Monthly Archives: June 2020

Though the official Oakboro 4th of July Celebration has been canceled due to COVID-19 and the statewide safety restrictions put in place due to the virus, a Facebook group has been created to raise support for a freedom ride through the town.

Created by Locust resident Zach Helms, the event, which is called Oakboro Freedom Convoy, would be at 9 a.m. July 4 along Main Street in Oakboro. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Helms encourages all people who want to be involved to wear masks and maintain proper social distance.

We want to follow all rules and regulations for the convoy, Helms said, which he calls a peaceful ride through town. He also said the event wont impede traffic.

This is our way of celebrating our freedom and independence, Helms wrote on Facebook about the event. It will take effort from each and every one of you but I believe we can come together and make this happen. Unity and peace are what this country needs and is what our soldiers have fought and died for. Dont live in fear you have freedoms, just get out and exercise them.

As of Friday, more than 700 people have already joined the group, which was created Thursday after news broke that the towns 4th of July celebration was canceled.

Helms later said he felt we need to encourage patriotism and freedom right now during these tough times.

Helms said he is working on the logistics of the event and more details still have to be worked out.

Oakboro Police Chief T.J. Smith, who has talked with Helms, said there is no permission needed for people to simply drive through town as long as they are following the rules. In order for people to be as safe as possible, Smith encourages people to wear masks and stay six feet apart.

Helms has spoken to a town official but would not disclose who it was nor what the conversation was about. I can tell you that they support this but do not want to be involved to stay neutral which is best for their political reasons, he said.

The parade will simply be a ride through town with flags flying, he said.

Helms acknowledged the event is also a way to honor the people who organize the traditional 4th of July event each summer.

They put it on for us for so long, he said. This is our way of giving back and saying hey you couldnt do it and well do it for you this year.

Originally posted here:

Freedom ride planned after Oakboro celebration gets canceled - The Stanly News & Press - Stanly News & Press

DETROIT - NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races. If you've been looking for signs that our conversation about racism might finally be changing, this is one of them.

Especially when you consider the geography and political leanings of the most ardent part of NASCAR's fan base. The sport's governing body issued the rule knowing it would annoy, alienate and downright anger a portion of its customers.

In a vacuum, that may be bad business. But then the sport's fan base already was dwindling, if you judge declining ratings and shrinking attendance. So, in a sense, you might ask: What did NASCAR have to lose?

More money, for one. Cultural identity, for another, symbolized by the Confederate flag. For while it varies from track to track and region to region, the flag was about as ubiquitous as blown tires and funnel cakes.

No, I think NASCAR listened to its only black driver, Bubba Wallace, who had asked it to ban the flag. It looked around the country the past few weeks and decided ... enough. We've been privately embarrassed by its presence at our races for years. It's time to take a stand.

"The presence of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry," NASCAR said in a statement. "Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special."

Ray Ciccarelli didn't agree. The truck series driver announced he was packing up his Chevrolet Silverado and quitting after the season because of the flag ban.

"I don't believe in kneeling during Anthem nor taken ppl right to fly what ever flag they love," he posted on Facebook. "I could care less about the Confederate Flag, but there are ppl that do and it doesn't make them a racist all you are doing is (expletive) one group to cater to another and i ain't spend the money we are to participate in any political BS!! So everything is for SALE!!"

Ciccarelli won't be the only one who feels this way. Because the Confederate flag was, if you'll excuse the expression, sewn into the fabric of the sport. A rough-edged representation of the American outlaw, living off the grid, barreling down the straightaway at 200 mph, mufflers and ear buds be damned.

It was flown as a middle finger to the establishment, backed by a kind of rebel-yell pride. This is, of course, a narrow and sanitized view of the Confederate flag. But then that's what it takes to look at the flag and feel pride - blinders.

Because history tells us something different. That the Confederate flag represents 13 states that wanted a separate country in order to keep buying and selling human beings.

The flag doesn't represent states' rights - unless it was the right to own slaves. It doesn't represent Zora Neale Hurston or B.B. King or slow-cooked green beans with fatback.

