Monthly Archives: September 2021

The Rev. Steven W. Manskar, a retired United Methodist pastor, responds:

The Methodist Episcopal Church was established in this country in December 1784. Methodist congregations were in all thirteen colonies. The organizing conference stated that any Methodist who owned any enslaved persons must grant them their freedom by 1788. If they failed to do so, they could no longer retain membership in the Methodist Church.

However, to appease the southern congregations, that rule was quietly dropped. In the interest of church growth, denominational leaders chose to tolerate slavery and white supremacy. The Methodist Church grew rapidly while leaders debated whether it was acceptable for Christians to own and exploit the labor of other human beings.

The argument was resolved at the 1844 General Conference when the church split. The Northern church would follow the directions of its founder, John Wesley. It prohibited slave-holding and advocated for abolition of slavery.

The Southern church (known as The Methodist Episcopal Church South) accepted slavery. It was established in the states that would in a few years secede from the union and become the Confederate States of America. Many historians believe the split of The Methodist Episcopal Church north and south helped set the stage for the Civil War.

Finally, in 1939, the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Episcopal Church-South, and Methodist Protestant Church merged to become The Methodist Church. The new denomination created five regional jurisdictions in the USA. They also maintained Jim Crow segregation by creating a separate Central Jurisdiction for all Black Methodist congregations.

The Central Jurisdiction was abolished when the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren in 1968 to create The United Methodist Church. But the church continues to live with the heritage of racism and white supremacy. One of its manifestations today is discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons.

Rev. Ray Lanning, a retired minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, responds:

American Presbyterianisms worst sin to date was the 19th century attempt to defend chattel slavery, or at least to accommodate it; and when that evil institution was abolished, to promote segregation of the races and a system of Jim Crow laws and customs that disadvantaged and oppressed African American citizens for many decades.

In both cases, Presbyterian theologians wrested the Scriptures in their attempt to defend the indefensible. The American Civil War, bloody and destructive as it was, did not change their minds but only hardened them in their racist attitudes. The list includes many of the best and brightest leaders in the Presbyterian Church. Church members were left to live comfortably with their own racist attitudes and practices until well into the 1960s.

Not all Presbyterians were so inclined, however. Smaller denominations such as the Reformed Presbyterians (RPCNA) and the United Presbyterians (UPCNA) were early in the field in the fight to abolish slavery;, and after emancipation, they came to the aid of the freedmen of the South. Both denominations were rooted in the Covenanter tradition of Scotland, and the fight for a free church in a free state. They regarded the US Constitution as immoral because it accommodated slavery, thus defecting from the truths asserted in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights to life and liberty.

The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister atAll Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds:

While Unitarians and Universalists faiths go back centuries the merger of these two religious traditions happened in 1961. In that time, I believe our greatest failure or sin occurred in 1968/69. We were strongly active in the civil rights movement and the number of Black and People of Color joining our denomination was steadily increasing. Black leadership asked for financial support to create new programs and we as an Assembly voted to approve the funds. The following year with a budget shortfall our Association withdrew the funds from our Black leadership to balance the budget. The entire handling of this betrayal and crisis was a failure to live out our values and reeked of white supremacy culture. To this day we continue to try to heal this painful wound. We are beginning to truly own our failures of thepast and make positivesystemic change going forward. We still have so much work to do around racial equity.

Father Kevin Niehoff, O.P., a Dominican priest who serves as Judicial Vicar, Diocese of Grand Rapids, responds:

Please remember that any Church is a human creation. Human beings are finite. Institutions created by humans are imperfect by nature.

Spiritual difficulties arise in each era of religious history, both in the Church and in society. One may only look at the persecution of members of the faithful of Christ, or the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, or the spiritual split between the Orthodox and Latin Churches, or the Reformation, or the human slavery of Black men and women, or the abortion of babies, or even the sexual abuse crisis in modern-day. Humans have allowed many awful things to happen.

My opinion: is that there is a commonality in the history above. The basis for the worst things that happen is the human act of a compromised relationship with God. The result is the creation of a split between fellow human beings. These divisions often include the dehumanizing and the spiritual denigration of other human beings. All human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. When we choose to be silent about human rights, the atmosphere is ripe for the worst to occur.

