Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

Activists are now concerned that the no guilty verdict could "give license" and send a message to others that may identify with Rittenhouse's actions.

Jacob Blake's uncle, Justin Blake, center, holds a Pan-African flag as he rallies with dozens of other protesters on the steps of the Kenosha County Courthouse on Nov. 16, 2021. Activists are now concerned that the no guilty verdict could "give license" and send a message to others that may identify with Rittenhouse's actions. Credit - Ashlee RezinAP

On the surface, the jurys Nov. 19 verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse was all too simple. His defense team successfully pled the case that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed two people during a night of protests and unrest in Kenosha last August.

But Rittenhouses reasons for being in Kenosha, then-roiled by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and the lack of accountability thats being placed on his behavior is something criminal and racial justice activists are deeply concernedand wholly unsurprisedabout moving forward.

During an interview with Fox News broadcast on Nov. 22, Rittenhouse claimed that he supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and argued that his case had nothing to do with race. (While the circumstances were, broadly, related to a collective response to racial justice and police brutality, Rittenhouse and all three men he shot are white.)

However, according to some activists, the ramifications of his trial are less about Rittenhouse as an individual, and more about what he is now seen as representingan opposition to protests and protesters that isnt less about protecting property or supporting law enforcement, and more about a deep-seated disdain for racial equality.

Read more: The Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict Makes Us All Less Safe

The impact of Rittenhouses trial will be seen in what happens when the people who respond to injustice are confronted by those who dont agree with the response, Dr. Amara Enyia, a public policy expert with Movement 4 Black Lives (M4BL) tells TIME. This verdict is more about those who disagree with people who are protesting for whatever reason. It sends a message to those peoplethat they can get involved in ways that are reckless.

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The jurys verdict upholds white supremacy, even though the victims were white. The underlying issue was about the power of Black people to push back against police violence, argues Delores Jones-Brown, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College in New York.

Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot and paralyzed during a confrontation with police officers on Aug. 23, 2020. (The officers involved have not faced any criminal charges.) To many, the incident was yet another example of the injustices that often befalls Black civilians during encounters with the policeand resonated even more after George Floyds murder and the killing of Breonna Taylor.

[Like with] many issues that people feel like are so important, Enyia says of racial justice protesters, the only way that they can get the attention of the powers that be is by being out in the streets engaging in their First Amendment rights.

And it didnt take long after news of Blakes shooting broke for protests and unrest to spread across Kenosha. In addition to peaceful protests and demonstrations led by local organizers, individuals engaged in violence and property damage. On Aug. 24, 2020, the Wisconsin National Guard was sent to the city.

Kyle Rittenhouse listens as the Judge Bruce Schroeder talks about jury deliberations on Nov. 17, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Sean KrajacicPool/Getty Images

These are the circumstances that Rittenhouse arrived in, ostensibly to serve as a medic for people injured in clashes between protesters and counter-protesters, as well as to guard businesses deemed at risk of looting or property crimes. Regardless of his initial intentions, activists believe that his presence served to escalate tensionsto a fatal point. Before the night was out, Rittenhouse had fatally shot two men and injured a third. During his trial, Rittenhouse and others testified that his first victim, Joseph Rosenbaum, had initiated a conflict; Rittenhouse claimed he shot in self-defense. As he fled the scene, he then engaged physically with Joshua Ziminski, who was killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz, who was injured. Both of these men were armed.

I think for white protesters, this may be their first brush with the idea that if you [are] for social justice or racial justice, you are at great risk that the system is willing to harm you, Jones-Brown says. And activists are now concerned this verdict could give license and send a message to others that may identify with Rittenhouses actions. It actually emboldens them. It sends a message that they will not be held accountable for their behavior and decision-making, Enyia adds.

This in turn will most likely impact Black people engaged in protest work to a much larger extent than their white peers or allies.

Read more: In the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial, Self-Defense Took Center Stage

These are the same voices that vilify Black protesters fighting for racial justice and defend state-sanctioned police violence against them. Rittenhouse is one person, but his actions are intrinsically tied to a web of white supremacist rhetoric and the nations longstanding history of anti-Black violence, Rashad Robinson, president of the civil rights activists group Color of Change, said in a Nov. 19 statement.