It's not about Alabama football, or sweet tea, or polite chatter in a slow-moving grocery store line.

The South is about all of those things and much, much more. And you know what represents those things? The American flag. That's where we can meet and have a conversation.

Not the Confederate flag. It was created as a symbol for a movement to protect slavery. You might as well fly a KKK hood, though at least no one is trying to whitewash the meaning of that.

Imagine Germans flying the swastika at soccer games and then proudly saying it represents the country's heritage.

The Confederate flag is no different. NASCAR knows that. Has always known that. And while it's late to the conversation, at least it finally jumped in.

As Wallace said: "Bravo. Props to NASCAR and everybody involved. This has been a stressful couple of weeks."

Now, before you use this week's ban to take a broad swipe at the South, don't. Racism infects every corner of this country. That's why the protests fill so many of our streets.

Besides, as a region, I love the South. I've lived a fair part of my life in it. My sons were born in Alabama. Its pace, if not its heat, suits my throttled-back nature. I enjoy eye contact (mostly) and basic human acknowledgement out in public. (No, folks aren't there to get in your way ... what's the big hurry anyway?)

I enjoy NASCAR, too. The speed, the roar, the physics, the visceral thrill of all that power, the pride of American muscle. None of that needs the Confederate flag. Fly the Stars and Stripes instead. And if you want to learn about the symbols of our darkest hour, visit a museum.

That's where the flag belongs.

Follow this link:

Shawn Windsor: The Confederate flag is a middle finger to freedom - Newsbug.info

An online platform that facilitates online requests under Nova Scotias Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPOP) is still in the works, the province confirmed to Global News this week.

We still anticipate having the new system go live this year, said Krista Higdon, in an email.

The province once had a similar system in place but it was pulled after it was revealed that a data breach on the website had exposed 7,000 documents containing personal information such as social insurance numbers, personal addresses, child custody documents, medical information and proprietary business information.

Friday marks the 800th day since the online platform was taken down.

READ MORE: After more than 650 days, province says Nova Scotians will be able to file FOI requests online again

The new site is supposed to allow Nova Scotians to safely and securely submit requests under the provinces access to information act.

Story continues below advertisement

Those requests are a useful tool for journalists and are routinely employed by academics, businesses and activists to obtain government information that is normally withheld from the public.

The province partially restored itsonline FOIPOP system on Sept. 5, 2019, allowing Nova Scotians to once again download previously completed FOI requests.

However, since the website was pulled down FOIPOP, requests have had to be filed the old-fashioned way by pen, paper and Canada Post mail.

In a statement, Nova Scotias privacy commissioner said there is no requirement under the provinces access to information law to provide an electronic avenue to submit requests.

We do encourage the use of technology that makes access to information easier but only if it properly protects the personal information it contains pursuant to the rules under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, said Tricia Ralph.

The data breach of the original FOIPOP website was first detected by a worker at the Nova Scotia archives.

Story continues below advertisement

In an email sent on the evening of April 4, 2018, the employee attempted to re-enter a URL that linked to a released and redacted document he had previously accessed through the FOIPOP portal but mistyped the address.

Rather than going to another redacted, released document, I ended up seeing an incoming FOIPOP request It seems that rather than being inside the government system, which in itself is a bit of a shaky practice, the materials are out there, seemingly unprotected, on the web, the employee said.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia re-launches FOIPOP website after 152 days of being offline

Provincial officials quickly jumped into action, scrambling through April 5 to find a solution.

One official wrote that the government should shut down the website until we get a grip on things.

With no immediate solution available, the government yanked down the website at 8:15 a.m. and it remained offline until it was partially restored 152 days later.

Reports from a pair of oversight bodies would later take the departments that oversee Nova Scotias IT infrastructure to task after determining poor overall project management and a serious failure of due diligence helped cause the data breach.

The new website, developed by AINS Imc., was meant to go live this spring, but a date on when it will be up and running has not been provided by the provincial government.

Story continues below advertisement

The province said that COVID-19 has affected their ability to bring the website online.