Linda Knieriemen, Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Holland, responds:

In ancient history, the Crusades. Today, although there is a notable shift, denying LGBTQI the fullness of their humanity and participation in Christian community.

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Meanwhile TUV leader Jim Allister kept up the pressure on the DUP not to merely seek alterations to the protocol, but to seek its total abolition, saying the EU must surrender its sovereignty over the Province.

Last week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson threatened to withdraw his ministers and bring down the powersharing institutions if his demands over the protocol were not met.

He stressed that the timeframe he had in mind was weeks, rather than months.

And yesterday at the first ministerial question time at Stormont following the summer break, Mr Givan was questioned by Sinn Fein about the New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) deal.

This deal was struck in 2020 between Sinn Fein and the DUP, and was basically responsible for reviving Stormont.

Mr Givan said: Within NDNA there is a commitment by the UK Government that when it comes to the internal market, Northern Ireland will be an integral part.

The Northern Ireland Protocol, however, has caused damage economically, damage to our wider society.

It has created political tension and therefore that has to be addressed.

The Belfast Agreement is very clear on where the delicate balance was struck between unionists, nationalists and others and whenever one aspect of that is damaged it causes harm across all others.

The east/west relationship has been harmed by the Northern Ireland Protocol and that has an impact when it comes to north/south.

I want to see these issues resolved, I want to see these institutions working because I believe that we are best placed to represent the people who elect us in terms of how we run a country, that we can do that better than other jurisdictions.

He added: But we have to address the fundamental problems which have now occurred as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

And I hope that the UK Government and the European Union seize the window of opportunity that exists; but that window of opportunity is closing. Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan said that the DUP was totally responsible for the Northern Ireland Protocol, because the party backed Brexit.

Mr Givan responded: When it comes to the issue of where did it all go wrong in respect of Brexit, it has been the outworking and implementation of that by the UK Government.

We were very clear that Northern Ireland should be treated just as the rest of the United Kingdom.

There was no approval of anybody in Northern Ireland for the changes which flowed from the Northern Ireland Protocol.

It is vital when you are going to make these sorts of changes that it is done in a way which has consensus.

The protocol doesnt.

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath echoed Mr Sheehan, telling the chamber that the threat to bring down Stormont was reckless in the middle of a pandemic.

Mr Givan said: Our party is very clear. We want this Executive to continue work, we want this Assembly to continue to operate and to take the type of decisions that we are taking.

However, he also went on to say that the fundamentals on which the Executive is formed have to be right and that is why there is a window of opportunity for both the UK Government and the European Union to make sure that the changes which need to be made, are made.

Jim Allister also rose to speak during the debate, telling fellow MLAs: I want to make it abundantly clear in the House that tinkering with the Union-dismantling protocol, extending grace periods doing all those cosmetic things will not change the fundamental objection to that obnoxious protocol.

Whatever changes are made (I note that the vigorous implementers have toned down their foolhardy demands and are talking about tinkering etc) the fundamental test of all of that is whether Northern Ireland is still left in a foreign single market for goods subject to a foreign customs code and a foreign VAT regime, overseen by foreign laws and adjudicated on by a foreign court.

If that is so, any such change is useless in removing the obscenity that is the protocol and does nothing to render it acceptable.

What needs to be done is for the EU to surrender its sovereignty over Northern Ireland back to the United Kingdom.

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DUP warns that clock ticking to Stormont shutdown over NI Protocol - Belfast News Letter

content warning: gun violence, police brutality

On August 29, Projet Montreal announced that the Service de Police de la Ville de Montral (SPVM) would be receiving an even larger share of the city budget an additional $5.5 million in funding towards oppressive, racist police initiatives that negatively impact our communities. In a press conference held Sunday, Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante announced the funds were distributed to fight against criminal groups, but the continued investment in police resources instead of social services demonstrates a fundamental lack of care for the individuals most affected by rising crime and its roots in systemic discrimination.

