to fill. Steez and the digital team at M4BL knew that they could show up and keep people safe with masks, while also getting their bold statement across. These are new conditions to be organizing under, so we really thought about what piece actually supports their organizing work and clearly articulates their values, and the most relevant canvas in this moment was the face mask.

M4BL began sending out needed PPE to activists on the ground in seven major cities during the peak of the George Floyd uprisings, in early June. Masks with the phrases, Stop Killing Black People and Defund Police, were sent out nationwide. However, after shipping the masks, Steez was told that they allegedly had been seized by the federal government and were delayed until further notice. It wasnt until Steez and M4BL took to social media to spread awareness of the supposed PPE steal that the masks were returned to them.

If you have the grounds to seize these masks, then what grounds do you have to seize me? Right, in all seriousness.

The bold black-and-yellow masks were everywhere during the protests. Representative Ilhan Omar was seen wearing one, and former president Barack Obama even reposted an image of the masks on social media. But Steez is remaining focused on her core values of creating political timepieces that have clear principles.

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Like Steez, Newman is dedicated to tracing the connection between the history and principles of design to organized movements. As head of product at Somewhere Good, a digital platform from the same team behind Ethels Club, they are dedicated to creating a social media app that prioritizes a new way of being online.

Newman credits their precision in graphic design and the ability to gain access to resources to the strength of community organizing. I began to see that space making and community organizing are all design systems. Most of the Internet is not meant to build community; it was built to monetize people, they say. "The past two years of building brands, dreaming of flyers, and getting into the nerdiest details of typography always come back to finding what's been lost. I feel like Im always trying to reclaim a history that already exists.

The biggest lesson in a year of isolation has been that the vision for liberation is a collective work. In the midst of the months-long protests over the summer, Newman along with other Black designers began Design to Divest, "a Black-led collective of designers, artists, technologists, and strategists designing equitable futures by divesting from inequitable institutions," as stated on its website.

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However, Newman has no illusions about the visceral labor of dreaming. When youre Black and queer, you have to always be imagining. Explaining further, Newman says, I protect my brain at all costs. How do you do that in this world where you are supposed to stay disconnected from yourself, from your body, and from this world. All of these things are designed to distract us from our imagination.

Radical graphic design, whether it be through merchandise or visual aesthetics, has always been about writing a love letter to marginalized peopleto say without words or dialogue who you are, what you stand for, and how you are showing up for the next fight. It is a call to action after a year of grief and surface-level platitudes. Because of this struggle, Black queer designers like Steez and Newman are dreaming of what our movements must look like for a better world that many refuse to see.

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How the Radical Graphic Design of the Black Panthers Influences the Movement for Black Lives - HarpersBAZAAR.com

Osaka This year will most certainly be remembered for the coronavirus pandemic, which began notably spreading around the world from February, wreaking havoc on economies, industries and, most importantly, people.

Amid the tumult, at the end of May, came a video from Minneapolis that would send shockwaves of its own around the world. The video depicted the attempted arrest and subsequent murder of George Floyd, a Black man who was accused of passing a $20 counterfeit note, after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

The video spread to populations that were sequestered indoors due to the pandemic and, in reaction to the injustice, protests followed. In Japan, this resulted in several marches that aimed to bring the issue of racial discrimination to people in this country, leading to the establishment of Black Lives Matter (BLM) movements in several cities.

The Japan Times takes a look back on the movement with some of the organizers, and speculates on how a brush with activism could unfold here in the decade to come.

Though support came from various quarters of Japanese society, these six individuals are among those who devoted a good chunk of their time to organizing and mobilizing their peers to show support for Black people in the United States and Japan, as well as biracial Japanese citizens and members of other minority groups.

For the future: A young girl holds up a sign at Black Lives Matter solidarity march near Yoyogi Park in Tokyo on June 14. | RYUSEI TAKAHASHI

Rino Fujimoto, 19, is the founder of bilingual Instagram account hanasou.jp, which introduces BLM and other progressive issues in Japanese and English. She is currently living in Houston.

Michele Keane, 34, is a Jamaican-born artist who recently graduated from Kyoto University of Art & Design. Her stop-motion short film, Tamrind, is a commentary on diversity.

Athena Lisane, 31, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is an organizer for BLM Fukuoka. She has lived in Japan for seven years.