Nearly 2,000 requests are filed annually in Nova Scotia.

2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

See the rest here:

Nova Scotians have been unable to file freedom of information requests online for 800 days - Globalnews.ca

Tommy Shaw, of Styx, performs on stage at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Saturday, June 16, 2018, in Alpharetta, Ga. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)

OFallons Heritage & Freedom Fest 2.0 will take place Sept. 6 with classic rock band Styx and country singer Dylan Scott. The event will be one day. Typically, the festival is a three-day event taking place over the July 4 weekend.

The regular event was canceled due to COVID-19.

Mayor Bill Hennessy announced during the June 11 City Council meeting the event would take place on Sept. 6 instead in its new 2.0 version.

The event will take place at the Ozzie Smith Sports Complex, 900 T.R. Hughes Boulevard and starts 11 a.m. with free concerts and family activities. There will be a fireworks display at 10:30 p.m.

Other performers are Steve Ewing, Dazed and Confused, That 80s Band and Whiskey Morning and Wildfire.

The O'Fallon, Mo., mayor said in a statement: We are very excited to offer this free event to our residents and neighbors. Weve all had a difficult and stressful year, and we are looking forward to providing a day of fun for this amazing community on Labor Day Weekend.

Get more information at heritageandfreedomfest.com, which includes a Corvette Club display, a gaming truck, Monster Mural, oversized yard games, a petting zoo, Circus Kaput.

Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.

Link:

O'Fallon's Heritage & Freedom Fest 2.0 will take place in September with Styx - STLtoday.com

As the crowd of thousands made its way east down Atlantic Avenue from the Barclays Arena in Brooklyn, a sign held up among the sea of heads, flags, and raised fists caught my eye. The sign the protester carried read You Watched Hong Kong Now See Us.

Many people in the United States, myself included, have been following the protests in Hong Kong since they broke out last year. Weve seen the photographs of the masses of protesters marching peacefully in the streets of Hong Kong. Weve seen the images of clouds of tear gas floating through the streets, of heavily armed police firing rubber bullets into the crowds. Weve seen the iconic photograph of the police officer drawing his gun at a protester, and photographs of the police manhandling protesters to the ground to make arrests. And weve seen the images of Hong Kong on fire.

But Ive been following the journalists covering the protests. Not just the photographs they make and stories they write, but the reports of journalists being pepper-sprayed, shot with rubber bullets, having lights shone into the camera lenses and faces, of them being arrested, harassed and every manner of attempts to stop them from doing their jobs.

I have even written a series of op-eds about the situation that the press in Hong Kong and mainland China face. We in the United States stood behind the journalists in Hong Kong. We saw what you were going through and railed against the attacks on the free press in the city.

But how a few weeks can change everything.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis Minnesota has unleashed a torrent of protests. Once again, I am watching scenes of protests, tear gas, rubber bullets, and arrests. But now it is not just in Hong Kong on the other side of the world, but a short walk from where I live.

And Im not just looking at photographs and news footage. Rather, I am there myself making photographs and watching the scenes unfold in front of me. And it is not just happening in New York City, but in cities all over the United States.

And just as has happened in Hong Kong, journalists are being attacked, harassed and arrested. Since their tracking began on May 26th, the Committee to Protect Journalists has had reports of over 280 press freedom violations across the United States, including 45 arrests and detentions of journalists and dozens of reports of journalists attacked by police with pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets.

The US Press Freedom Tracker counts over 380 press freedom violations as of writing, more in just over a week than the total of 150 for all of 2019.The stories behind these numbers are not hard to find.

Omar Jimenez of CNN and his cameraman and a producer were arrested while broadcasting live in Minneapolis. Tim Myers, a cameraman for Channel 7 in Australia was also live on air when riot police hit him with a shield while clearing streets near the White House. Journalist Balin Brake lost an eye after being hit with a tear gas canister in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and journalist Linda Tirado lost an eye to a rubber bullet in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

There are many photographs to be found on Instagram and Twitter showing the wounds journalists have received at the hands of police while covering the protests. Others show journalists in handcuffs and being muscled around by police.