The announcement came in response to an increase in gun violence and shootings in Montreal and Quebec. City leaders claim that this summer saw a particularly high rate of gun violence, with five people shot and killed in the Montreal region during the month of August alone. Criminology experts have attributed this uptick in Montreal to conflict between different criminal groups over territory, drugs, debts, or disagreements a reductive approach to gun violence that neglects to address the systemic roots of harm. Systemic inequities have only worsened for marginalized groups over the course of the pandemic, accompanied by pre-existing socioeconomic strain which increases tensions.

This sudden uptick has attracted media attention, and put pressure on city officials to take action on the cusp of municipal elections. However, the action taken the addition of 42 staff members to the SPVM is a lazy and harmful approach to remedy violent crime. The SPVM was founded in a context of brutality and often fatal violence against racialized, unhoused, and neurodivergent peoples. Drug addiction, mental health crises, and self defence are then used as a justification to avoid taking responsibility. As is the case in many American and Canadian jurisdictions, the hegemonic systems of law enforcement more often than not exonerate SPVM officers for their use of often fatal force, thereby allowing the institution to uphold its violent existence. Allocating more funds to the SPVM supports this oppressive system and puts communities targeted by law enforcementat a greater risk of police violence and of being implicated in the prison-industrial complex.

Bolstering police presence is an ineffective remedy to violence. Joint research conducted by the Community Resource Hub (CRH) and Interrupting Criminalization (IC) contends that increased police presence has no effect on deterring violent crime. Police are not preventers of violence they are perpetrators of it. They encourage the vicious cycle of force and brutality to continue. Data from the CRH and IC shows that violent crime is more prevalent in neighbourhoods where residents face severe financial stress, while current rising crime rates can be attributed to pandemic stress, increased gun sales, and closure of community institutions. Therefore, the safest communities are those with the most resources to address these issues, not the most police.

Research has continually proven that the creation and funding of organizations focused on initiatives like crime prevention, neighbourhood development, substance abuse prevention, job training and work development, and recreational and social activities for young people mitigate increasing rates of violent crime. Allocating national, provincial, and municipal funds to organizations such as these would be a much more effective investment in community safety. Furthermore, police abolition could open pathways to reimagined systems of community safety that do not rely on institutions rooted in white supremacy. Communities need enforcers of safety that dont play into the cycle of carceral harm and retributive justice.

SPVMs city budget has been steadily rising, totaling $30 million in increased funding this year alone. Montreal is not alone, as many jurisdictions in Canada and the US are also expanding their police budgets. In Montreal, Mayor Plante fed into the fear-mongering narrative, stating that the recent rise in armed violence must be dealt with quickly and effectively and that police officers are at the front, everyday, to counter armed violence in Montreal. This rhetoric is harmful and generates fear within the public, wrongly presenting police as saviors to a larger public, when in reality they only serve to protect the white and wealthy. If Plante wanted to meaningfully curb armed violence in the city, instead of giving into public fears and funding harmful and hegemonic systems of oppression, she would focus on preventing violence starting at its root cause by defunding the SPVM and funding communities.

It was announced Wednesday that $5 million would be allocated towards violence prevention and urban security, yet this investment pales in comparison to the police budget (approximately $700 million in total). Its as crucial as ever to continue working toward a non-carceral model of community safety which can never be achieved through the violent institution of police. With the upcoming municipal election on November 7, it is of the utmost importance that we continue to pressure candidates to support movements to defund and abolish police. Get involved with abolition movements, like Defund the SPVM and Solidarity Across Borders, as well as the Toronto Prisoners Rights Project. Support mutual aid initiatives and community-based organizations, like Meals for Milton-Parc, the Yellow Door, and Chez Doris.

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Fund Communities, Not Police | The McGill Daily - The McGill Daily

BUFFALO, NY (WBFO) Chuck Culhane is traveling to Attica Prison Thursday to participate in a vigil honoring those who lost their lives 50 years ago within the prisons walls.

He does not believe the vigil will garner any headlines.

Thats emblematic of the attitude towards prisoners, he said. Towards people inside, that they dont exist. They werent killed. And so a few of us are going to go out there and just read the names of individuals at the prison. The names of all the people, including the guards.

What is the lasting legacy of Attica a landmark event that encapsulates a generation of social progression, yet an event that also left at least 43 incarcerated persons and prison guards dead? On the 50thanniversary of the uprising, the conversation around its legacy is varied.