Paul Richardson, 46, is a musician who goes by the stage name Paulie Rhyme, an educator and a father, based in Aichi Prefecture.

Jaime Smith, 25, was born in Maryland and is the vice chairperson of BLM Tokyo. She has lived in Japan for nearly four years.

Ayana Wyse, 34, was born in New York and is an organizer for BLM Kansai, as well as the founder of the Black Creatives Japan collective. She has lived in Japan for more than nine years.

The moment when a person moves from the passive taking in of information to active attempts at support differs for everyone. We asked our six interviewees what that moment was for them.

Michele: Im not sure if there was one particular moment. When I first learned of the sheer number of police shootings happening in the U.S., I was in my final year of university and they partially influenced me in making my film. When I heard about the BLM Kansai march, I knew I had to go.

Rino: The initial reason I began making my own BLM posts on Instagram was because of the lack of coverage and information that Japanese speakers had access to. This isnt just an American fight. I believe the disconnect Japanese people have with the movement is a result of ignorance, miseducation and anti-Blackness within our own community. I hope to provide more accurate translations and information, as well as discussion and application in the long run.

Paul: Seeing that there were two marches in Tokyo, I thought that there should also be some sort of event or march in Nagoya. I felt like not having one in Nagoya would be doing a disservice to the area.

Jaime: I was planning on joining the smaller solidarity march initially being planned by Sierra Todd in Tokyo after the murder of George Floyd. When it became apparent that it was going to become bigger, I accepted her offer to lead a volunteer graphic design team to create material leading up to the march.

Ayana: After years of watching the movement on the internet it was during the beginning of the pandemic that when I began to pay even more attention. The marches and the protests this past summer got bigger and more international. Once I saw a couple of friends online make a poll asking if people would want to have a march in Osaka, that is when I decided to step up and be more involved with spreading awareness in Japan.

Athena: I always had the desire to be a part of the BLM movement, but Id already moved to Japan maybe six months after it was established. Id participated on a much smaller scale in other socio-political marches, but this was the first time I did anything on such a grand scale, let alone being a figurehead of said demonstration.

Specific to BLM Fukuoka I grew increasingly restless and began looking for opportunities to march in my area but there were none. By the time I couldnt stand to wait anymore, Id seen that Tokyo and Osaka had made their moves and it was time Fukuoka made its move, too. And since no one else was willing, I stepped up. I knew I was capable. God gave me two good legs and thus I must walk.

Speaking up: The Black Lives Matter marches in Tokyo resulted in high turnout, as did rallies held in other major cities in the country. | RYUSEI TAKAHASHI

After BLM organizations sprung up and organized several successful and peaceful marches in cities across Japan, have those actions led to any change in perception among the public here in Japan?

Ayana: People are becoming more aware but to me it is a tiny circle of Japanese people who truly understand it. Im happy to see that news outlets here wanted to broadcast our marches. So I hope we can continue to positively influence change, but it is difficult since we are foreigners. The Japanese nationals are the ones who really need to open their eyes and want it.

Athena: At this point, I dont feel theres any visible change. However, it didnt exist at all before, so its progress. I think it sent a chill down the spine of Japan. Seeing that America has a sordid and repetitive history of racism, marginalization and outright violent response to Black and Brown bodies was an affront of sorts to Japan, forcing them to have a small amount of introspection.

Paul: I believe that the marches brought like-minded people together and sparked some much-needed dialogue between the various foreign and Japanese groups. I also felt like underlying issues of how other minority groups (especially mixed-race Japanese people) and refugees are treated here gained more traction.

Jaime: There has been a change in that a conversation that was barely being had in Japan has become mainstream. BLM Tokyo and other grassroots organizations have held bilingual talks and webinars that have been attended by many. Naomi Osakas U.S. Open masks were constant news. NHK created segments about Black Lives Matter and the experience of Japanese-Black youth in Japan. Nike recently came out with a commercial not only about Black discrimination, but discrimination and bullying in Japan in general.

Michele: I dont really know how big the change is on the ground but there are little things that have happened that suggest something is changing albeit very slowly. For instance, the new Miss Japan being half black and the runners up also being mixed is something I never saw coming at all (not that I keep up with beauty pageants). Also the inclusivity that is slowly increasing in media makes me smile on the inside. I dont know if that has anything to do with what people have done or said here but I sure hope it has!