The assaults on the press have gotten so out of control in the US, that like in the case of Hong Kong, world leaders are calling for the US to protect reporters. The signatories include Australia, Germany and Turkey. Yes, Turkey, which has its own history of violence against journalists and repressing press freedom.

The Committee to Protect Journalists itself has sent a letter calling for the local authorities in the US to stop arrests and assaults on journalists covering the protests. And even the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong has issued a statement expressing their solidarity with journalists in the United States.

Freedom of the press is enshrined in the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution, as it is also enshrined in the Basic Law of Hong Kong. But as the last fortnight in the United States and the last year in Hong Kong have shown, words ring hollow when they are ignored.

And laws dont mean much when those tasked with upholding them break them. The US secretary of state may have strong words about press freedom in Hong Kong, but those words are undercut when the USs own stance is being called into question on the world stage.

Press freedom cant be taken for granted by anyone, no matter where you are. If the United States and Hong Kong can both be ranked as problematic places for journalists by Reporters Without Borders, what does that mean for journalism as a whole? And where is safe anymore?

Gordon Parks, the famous African-American photographer, once wrote I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera. But whether your tool in journalism is the camera or the keyboard, while we are all working to tell the stories that need to be told, we need to use the same tools to defend our right to do so.

We must hold those whose job it is to protect the free press accountable, no matter where the attacks happen.

Read the rest here:

US and Hong Kong protests: Press freedom needs protection, everywhere - Hong Kong Free Press

CINCINNATI Officials with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced Friday the museum would reopen to the public on July 24.

"Were working diligently to reopen our museum in a safe and responsible way so that we can welcome our community home and work together for inclusive freedom," Woodrow Keown, Jr., president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, said.

As part of the reopening process, the Freedom Center announced it was taking extra precautions to ensure guests and staff members remained safe and healthy while visiting.

Those extra precautions include instituting timed tickets, which will help manage crowd capacity to allow for social distancing. Other precautions include extensive cleaning protocols, floor markings to help guests maintain social distancing and altered seating arrangements.

Some of the exhibits at the museum have been altered or closed completely, however, given the "high-touch nature" of those exhibits. Other exhibits have been modified to be touchless or have been outfitted with foot pedals.

For more information, you can visit the museum's website here.

Link:

Freedom Center to reopen by the end of July - WCPO

On June 2, President Trump signed the Executive Order Advancing International Religious Freedom, but few noticed amid everything else that happened that week. The day before the signing, law enforcement officers used rubber pellets and tear gas to forcefully remove peaceful protesters near the White House so that Mr. Trump could hold a Bible aloft in a photo op in front of St. Johns Episcopal Church. This sparked two more days of controversy in which the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, brandished their own Bibles; the archbishop of Washington, Wilton Gregory, denounced the managers of St. John Paul II National Shrine for allowing Mr. Trump to appear there; and thousands of citizens fanned a firestorm of tweets, denunciations and recriminations.

Has anyone read the executive order? Religious freedom advocates might well be frustrated that tear gas and controversy occluded a measure whose very purpose is to lift the cause of religious freedom out of the shadows. The second sentence of the order contains words that these advocates have been waiting for years to hear a president utter: Religious freedom for all people worldwide is a foreign policy priority of the United States, and the United States will respect and vigorously promote this freedom.

Advertisement

Why are these words important? The answer lies in the previous sentence: Religious freedom, Americas first freedom, is a moral and national security imperative.

Why is religious freedom a moral imperative? While the pandemic has surged around the world and the United States agonizes over racism and police violence, several hundred Christians have been killed in Nigeria; China has escalated its brutal crackdown on churches and continues to hold a million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps in Western China; and Christians, Muslims, Jews, Bahais and people of other religious traditions suffer high or very high levels of restrictions on religion in 50 other countries, according to the widely respected Pew Research Center.