Culhane serves as a Prison Task Force Coordinator at the Western New York Peace Center:

I was back in prison, he says. I was sent to a maximum security place and it was, I recall, low grade terror. I did quite a few years inside. I never experienced anything like that. I mean, people were just terrorizing and really ways every day, and it was very dispiriting to see that kind of behavior with the guards.

Culhane said lessons regarding the rights of incarcerated people have yet to be learned.

And unfortunately, the vast majority of the changes have been for the worse, not for the better, he said.

The prison population has shrunk to just under 32,000 in New York State in the last 50 years, but the conditions the men living within the walls of Attica advocated for improvements to food and medical care, religious freedom and wages were abandoned in Atticas aftermath, said Soffiyah Elijah, executive director of Alliance of Families for Justice.

Sadly though, most, if not all of those improvements have now disappeared, she said. So the concerns and the demands that the men raised 50 years ago are still major concerns today.

Elijah was formerly the executive director of the Correctional Association of New York. Her insight on the plight of incarcerated people leaves her believing more can be done to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.

I would say when it comes to incarcerated people, we can clearly see that were not living in a more enlightened society, she said.

Elijah points to how hard it has been to get incarcerated people supplies to fight against contracting COVID-19 as an example of how little attention is paid to their welfare.

From not giving them PPE, from not giving them tests, not providing for vaccines, she said, advocates had to work day and night to push for those things, advocates and family members of incarcerated people.

And racism within a prison system where a majority of the incarcerated are non-white is a problem.

The racism amongst staff, the virtual lack of any Black and brown staff members and most of the Upstate prisons, Elijah said. That was a problem back in 1971 and remains a problem to this day.

One lasting legacy of Attica that both Culhane and Elijah agree on is growing prison reform and prison abolition movements in the state.

The advocacy groups on the outside have been somewhat successful, Elijah said, and reaching out to elected officials to bring these concerns to their attention so that more members of the New York State Legislature are aware and have been using their role as legislators to visit the prisons, to inquire, to question and to challenge whats happening inside the prisons.

A recent example of the success of these movements is the signing of the HALT bill by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April. The bill bans long-term solitary confinement in prisons and jails across the state.

Culhane said the push towards rehabilitation programs and restorative justice practices within the prison system are ways to keep people out of prison for good.

Well in New York, he said. I would say, yeah, just in numbers, getting people out, you know, not sending them to prison for offenses that are not, you know, particularly nonviolent and where theres alternatives like restorative justice programs that do something for victims of crime and do something for society instead of this punishment ethic thats insane.

Elijah still believes the prison system as a whole is rotten and must be abolished.

I dont believe at this point you can do this form any more than slavery could be formed, she said. I think it has to be completely destroyed. I think it is incumbent upon all of us in society to figure out a much more people-centered approach to addressing aberrant behavior by human beings.

In a society still separated by the haves and have-nots, Elijah said these issues can be solved if we all worked together.

If we can put human beings on the moon and other planets, she said. Then we can figure out how to level the playing field so that everybodys dreams and aspirations has a fair chance of being realized.

The legacy of the Attica uprising has given us many teachable moments to reflect and improve on.

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50 Years Later: The Legacy Of The Attica uprising - WSKG.org

When rogue cops abuse, mistreat and police Black men, women and children and patrol Black communities with a shoot first ask questions later approach the question that often arises is where are the good cops? However, on the rare occasion officers do step in, intervene, deescalate, and do the right thing, they are often punished and suffer retribution.

Police Sgt. Javier Esqueda is a prime example. In January 2020, 37 year old Eric Lurry died in police custody. There was no public outcry. His death was, in essence, a cover up. That is until Joliet, Ill., Sgt. Javier Esqueda leaked police bodycam footage of what transpired to a local television reporter months later.

The result? Sgt. Esqueda was suspended within days and arrested on felony charges. According to Joliet Police Chief Dawn Malec, violations include conduct unbecoming an officer, improper release of evidence and making a public statement about the department without prior permission from the police chief. Meanwhile, the officers involved in Eric Lurrys death faced no criminal charges for what happened, and three are still working on the force.