For those of us who believe in protest and who believe in the need for protest as a tool toward the end of systemic and structural injustice, it wont stop us, Enyia tells TIME. Protesting is a tool and we will continue to use it.

Other racial justice activists speaking with TIME in response to the jurys verdict likewise say it will not impact their advocacy. But it presents serious complications, and may well change their tacticsforcing those on the ground protesting on the defense, focused on assessing potential threats and protecting themselves as well as uplifting their cause.

In some cases, this might mean carrying a legal firearm. (An August survey from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project revealed that demonstrations involving armed individuals are nearly six times as likely to turn violent or destructive, when compared to those that take place without firearms.) It could also mean that more organizers are trained in de-escalation tactics. The big takeaway is that this is another reminder that activists and protesters cant rely on the system itself to protect them.

Furthermore, it reinforces the dangerous dichotomy that those protesting against white supremacy and racial violence will be at greater risk of it for calling it out.

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How the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Verdict Could Devastate the Work of Black Lives Matter Activists - Yahoo News

On Monday, the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance (WaBLM) called on the United States Department of Justice to launch a civil rights investigation into the disproportionate use of excessive force against Black people and people of color by the Pierce County Sheriffs Department.

Sakara Remmu, lead strategist for WaBLM, met with U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Nicholas Brown to discuss the request and other urgent matters related to the Department.

Pierce County recently released a report on use of force incidents by the Sheriffs Department. Among its findings: Black residents experience 5.62 times as much police use of force as white residents. Native American or Alaska Native residents experience 2.31 times as much force as white residents.

According to the report, Black childrenthe most vulnerable in Pierce Countyexperience force seven to 13 times more than white children.

It doesnt get more clear than these numbers; the need for a new vision for justice is overdue at the Pierce County Sheriffs Department, said Carol Mitchell, former Senior Counsel for Justice Services at Pierce County, Founder of the Institute for Black Justice, and member of the WaBLM steering committee.

If the DOJ digs further, they will find that Black people are arrested more often and over-represented in the Pierce County Jail and at Remann Hall. When involved in domestic conflict, Black children are not diverted to family therapy, but arrested and sent to detention.Black children are presumed to be gang-affiliated just because of their family name, and get charged with more serious crimes than their white counterparts engaged in the same behavior.

How can residents have any faith in a department that is brutalizing young Black people? How can residents have trust for a department lead by a Sheriff facing criminal charges for false statements that nearly got an innocent Black man killed? How can residents believe in a department thats being sued by its three highest-ranking Black employees for a history of racial discrimination and harrassement?

The answer is, they cannot. Its time for the Department of Justice to step in.

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WA BLM Meets With Justice Dept Over Pierce Co. Sheriff Dept - Seattle Medium

Ever since Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two men and injured a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during racial justice demonstrations last year, legions of conservatives and far-right extremists have celebrated an 18-year-old as both a hero and a victim. Soon after receiving a not guilty verdict last Friday, Rittenhouse attempted to take part in his own beatification.

Adopting a posture both confrontational to his critics and satiating for his most ardent supporters, Rittenhouse appeared in his first national television interview on Fox Newss Tucker Carlson Tonight after a Wisconsin jury acquitted him on all charges in the August 2020 shooting deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injury of Gaige Grosskreutz. Even as Carlsons interview aired during primetime, protests over the verdict that began over the weekend continued in major cities.

The interview came as Rittenhouses trial and subsequent verdict has stirred up fierce debate on some of the nations most contentious issues, including gun rights and the right to protest without threat of violence. However, the court proceedings were often deeply unserious, starting with Judge Bruce Schroeder declaring that the attorneys in the case were not allowed to refer to Rittenhouses victims as victims. The defendant himself actually helped randomly select the jury, using an unusual, old-fashioned lottery-style draw. And lest we forget, there was a day of dubitable sobbing on the witness stand.

Contrary to that weepy court testimony, Rittenhouse mostly spoke with a calm voice as he swung at Carlsons softballs. The host did his utmost to center Rittenhouses trauma and pain, teeing him up to lash out at President Joe Biden and invoke incorporeal forces like a mob mentality that he blamed for his legal plight.