But is religious freedom also a national security imperative? This has been a hard sell for foreign policy makers in the past several administrations, which have subordinated religious freedom to fighting terrorism, securing alliances and expanding trade. Much recent research shows, though, that religious freedom mitigates terrorism and civil war, strengthens democracy, enhances economic development, fosters peace, enables reconciliation and advances opportunities for women. Religious repression has contributed to violence, terrorism and instability in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and other countries that have preoccupied U.S. foreign policy makers in the past two decades.

True, President Trump is an unlikely promoter of human rights. Beginning with his 2016 campaign, he has stoked animus against Muslims, immigrants, African nations and numerous other vulnerable groups of people, and he has trampled on many global norms. Still, if the message is crippled by the messenger, the message still merits support when it is the right one. The Trump administration, whose staff includes sincere and dedicated experts on the issue, has promoted global religious freedom through: an annual ministerial conference that has brought together hundreds of foreign policy officials, religious leaders and civil society leaders from around the world; the appointment of Sam Brownback as a committed and effective ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom; and, now, last weeks executive order.

[Want to discuss politics with other America readers? Join our Facebook discussion group, moderated by Americas writers and editors.]

The order helps to lift the U.S. governments advocacy of religious freedom abroad into high-level foreign policy. It expands upon the work that Congress began in 1998 when it sought to ensconce the promotion of religious freedom into U.S. foreign policy through the International Religious Freedom Act, which established an office of religious freedom in the State Department, added an advisor on religious freedom to the National Security Council, and created the independent and nonpartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Since that time, annual reports have raised awareness and provided solid information about violations of religious freedom, helping to secure religious freedoms place in global discourse about human rights. Some nations have freed religious dissidents from prisons. And several European states and the European Union have followed the lead of the United States and taken up global religious freedom in their foreign policies.

Yet it would be difficult to argue that these policies have made any country more religiously free, and the world as a whole may well be less religiously free than it was 20 years ago. Contributing to this lack of efficacy are the lukewarm commitments of presidents, who have allowed the policy of religious freedom to languish in a corner of the State Department, and of foreign policy makers who have failed to integrate the issue into their strategic thinking.

The Trump administrations executive order aims to end this torpor, giving the cause more teeth by making religious organizations and communities partners to the government in promoting religious freedom, requiring our diplomatic missions in violator countries to develop plans of action for improving the situation on the ground, providing serious funding for programs that promote religious freedom, mandating the training in religious freedom for all civil service employees in the State Department and channeling foreign assistance toward promoting religious freedom.

The chief threat to these welcome changes would be a presidential administration that reverts to lukewarmness or even becomes hostile toward religion freedom as a priority. The executive order gives the secretary of state 180 days to develop an implementation planbut that deadline could arrive in the middle of a presidential transition.

Should there be a Biden administration, let us hope that it would live up to the candidates promise of restoring national unity by taking up a cause as American as fireworks on the Fourth of July. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed religious freedom as one of the four freedoms that defined the United States aims in the Second World War. After he died, his widow, Eleanor, secured religious freedoms place in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let us hope that whoever wins the election in November will carry on this legacy, along with racial justice and protecting the health of our citizens, long after the tear gas over St. Johns Episcopal Church has wafted into the atmosphere.

Here is the original post:

Ignore the optics. Trump's executive order could jump-start the cause of global religious freedom. - America Magazine

Morocco hit international headlines in 2019 with the visit of Pope Francis and loud pledges promoting interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance. But how much religious freedom does the Moroccan state really grant?

The US State Departments 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom in Morocco, a document that analyzes the constitutional rights to religious freedom and how this translates in practice, came to mixed conclusions.

The constitution

Article 3 of Moroccos 2011 constitution states: Islam is the religion of the state, which guarantees all the free exercise of beliefs. The wording of this clause is particular to Moroccos legal framework, in that the majority of Arab or Muslim states specify Islam as a foundation for legislation.

Meanwhile, the preamble to the constitution emphasizes that Moroccos unity, is forged by the convergence of its Arab-Islamist, Berber [Amazigh] and Saharan-Hassanic [Saharo-Hassanie] components, nourished and enriched by its African, Andalusian, Hebraic and Mediterranean influences.