Also Id like to think people are becoming more aware of the fact that they dont exist in a bubble

Rino: The rise of international coverage of the BLM movement has facilitated conversation about racial topics, even in Japan where there might not be as much open exposure to racial division. I hope the momentum that the movement has gained will continue on as we approach a new year.

The United States held a presidential election in November and on Dec. 14 it was officially acknowledged that Joe Biden will become the new president in 2021. Do our interviewees believe that things will change under a Democratic administration?

Michele: I couldnt watch the debates, personally. As bad as this may sound, it felt farcical. But I was hoping for anything but Donald Trump partially because of how divided hes made the U.S. and partially because of the danger he poses to the rest of the world environmentally, especially as it relates to small island countries like my own.

Im not sure really if there will be any change. I dont particularly trust politicians and honestly we can only wait and see. I do think its quite amazing that the vice president-elect (Kamala Harris) is a Black woman. That is a huge first, and I love that.

Rino: Bidens victory in the U.S. was a celebratory event for many. Trumps presidency represented someone that should have never been given authority. That said, Bidens presidency wont be the solution that will fix everything. This election has further highlighted the ills of the lesser of two evils in politics and the corruption of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Athena: There is no reason that the margin should have been as small as it was. For that reason, I believe very little will change. Just like (Barack) Obama, Biden is a centrist Democrat. Middling politics have won Democrats nothing in the fight for a more socially conscious government, but its almost always what Democrats choose as the candidate of choice.

Ayana: Joe Biden may have done good things in the past, but he seems to miss a lot of what the younger generation wants and needs. I can only hope he doesnt cause more damage. As for U.S. citizens, we need to weed out the politicians who have no intentions of improving the livelihood of the people. The president is not the only one to make change.

Get the message: The march in Tokyo on June 6 wound through bustling Shibuya Ward. | RYUSEI TAKAHASHI

Where do we go from here? Its a question most organizers ask of themselves after their first big achievements. At a time when the world is engulfed in uncertainty, what do our six interviewees think people should do next?

Paul: Well, my plan is to live in Japan for the long term, so I would love to see it be more open and welcoming to long-term residents. I would love to see more people having opportunities to open up businesses and create community in a way that encourages more people from all walks of life to come here and stay.

A city or towns that are welcoming to helping foreigners get established, own property, start businesses in Japan that would be the dream.

Michele: I am hoping to see more tolerance of others as a society. And on an individual basis I just want people to stop being awful to each other, especially on the internet. I try to be the best me I can be. Maybe we should all just listen to a whole lot of Bob Marley as well, I advocate that.

Rino: The fight is not over and it wont be over any time soon. I believe the best we can do is to continue the movement and not let it become a thing of the past. That means still showing up at protests, donating, sharing and, most importantly, constantly educating yourself. For Americans, dont be satisfied by Bidens win. Your allyship doesnt stop at voting. For Japanese people, it not only means supporting BLM overseas but also applying it to Japan. Japan has a long way to go, especially when it comes to combating racism and xenophobia.

Jaime: Its hard to say what the next steps are for people around the world because it is vast and diverse with different issues depending on where you are. I think people will have to become comfortable with facing some discomfort. If your response to someone pointing out bullying, discrimination or racism is, This makes us look bad. Other countries have these problems too. Why would you talk about this? Then, youre missing the point.

Athena: For every nation, seeing whats considered the ultimate mixture of different creeds, races, religions, etc., fail so spectacularly should make them immediately think about how this applies to them at home. What darkness lurks in the annals of your countrys history? What people are consistently oppressed where youre from? Do you do anything to alleviate that pressure? Are you a part of that discriminatory system?

For the Japanese, its addressing their treatment toward the Ainu, the Burakumin and the now third-generation Koreans living in Japan due to displacement and kidnapping during World War II. Japan is quick to say theres no discrimination in Japan, but Japanese people often fail to empathize beyond their own personal experiences. Stop worrying about what the man to your left and the woman to your right are doing; act for yourself so that you dont present a lie to the world or yourself. If you know something is wrong, say something. If you have the power to help, do it. If you can end an unjust attack, stop it.

Ayana: There needs to be a revolution of some sort. I dont know how but Id like to see some radical change for the better. I just want to see more empathy, compassion for others and programs to help people live in this world happily. There should be equity. There should be enough food for all. There should be shelter. We are all humans. I dont understand why some need to make others suffer.