The video depicts two officers arresting Mr. Lurry and placing him in the back of a squad car. He is chewing on something and breathing heavily, and an officer concludes he has drugs in his mouth.

When an officer believes someone in custody requires medical attention, it is department policy to take that person to the hospital. Yet as Mr. Lurry slowly started to become unconscious, and as he displayed at least three of the four signs of an opiate overdose, according to the departments protocolno response, the presence of drugs and shallow breathingthe paramedics werent called. Instead, officers held Mr. Lurrys nose and called for a flashlight or baton to be stuck in his mouth. Paramedics were only called after an officer noticed Mr. Lurry, who is Black, had stopped breathing.

The incident has prompted Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to launch a civil investigation into the Joliet Police Department.

After receiving the request from Joliets mayor and city officials, my office began a preliminary review of Joliet Police Department records and other information. It is clear that a formal investigation is needed to look at whether the department has engaged in patterns or practices of unlawful or unconstitutional policing, he said. In the coming weeks, the Attorney Generals office will conduct a thorough, impartial and independent review of whether reforms are needed under the law.

The investigations questions, findings and conclusions will be focused on whether systemic problems exist within the Joliet Police Department and will not reconsider criminal charging decisions within the jurisdiction of local prosecutors, according to a Sept. 8 press release.

Javier Esqueda is one of countless officers who have been retaliated against for either exposing other officers wrongdoings or questionable behaviors on the force or for intervening in an incident.

Double standards

Cardia X, a police officer in Harvey, Ill., a Chicago suburb, who arrested a security guard for hitting a suspect, told The Final Call via email that there is no fundamental difference in the relationship between Black and White in the police department than anywhere else in society.

He quoted words from the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who wrote in a December 6, 1968, edition of the past Nation of Islam newspaper Muhammad Speaks, In the past and maybe the present, the White officer chooses from among us the Uncle Tom-like men to serve as law enforcement officers over us. This type of Black officer makes more trouble in the community than the trouble that is made by the community, because he wants to be loved and honored by the W hite officer at the expense of his Black Brother. Surely he does not want to place on the force a Black Man who loves his Black people and wants to see them at peace with each other.

So when a Black or Brown officer violates this unwritten policy and stands up for their own in the way of stopping and reporting misconduct, it reveals to the White-often administrative staff at the department that they made a miscalculation in picking the perfect Uncle Tom-like Black Officer, Cardia X said. And of course, once this miscalculation is revealed, White officers go to work to correct it by getting rid of the Black officer who is not willing to tow the line. The bottom line is, as a Black officer, your acceptance into the Brotherhood of Blue is predicated on how you mistreat and/or let Whites mistreat your own people, he added.

Brenda James story is a testament to how Black officers are treated differently even in issues not dealing with stopping fellow officers from abusing citizens.

I dont feel like Im being treated as if I was an officer. I just feel like Im only being looked at as a Black woman whose life isnt valued, she told The Final Call.

She served as a liaison between the Boston Police Department and the community. In 2010, the department failed to clear Ms. James of an injury and later charged her with Absence Without Leave in November 2011 instead of injured leave. She was medically cleared and returned to full duty in January 2012, but later that year, on June 8, 2012, the departments captain met with her at the station at about 1 a.m. without a union representative. She was assaulted with her loaded firearm when it was unexpectedly wrangled out of her holster without provocation or any reasonable justification, and she was issued a suspension. She has been fighting to get justice for over a decade.

I dont want this to happen to anyone else, she said. To read the incident report, excerpts from transcripts and the list of facts regarding her case, visit her Facebook page Black Woman with a Badge.

Is reform even possible?

When Cariol Horne heard about Mr. Esquedas case, she expressed to The Final Call, Thats crazy, because he had no other choice but to leak it, because they would have covered it up like they did. She is the author of Cariols Law.

In 2006, Ms. Horne, a former police officer with the Buffalo, New York, police department, stopped White officer Gregory Kwiatkowskis chokehold on a Black suspect. She was fired in 2008, one year before she was set to receive her pension. After more than a decade, she won a lawsuit in April and is now eligible to receive back pay and benefits for the period of July 26, 2008 to Aug. 4, 2010.