His guest also said that he supported Black Lives Matter and that those committing violence during the demonstrations following Jacob Blakes shooting by Kenosha police were opportunist, taking advantage of the BLM movement.

It was odd to hear Rittenhouse say that, particularly in the middle of a Fox News interview. Stating ones social-justice bonafides serves, for white liberals, to signify allyship. But for conservatives or people playing to that audiences sympathies, doing so is often a move to seek cover from charges of racism. The resurgence of extremist, white supremacist violence and intimidation during the last several years has been, in their view, an act of self-defense.

How, then, in that context, are we to take it when we see Rittenhouse argue to Carlson, It wasnt Kyle Rittenhouse on trial in Wisconsin; it was the right of self-defense on trial? When the same people who support Rittenhouse believe the country needs defending from people who arent white and dont believe in defending Black lives, he can say he supports Black Lives Matter all he wants.

Whats evident, no matter Rittenhouses intent, is that he came to the right show on the right network.

True to his programs formula, Carlsons hour was devoted to stoking misguided cultural grievances on Rittenhouses behalf. Known for its reckless demagoguery and fabulism, Tucker Carlson Tonight regularly focuses on convincing his heavily white audience that theyre right to fear a society supposedly out to get them (and only them). Throughout the broadcast, the host promoted a forthcoming documentary about Rittenhouses trial, despite the ongoing controversy about his revisionist January 6 special.

Acquittal, in the Fox News arena, became absolution. What a sweet boy, Carlson remarked about the 18-year-old before a commercial break.

It was the seventh anniversary of the day that an actual boy, 12-year-old Tamir Rice, was mistaken for a man by Cleveland police before an officer shot him dead. But on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Rittenhouse was supposedly the victim this November 22, and the host gave him every chance to deny the most injurious claim his detractors have made. No, not that he is a murderer that he is a bigot.

Im not a racist person, Rittenhouse said, adding that he felt his case was not about race. (The victims in the case were all white, but prosecutors noted earlier this year that Rittenhouse had been photographed with Proud Boys and flashing a hand sign known as a symbol for white power. ) Whether this is about race is not Rittenhouses decision, though, and whether he is in fact racist seems irrelevant. He likely wont dissuade his critics in the press and elsewhere who have labeled him a white supremacist, nor the self-identifying neo-Nazis celebrating his acquittal. More interesting, however, was how Rittenhouse described being affected by his time spent within American jurisprudence.

Rittenhouse had already twice stated his support for the Black Lives Matter movement (which strongly rebuked him in a tweet about the interview) when he took note of the inequities and degradation he experienced while in jail.

I believe there needs to be change, Rittenhouse said, I believe theres a lot of prosecutorial misconduct not just in my case, but in other cases. And its just amazing to see how much a prosecutor can take advantage of somebody. If they did this to me, imagine what they could have done to a person of color who doesnt maybe have the resources I do or isnt widely publicized, like my case.

Rittenhouse spoke of a jail cell he likened to a one-star hotel, where he had a mobile phone and tablet, but allegedly no running water. He didnt shower for nearly a month, he told Carlson. Though he complained of being pepper-sprayed in Kenosha, Rittenhouse spoke glowingly of law enforcement even thanking the guards at his first jail and praising their professionalism. But he also detailed how he spent more than 80 days in jail due to a problem too many defendants have: incompetent counsel. His allies at the time included QAnon conspiracy theorist Lin Wood; Rittenhouse alleged Wood exploited his case after Wood sought to claw back money raised for Rittenhouses bail. But some defendants are far unluckier, and some end up on death row.

Carlson reacted to these details as if he was shocked to hear such things could happen in America, as if a man named Julius Jones professing his innocence in Oklahoma had not narrowly escaped lethal injection the day before Rittenhouses verdict. Carlsons only reference to the man whose shooting prompted the Kenosha protests where Rittenhouse fired on the three men was a baseless claim that the media lies about the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Still, almost by accident, Carlsons program reinforced that there are many things wrong with the American project. They could have done an hour on Monday night reexamining Rices death and the familys campaign to have his killing reconsidered for prosecution by the Department of Justice. Such a show might have made the same or similar points, but its foolish to expect Carlson, known for his openly racist appeals to white grievances, to recognize whats wrong with America without peering through the lens of victimhood.