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A summer of solidarity: Looking back on the Black Lives Matter marches in Japan - The Japan Times

History has been brought to the forefront in 2020. We have witnessed not only a once-in-a-century pandemic, but also a global protest movement for racial justice following the death of a Black man, George Floyd.

Such protests have happened before, but not with this immediacy or level of intensity. The Black Lives Matter movement garnered support in at least 60 countries across all continents bar Antarctica.

Floyds death epitomised the power and violence of colonialism and slavery, reminding us their legacies are all too real.

And the Black Lives Matter movement has catalysed a reckoning with history. Activists have toppled celebratory statues of white slave owners and exploiters, and forced a global discussion of how we remember and repair histories of racial prejudice and colonialism.

For the Black poet Benjamin Zephaniah, this is not just about tearing down statues. It is about being honest.

The uprisings we see [] are happening because history is being ignored and ultimately, its all about history.

His view is that Black people will not be respected until their history is.

This reckoning with history has been palpable in Australia, too. The pandemic scuttled the costly re-enactment of Captain James Cooks voyage to the Pacific in 1770 to mark the 250th anniversary.

And as Black Lives Matter protests erupted in Australian cities, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia should not import them, that there was no equivalence here. He declared Australian history slavery-free.

Historians and commentators were quick to correct him. Not only had there been slavery in Australia, but Australia has a long history of police violence toward Indigenous people.

Read more: Explorer, navigator, coloniser: revisit Captain Cooks legacy with the click of a mouse

We share a history of Black resistance to white oppression, too. A century ago, Indigenous activists joined a Black nationalist movement around the globe fighting for racial equality and self-determination in the context of police brutality, powerlessness and racism. That protest never ended.

Floyds well-publicised death amplified the systemic racism Indigenous people face every day, particularly in the justice system.

The family of David Dungay Jr, a Dunghutti man who died in jail in 2015, have been fighting over years for justice. The Black Lives Matter movement shone a light on his death, as well as the more than 430 other Indigenous deaths in custody since a royal commission on the issue delivered its report in 1991.

It is little wonder that, as we leave 2020, Indigenous leaders speak of changing the narrative of the nation and remind us of the gift of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, now over three years old.

The statement made First Nations sovereignty the foundation for a fuller understanding and expression of Australian nationhood. And history was critical to its formulation. Truth-telling preceded the call for reform at the First Nations National Constitutional Convention in 2017 and was placed on the agenda by the participants themselves.

This should not be surprising. Stories have always shaped relationships in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. They speak to connections between language, culture and land, influence behaviour and serve as a roadmap for living.

This is why story is at the centre of the Uluru Statement. As Galarrwuy Yunupingu argues in his essay Rom Watangu, which was submitted with the Referendum Councils final report on the deliberations at Uluru, storytelling and songlines are the bedrock of Aboriginal law, sovereignty and identity.

It is through the song cycles that we acknowledge our allegiance to the land, to our laws, to our life, to our ancestors and to each other.

The Uluru Statement is meaningless outside this context.

Read more: The Uluru statement showed how to give First Nations people a real voice now it's time for action

The Uluru Statement consists of three parts: the central frame of the statement, the history it contains, and the surrounding artwork.

Created by a senior Anangu representative, Rene Kulitja, the artwork depicts two creation stories of the Anangu, traditional custodians of Uluru.

The first is of two snakes, Kuniya, a female python, and Liru, a poisonous snake, who create the landscape of Uluru in the context of a fight at Mutijula spring.

The second is of the Mala people, represented by the prints of the rufous-hare wallabies. They were holding a ceremony on top of Uluru and became involved in an altercation with men from the west. Those men created Kurpany, the Devil Dingo, whose prints are also on the canvas.

The Referendum Councils final report synthesised the Australian nationhood story in three parts, all characterised by ancestral journeys:

the discovery of the continent by ancient tribes who established one of the worlds oldest and most enduring civilisations

the establishment of the colony of New South Wales by the British in 1788

and the migrants who have journeyed across the seas since then to make the continent home.

The task for us is to understand and weave all sides of the story together, including the spectacular achievements of Indigenous peoples and, as the report describes it, the post-colonial years

replete with triumph and failure, pride and regret, celebration and sorrow, greatness and shame.