She is still waiting to receive compensation, but she said in the meantime, she wants to get Cariols Law passed nationwide and internationally. Cariols Law, which was passed in the city of Buffalo, makes it mandatory for officers to intervene when another officer is using excessive force. It also offers protections for officers who intervene.

Many places have duty to intervene laws, but Ms. Horne said those laws still dont protect the people who blow the whistle.

On the streets people will say, Hey, if you see something, say something, as the cops will tell people. But then in the cop culture, nobodys saying anything. Everybodys being quiet, she said. You cant tell the public to do one thing and youre totally going against what youre supposed to be doing. That is the very purpose of the law, to add protections for officers who do stand up against the brutality of violence, the lies.

Ms. Horne has been working with Strategies for Justice, which she said is building a network of officers who arent just going along to get along.

In Prince George County, Md., Black and Latino officers are receiving $2.3 million as part of a settlement for a workplace discrimination lawsuit against the police department. Members of the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association and the United Black Police Officers Association said they faced systemic racism in promotions and discipline and also accused the police department of retaliating against those who tried to expose wrongdoing.

Several laws to protect whistleblowers across the country are being proposed or have already passed. Maryland passed a police reform act earlier this year that provides protections for a police officer who reports wrongdoing by another officer. In May, 171 advocacy and law enforcement organizations signed a letter asking congressional leaders to include anti-retaliation rights for reporting law enforcement misconduct in any justice reform legislation regarding policing.

In many cases, accountability requires testimony from those willing to bear witness, which are often fellow officers and law enforcement personnel, the letter says. However, the blue wall of silence, compounded by the lack of anti-retaliation protection for law enforcement, forces law enforcement officers to risk their careers, safety, or even their lives when they choose to blow the whistle. That is why we are asking Congress to include whistleblower rights in police reform bills.

Very little change from the 60s to present day

Howard Saffold and Ron Hampton were fighting corruption in police departments as early as the 60s and 70s. Mr. Saffold is a founder of the Afro-American Patrolmens League in Chicago, where he helped challenge the double standards of how police performed in the Black community. He also co-founded the National Black Police Association and the Positive Anti-Crime Thrust.

We actually had to sue the city of Chicago. And we didnt have a consent decree. We actually took them all the way to the United States Supreme Court, challenging their hiring practices, their promotion practices, the assignment practices and their disciplinary practices, Mr. Saffold told The Final Call.

He said there was constant retaliation. They retaliated like any racist institution would. And so that gave us an opportunity to learn how to fight back, he said.

Mr. Hampton was on the police force in Washington, D.C., from 1970 to 1994. He is a former executive director of the National Black Police Association. He described that there were times when he had to report police officers for striking handcuffed citizens and a time when he spoke out and testified on behalf of someone who was on death row in Houston, Texas. But there were consequences, he said. He received personal threats and threats on his family.

I wanted to be true to myself. I was Black. I wasnt a police officer. I was a Black person who had a job in policing, and I was very much aware of the unequalness of justice and everything else in our society, he told The Final Call.

He said there have been some changes and success stories regarding policing today versus back then, but nothing permanent.

Its almost like you got to start over again. In the police reform movement, they talk about abolition. But thats almost like what you have to do if you really want to clean the system out. You got to abolish the present system that it operates within and then start all over again, he said. I also happen to believe that thats not impossible. I dont believe thats impossible.

I think we can give it up and just start all over again. We can even rename it, give it a name thats going to really mean what it is that were going to be doing every day, he continued. Like justice and healing system. No, we dont have to call it the criminal punishment system. We can call it the justice and healing system, and it can do those kinds of things.

Mr. Saffold also said he has seen some change, but that its worse. Its worse because of the lack of consistent accountability mechanisms being put in place to discourage misconduct, and it encourages people who normally would not have even tried it had they seen an example of what happens to you when you do it the wrong way, he said.

He explained that its inaccurate to describe police as a few bad apples and instead, described it as cancer thats metastasized over the years. When referring to policing, he uses an acronym: CERNcorruption, excessive force, racism and nepotism.

We need to pay attention to the long-term effect of not correcting this and institutionalized retaliation in terms of in Chicago right now, having something they call a consent decree, that as you track their performance and trying to correct these things that the city was accused of, the federal government weighed in from a civil rights violation perspective, he said.