This excerpt clearly spotlights the multi-dimensional and multi-cultural nature of the population, including, through references to Judaism, in a religious sense.

Furthermore, the constitution specifies that: The preeminence accorded to the Muslim religion in the national reference is consistent with the attachment of the Moroccan people to the values of openness, of moderation, of tolerance, and of dialogue for mutual understanding between all the cultures and the civilizations of the world.

The 2011 legislative text also specifies Moroccos adherence to internationally recognized human rights law, as well as its commitment to combatting all forms of discrimination, including religious discrimination or prejudice.

The recently-released US State Department report cites Article 25 of the Moroccan constitution, a clause that guarantees freedom of thought, expression, and opinion. The State Departments analysis interprets this clause as covering freedom of belief.

The State Department also cites King Mohammed VIs status as commander of the faithful, outlining his responsibility as a guarantor of religious freedom.

Most aspects of the constitution cited in the US State Department report, and closer inspection of all its 180 Articles, project the image of a relatively tolerant, liberal Muslim state where religious freedom is prized, despite the lack of legal recognition of faiths other than Judaism and Islam.

How does this translate into law?

The Penal Code, however, tells a slightly different story. The State Department report notes that Moroccan law prohibits any individual, including members of parliament normally immune from arrest, from criticizing Islam on public platforms, such as print or online media, or in public speeches.

Criticism of Islam can lead to imprisonment for two years and a fine of MAD 200,000 ($20,800).

The law also criminalizes proselytizing, or actively attempting to undermine the faith of a Muslim. Anyone found guilty of converting or trying to convert a Muslim to another faith risks up to three years behind bars.

The State Department report emphasized that criminalizing proselytizing is a short step from impeding freedom of speech and expression.

Citing American NGO Open Doors annual 2019 World Watch List, the report said that criminalizing shaking the faith of a Muslim put many Christians who talked to others about their faith at risk of criminal prosecution and arrest.

The NGO also noted that the article on conversion in the Penal Code not only only punish[ed] proselytization, converts to Christianity [could] be punished in other ways, such as loss of inheritance rights and custody of their children.

However, the law also criminalizes impeding or preventing one or more persons from worshipping or from attending worship services of any religion, the State Department notes.

The State Department also draws attention to family law and marriage: According to the law, a Muslim man may marry a Christian or Jewish woman; a Muslim woman may not marry a man of another religion unless he converts to Islam.

While this law is common practice in Muslim countries, the US State Department wants to encourage more flexibility in marital law, particularly in terms of recognizing marriages and legal family matters outside Islam.

Under Moroccan law, Sunni Muslims and Jews are the only religious groups recognized in the constitution as native to the country, the report explains.

The State Department urged the Moroccan government to recognize the existence of all of its religious minority communities as well as to establish a legal framework for non-Muslim or Jewish citizens to address personal legal status matters, including marriage.

So, is Morocco a religiously tolerant country or not?

In March 2019, Pope Francis II visited Morocco, sending waves of optimism about the future of interfaith dialogue and tolerance throughout Morocco and the world. Moroccos King Mohammed VI added fuel to the fire with a rousing speech about Moroccos diversity and the rich spiritual history.

The complex nature of Moroccos spiritual past, he said, is reflected by the mosques, churches, and synagogues which have coexisted in the cities of the Kingdom since time immemorial.

In his speech, King Mohammed advocated passionately for coexistence and strong interfaith dialogue and cooperation, particularly between the three Abrahamic faiths.

Then, in July of the same year, the UN adopted a resolution on interfaith dialogue and counter-terrorism that Morocco played a key part in drafting.

Moroccos state-owned media outlet, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), wrote: The general consensus over this resolution and its backing by 90 countries from different regions of the world and with different cultural and religious sensibilities is a testimony to Moroccos credibility on the world scene as a promoter of [religious] dialogue and tolerance.