At a time when history is so contested, part of the gift of the statement is that it allows us to rethink historys purpose.

The Indigenous participants at Uluru understood what the British historian, EH Carr, did. History, he said, is not about facts alone.

The facts [] are like fish on the fishmongers slab. The historian collects them, takes them home and cooks and serves them.

Rather, history is about interpretation, negotiation, subjectivity and complexity. It is a dialogue between past, present and future, acknowledging contested versions of the past which are ongoing, stories that are told and retold.

It is impossible to imagine the Uluru Statement without the artwork the story that frames it. Its composition suggests that Kuniya and Liru bring the statement into being, as a new truth not replacing, but reimagining the old.

Read more: Instead of demonising Black Lives Matter protesters, leaders must act on their calls for racial justice

But truth-telling is not just about recounting history alone. It is about acknowledging The Law that was violated by dispossession but endured. Yunipingu reminds us that history and law are the foundation for social and cultural responsibility and governance.

The generosity of First Nations people is their willingness to share their stories. Those of Kuniya and Liru are powerful reminders that in writing our history, we create the landscapes we share and leave inscriptions of the past for the future.

The Uluru Statement provides an opportunity to bind law, history and politics anew. Situating Indigenous sovereignty as the basis of a fuller expression of nationhood is about recognising the myriad songlines of Australian history. Acknowledging this truth enables others.

Indigenous people have been gifting non-Indigenous society for a very long time. There is a political vision in such acts of rapproachment: a new relationship that recognises Indigenous sovereignty as the basis of redefining and retelling the stories of the nation.

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Black Lives Matter has brought a global reckoning with history. This is why the Uluru Statement is so crucial - The Conversation AU

A statewide coalition is calling on lawmakers to address racism as a public health crisis in Washington state.

Members of the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance say their legislative agenda is the next pressing step after this summers protests for racial justice.

The new alliance is a non-partisan coalition linked to Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County, but with steering committee members in the Tri-Cities area, Ellensburg, and Spokane as well.

It calls for celebrating Black culture, promoting economic freedom, and prioritizing the physical and mental health and safety of Black people. Also, honoring treaties because Indigenous sovereignty and Black liberation are intertwined.

Steering committee member Andrea Caupain Sanderson is also the CEO of Byrd Barr Place, a social service nonprofit in Seattles Central District. She said the Alliance established its priorities around enhancing the health, wealth, and well-being of Black people and communities through ongoing Zoom calls this fall.

We are creating a vision of a Washington state that we need by working cooperatively, she said. It made sense for us to consolidate and build this unified agenda that spoke to the range of experiences of Black folks across our state.

Caupain Sanderson said shes undaunted by legislators warnings that the upcoming session beginning Jan. 11, 2021 will pass fewer bills than normal since it will be held remotely.

Never you mind how many bills or how little bills get passed we want to upend how that process works, she said, by helping their supporters become civically engaged.

She said those people have stories of resiliency to tell lawmakers.

We are doing this by us and for us, she said We know theres a reckoning that needs to happen, and were talking across all 39 counties in Washington state.

For her part, Caupain Sanderson said shell be most focused on increasing food access and rental assistance to people at or below the poverty line in the wake of the pandemic. She said Byrd Barr Place is seeing lots of new clients as people seek help after job losses and other impacts of the pandemic.

We were seeing, before the pandemic, 500 households per week in our food bank. Now were seeing 800 per week and were projecting that to go up to 1,100 by February.

She said 42% of their clients are Black.

HyeEun Park is a senior policy analyst with the Alliance. She said its not clear how many items on their agenda will translate into legislation in the next session. But she said members of the Senate Law and Justice Committee have signaled their interest around proposals related to the court system.

Weve had really good conversation with many different legislators, Park said. We are cautiously hopeful, given the restraints on the session and logistics of carrying out an all-remote session.

She said that while traditional in-person days for advocacy on specific issues in Olympia will be replaced with calls to action via social media, the Alliance will help Black people from around the state talk about their lived experience in advocating for these priorities.

We really are hoping to galvanize," Park said. "To take that energy we saw over the summer with people out on the streets shouting, demanding for change.

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New WA Black Lives Matter Alliance agenda aims for 'liberation' - KUOW News and Information