And then their unwillingness to do whats right when they get caught. So the enforcement of laws is more important. I mean, what difference does it make if you have a litany of dont yall do this and dont yall do that and then nobody enforces or causes any kind of redress on the part of the victims that are complaining in that category.

Mr. Saffold said when good officers face backlash, like that of Javier Esqueda, the community should rise up in support and that it shouldnt solely fall on Black police organizations. Cardia X said the community has an obligation to stand up for officers who risk their reputation, salary, freedom and sometimes their lives.

We have to be solution-oriented, and I have to say that certain things like policy reform and training will only bring marginal benefits because it circumvents the real issue instead of adequately addressing it, Cardia X said.

He also said Black police organizations need to be stronger and that the relationship between the Black police officer and the Black community must be repaired.

He quoted the Honorable Elijah Muhammads words from the Dec. 6, 1968 article: Throughout the country, let us take over where we are dominant in the towns and cities and have Black officers in control of enforcing the law upon us.

Editors Note: In Volume 40, Edition 4 of The Final Call, Brenda James is quoted saying, I noticed that the White officers were White supremacists. Her words were I noticed that White officers, really well White superiors

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Blue Wall of Backlash - Cops punished for trying to do the right thing - FinalCall.com News

In this weeks Career Focus, Thats Farming, speaks to Iarla Hughes, a UCD AST (Agricultural Systems Technology) graduate. The Meath native discusses his dairy farming roots, and the ag-tech industry, including his work at Moocall.

Resilience, patience, and hard work are the three key ingredients to succeed in the agricultural industry.

If you want to make it to the top, you need to be a little different, stand out from the crowd, and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Those are the sentiments of 24-year-old, Iarla Hughes, who graduated from University College Dublin in 2020 when Ireland was at the height of its first lockdown.

However, the Agricultural Systems Technology (AST) graduate did not view this as a negative despite the timing.

I tried to look at the positives, and as we all know, food production never ceased, so it was probably the best sector to be searching for employment, he told Thats Farming.

You will have setbacks along the way, but if you stay focused, you can get to where you want to be, he added.

The Summerhill, Co Meath native hails from a 125-cow dairy farm and secured a role with one of Irelands most progressive ag-tech companies earlier this year.

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The farm comprises 125-cows, mostly Kiwi-cross-breds and some Holstein Friesians, alongside 33 in-calf heifers and 40 spring-born replacements, as part of a compact spring calving grass-based system.

The family increased their herd size and changed to a cross-bred system in 2013 with the abolition of quotas on the horizon. They aim to produce 500kg of milk solids from 500kg of concentrates, placing emphasis on an extended grazing season.

We focus a lot on grassland management as this is key to running this system. We aim to measure grass every week throughout the grazing season. I am passionate about grass-based dairy systems. They are particularly suited to harness our favourable climate and leads to our quality milk supply.

My father is the main man. Most of the family help throughout the busy periods. My mother helps a lot around spring, calving as this is an important and busy period.

We have put a lot of effort into calf-rearing the last five years. As a result, we recently installed an automatic calf feeder, which is a massive labour-saving tool.

My younger brother and I help whenever we are around. He will be starting college soon and works with a local contractor throughout the summer. My sisters and I work full-time off-farm. So, it is a family effort to chip in whenever we are about, he added.

His interest in technology aiding the daily life of farming unearthed a desire to further his studies in this field.

The fourth-generation dairy farmer is most passionate about implementing technology to increase efficiency, productivity, and sustainability across farming systems.

In his view, these are the core principles that can lead to a more profitable farming system with less labour and stress on farmers.

There are many constant challenges like milk price, new regulations and weather. Not all of these are in a farmers control.

I suppose the main challenge that a farmer can control to a certain degree is the type of farming system they are running.

I believe for young people in agriculture it is more about getting a good work-life balance at the same time. That is where I developed my interest.

This interest led him to UCD in 2016, where he studied a four-year degree immediately after completing his Leaving Certificate.

After graduating from the world-renowned educational institution, he desired to enter the working world and immerse himself in how technology impacts modern-day agriculture.