On the surface, at least, Morocco appears to be walking the walk when it comes to religious tolerance, despites concerns spotlighted by the US State Department regarding a lack of developments on the topic.

The report noted progress on the situation of Shia Muslims in Morocco: There were no reports from Shia citizens that security forces detained and questioned Shia citizens about their beliefs. In contrast to previous years, the MOE reported it granted the only two exemptions from mandatory Islamic education requested during the year.

The State Department also shone the spotlight on laws concerning Ramadan, commenting on treatment of people perceived to be flouting the month-long fast.

The report states that a number of youths faced arrest for smoking before sunset but were released after paying fines.

In some areas, progress is an ongoing process. Morocco is making tangible steps towards religious tolerance and equality, within the cultural and societal framework built by its own history and relationship with Islam.

As Moroccos former Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mounia Boucetta, said in October, Moroccans have made an irreversible choice to uphold and practice the values of tolerance, coexistence, and peace, a choice that honors the legacy of our past but most importantly it is the only choice we have to ensure a stable and prosperous future for our country.

The pledges have been made and the intent is clear; the next few years, however, will be key in building, and maintaining, the level of religious freedom and coexistence laid out by Moroccos leadership.

Read more:

Religious Freedom in Morocco: A Regional Paragon-in-the-Making - Morocco World News

DOWNTOWN Last weekend, as thousands of protesters gathered Downtown, the Chicago Freedom School sprung into action, working to feed and transport those stuck in the Loop but a surprise inspection by the city has the nonprofit worried about its future.

The Chicago Freedom School, 719 S. State St., provides training to primarily Black and Brown youth to learn the fundamentals of community organizing. School leaders knew their members were out on the front lines, confronted with pepper spray and potentially trapped Downtown as curfew approached, bridges were lifted and CTA service halted May 30.

The school offered a refuge. Two aldermen and other frontline organizers tweeted to let protesters know to head to the Freedom School if they needed free food, or just to charge their phones and drink some water.

The school was also organizing rides home for protesters stranded due to the curfew and CTA stoppage.

But just before 11 p.m. May 30, the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection demanded entry to the school, staffers said, and issued a cease and desist order for preparing and serving large quantities of food without the proper retail food establishment license after an investigative walkthrough accompanied by police officers.

Executive Director Keisha Farmer-Smith said the citation is bogus: The school had ordered pizzas from a place nearby and was giving it away.

They did come up to the space, and even though the space is very small, they walked through the space for at least 30 minutes taking pictures and looking through areas, Farmer-Smith said. My staff were never given a warrant, and when they asked if there was a warrant they were told this is an inspector, thats not a requirement.'

The cease and desist order doesnt carry a fine, but Farmer-Smith said, We have been threatened with arrest and immediate shutdown should they return and find food on the premises at any time.

The schools staff are consulting with attorneys to learn their rights and clear their name, she said.

Farmer-Smith said responding officers and city officials would only say they received a complaint about the school.

Over the course of May 30, 50-60 young protesters were in the building to grab a snack, charge their phones or wait for a ride out of the Loop, Farmer-Smith said. But she said there were never that many people in the building at one time and strict safety measures were taken to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Every effort was taken to be safe, including masks, hand sanitizer, gloves you had to get a glove if you were getting a piece of pizza, she said. You know, I dont know what else we could have done differently.

By the time the inspection began, Farmer-Smith said no youth were in the building after adult staff were able to coordinate rides home for everyone who needed one.

Luis Agostini, assistant director of communications for the Police Department, told Block Club an officer patrolling the area Saturday made the observation there was a large congregation of people at the school and initiated a premise check at 10:55 p.m.

CPD did not and does not target individual businesses when it comes to enforcement and safety of city residents, Agostini said.

Isaac Reichman, a spokesman for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, said the cease and desist was given but no fine was associated with the order.

On Saturday, [Business Affairs] was notified by the Chicago Police Department of an establishment that was preparing and serving large quantities of food without the proper retail food establishment license, Reichman said in a statement. This license is required as a public health measure to ensure that any establishment that prepares or serves food does so in a safe manner, and [Business Affairs] conducts thousands of these types of investigations each year. As is standard protocol, the Department took appropriate action by issuing them a Cease and Desist Order for this activity.