In recent months, he secured his first position as a technical product executive with Moocall.

Moocall is a farmer-founded company based in Ireland, specialising in providing world-class innovations for the dairy and beef industries since 2014.

After closely studying specific animal behavioural patterns, Moocall has designed patented technology that utilises IoT connectivity platforms, providing life-changing, accurate and real-time information to a farmers fingertips.

According to the UCD graduate, the company brings revolutionary solutions to farmers in what is typically a very traditional sector.

Iarla moved to fill the position in March 2021 and is responsible for supporting customers and responding to any technical questions.

In our busy periods, I am primarily based on the phone lines assisting our customers in Ireland but also as far away as USA and Australia.

I also help our research and development team with routine maintenance and the technical side of things in our quieter periods. We are a small but passionate team here. The great thing is that we are all multi-skilled, so we can help each other when required.

He works closely alongside the companys multilingual customer service team and liaises with its R&D team as the firm is constantly reviewing our products and making refinements.

Besides, he also engages with its marketing and warehouse team to ensure customers receive their products in a timely manner.

Being a part of an Irish ag-tech company like Moocall makes me very proud. This company has gone from strength to strength over the years, collecting numerous innovation awards in its short existence.

As I play a lot of sport too, it is like working with another team here at Moocall, and everyone helps each other. It is a very enjoyable atmosphere. I get great satisfaction helping customers gain full advantage of our products to make their everyday life easier.

Furthermore, I would say the adoption of technology can sometimes be a daunting challenge to some farmers. I think getting over the initial hurdle of this is key. Technology may sound complex and sophisticated, but it is made to be simple and user-friendly.

Most of us here at Moocall are all farmers ourselves, so we know what the consumer wants. We are all about connecting the customer to their animals through technology to make their life a lot easier.

As I am still at the early stages of my career, getting my foot in the door with Moocall has been my highlight to date. It is the perfect fit for me as it merges my passion for mixing technology and my dairy farming background.

Furthermore, he is also incorporating his degree by assisting with the research and development function.

He has worked from the companys HQ in Dublin from day one, and that will be the case going forward. Here, he experiences a team atmosphere, which, in his view, remote working cannot replicate.

I have a short commute too. That makes life a little easier and gives me more time to do other stuff in my day, the UCD graduate added.

Coming from a dairy farm background, I have always had a passion for agriculture. I wanted to be a little different from the crowd and study what the future of farming holds.

Specialising to study ag-tech was the cornerstone of getting to work with a company like Moocall. I endeavour to continue a career in the ag-tech industry in the future.

I think adopting technology is the way forward to farming more efficiently and sustainably into the future. Moreover, I am excited to continue my journey in the ag-tech industry as this is my main career focus now.

The open-minded Meath native believes mixing dairy farming and technology is his strong point, so a career in this area will always be where he feels most comfortable.

Recently at home, they have been discussing a second farm business in the form of selling their milk directly to consumers.

There may be an opportunity in our area for this, and it is something that we can research over the coming months, he revealed.

Agriculture is such a broad industry; you never know where it might lead you to. One thing for certain is that it is an industry we are very passionate about, and you need to be too to succeed at the top.

Go for it, and do not be afraid to try things. If you are unsure what area you want to study or work in, I think it is best to adopt the trial-and-error approach. I believe you will quickly begin to find your interest and dislikes.

You will have setbacks along the way, but if you stay focused, you can get to where you want to be, the UCD graduate.

He strongly advises building a career plan and setting long and short-term goals. It is nearly like working backwards and thinking how I can achieve my long-term ambitions, he added.

Furthermore, he said building contacts and networking with different people within the industry is paramount.

There are going to be times where you might have to challenge yourself and do things out of your comfort zone. However, it will stand to you in the long run.

I predict the future ahead for farming in Ireland to be very positive. I suppose I am lucky in a sense the dairy sector is thriving at the moment, so we are in a good place at home.

However, there are so many opportunities out there, I would not put anyone off a career in any agriculture-related discipline, he concluded.

Moocall Ploughing 2021 offers: Save 143 when purchasing a calving sensor and 564 on moocall HEAT more information

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UCD graduate on forging a career in the ag-tech industry with Moocall - Thats Farming