Farmer-Smith said the citation doesnt match reality.

We do not serve food commercially. We never have, she said. The closest thing we come to cooking food is giving out fruits and vegetables.

As the hours-long protest gave way to confrontations between protesters and police, the Freedom School offered a safe respite to youth protesters and funds were raised to provide trips home via ride-share. Many on social-media, including aldermen, encouraged protesters to retreat to the building.

The group is worried because they were not given a chance to challenge the citation, their landlord was given notice and they fear another inspection.

I just want the Freedom Schools good name, Farmer-Smith said. We have worked hard to build a positive track record in our community. We stand with Black and Brown youth and we want to remain in good [standing]. We dont want any problems with our 501(c)(3) status.

Since the incident, donations have flowed in to the school to coordinate ride shares and support protesters. Farmer-Smith said shes thankful to everyone who donated.

Once we filled up with our supplies, we started sharing them with some other organizations, including Brave Space Alliance and Assatas Daughters, she said.

As they consult with attorneys to learn their legal options, the school will continue to work with youth activists.

Unless the state or municipal government tells us otherwise, the Freedom School is open and we will serve young people during the hours that are allowed by law. If its 9 [p.m.], if its 8 [p.m.], whatever the curfew is, we will be serving young people, Farmer-Smith said. Thats what we do. Weve done it since 2007.

The citys 9 p.m. curfew was lifted Sunday.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicagos neighborhoods.

Already subscribe?Click hereto support Block Clubwith a tax-deductible donation.

Follow this link:

The Chicago Freedom School Offered Food, Water And Rest To Weary Protesters Trapped Downtown And The City Cited Them For It - Block Club Chicago

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters.

When its said that you can hear the history of freedom movements in John Coltranes 1963 Alabama, its more than metaphor: Coltrane patterned his horn lines after Martin Luther King Jr.s vocal inflections. He reworked Kings speech after the church bombing by the Ku Klux Klan, which killed four Black girls, into the song. Kings cadence is remade in Coltranes rising saxophone solo, Elvin Jones crashing cymbals and percussive shots, McCoy Tyners rolling block chords, and Jimmy Garrisons low-register groundswell. This is music thats purposeful, principled, and timeless.

And its especially relevant now.Coltranes Alabama of 1963 is an America of 2020, and powerful music:

Its far from the only entry in a necessary realm of politically engaged expression. Ive been returning to a few recordings that, beyond their musical greatness, address this countrys open wounds and long history of racism directly. There are many songs for moments like thisit is never not a moment like thiswhen you dont want to read between lines; you want to, or need to, or should hear chants grow and voices rise.

There is Dred Scott, the riveting first track on 10 Freedom Summers, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smiths 2013 recording. The summers he chose are those between 1954s Brown v. Board of Education and 1964s Civil Rights Act, and each track points to a civil rights theme or event. The music is elegiac, mournful, and mountainous, summiting the heights in sound that this country hasnt in society. Which might sound like an overly tight frame for the entire jazz canon, but this music hits multiple registers. Smith grew up less than 30 miles away from where Emmett Till was murdered, in Mississippi, in 1955, and sees the signposts. Give it a listen.

Next: Smith again, here with the phenomenally talented, historically informed, and mesmerizing Vijay Iyer. The pianista MacArthur grant winnerhas Amiri Barakas consciousness in his mind and spiritual veins, and Cecil Taylors stature and clout to his name, but Iyer is a force unto himself. Smith and Iyer are joined by bassist Reggie Workman, tabla player Nitin Mitta, and vibraphonist Patricia Brennan:

As a bonus, catch the heavier, sharper thunder of Iyer with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, a recording Ive been spinning, and spinning, and spinning, as the days blur:

Follow this link:

The Pulse of Jazz Grounded in Freedom Movements Mother Jones - Mother Jones