If only Carlson and Rittenhouse were able to discuss the terrible state of American jurisprudence without putting themselves in the spotlight. For all of Rittenhouses recognition of Americas faulty system of criminal punishment, the two still failed to acknowledge that it was the AR-15-style rifle he wielded that instigated the intimidation and harassment. Had they, the ridiculous spectacle on Fox News might have come close to having some worth.

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The ironic spectacle of Kyle Rittenhouses Tucker Carlson interview - Vox

Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who was acquitted of murder last week after shooting and killing two people in Kenosha, Wis.,during civil unrest there last year,said he supports the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

"Im not a racist person. I support the BLM movement," Rittenhouse said during an interview with Fox News host Tucker CarlsonTucker CarlsonRittenhouse defense attorney says he threw Tucker Carlson's film crew 'out of the room several times' Rittenhouse after trial: 'Self-defense is not illegal' Tucker Carlson gets Rittenhouse interview for Monday night MORE, a portion of which is slated to air on Carlson's program on Monday evening.

"I support peacefully demonstrating," the teen told Carlson, according to a transcript of the interview. "I believe there needs to be change. I believe theres a lot of prosecutorial misconduct, not just in my case but in other cases. Its just amazing to see how much a prosecutor can take advantage of someone."

The jury on Friday found Rittenhousenot guilty of all five counts he faced, including intentional homicide, after defense attorneys argued Rittenhouse acted in self-defense when he shot and killedJoseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26.

Rittenhouse also injured a third person during the shooting, which took place after the teen traveledto Kenosha from his home in Illinois. Hesaid he intended to help defend businesses that were under threat of being damagedduring the unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, earlier that summer.

TheRittenhouse verdictwaswidely celebrated over the weekend by conservatives, manyof whom see his acquittal as a win for gun rights and self-defense laws nationwide. Many liberalshave panned the verdict as setting a dangerous precedent about self-defense claims and the disparities in the criminal justice system for defendants based on race.

Several protests have broken out in cities nationwide following the verdict.

The verdict speaks to the dramatic differences in perspective people have, based on racial background, about justice in our country, civil rights attorney Shavar Jeffries told The Hill on Friday. For many people of color, the idea that they could show up with an assault rifle at the site of a rally, kill people, and find themselves exonerated is something beyond comprehension.

Rittenhouse, in the interview with Carlson, described the fearhe saidhe felt during the confrontation that led to the shooting.

"I tell everybody there what happened," he said. "I said I had to do it. I was just attacked. I was dizzy. I was vomiting. I couldnt breathe."

Rittenhouse broke down in tears on the stand as he testified during his own trial and collapsed when the verdict was read aloud by the jury foreperson on Friday.

"The jury reached the correct verdict,"he said during a previously released portion of the interview with Carlson. "Self-defense is not illegal."

This article was updated at 7:48 p.m.

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Kyle Rittenhouse: 'I support the BLM movement' | TheHill - The Hill

MSNBC host Joy Reid said far-right groups acted like today was the Super Bowl following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. Reacting to Vice President Kamala Harris' response to the verdict, Reid said we want Harris to be all things to all people, saying she is as much a victim of "the system" as the rest of us.

Reid called for white people to "look inward" and not to rely on a black woman to "come zooming in on her white horse" to solve your problems or "fix your feelings." Reid, a guest on her own show today, told her all-black panel of cable television commentators that Harris is a "victim" of the system just as much as they are. "It's not her job to fix it," Reid said of Harris and "the system."

"We want Kamala Harris to be all things to all people," Reid said Friday. "She has to represent everything black. But she's not the only person responsible to do that. This system is not on her shoulders. She didn't create it. She's as much a victim of it, lives under it just like we do on this panel. It's not her job to fix it."

"The problem is there is an L.A. Times reporter that talked about the far-right groups from The Proud Boys on who are absolutely licking their chops today acting like they won the Super Bowl according to this L.A. Times reporter," Reid said of the Rittenhouse verdict.

"We have nothing in place culturally or socially to stop the next group of white nationalists, Proud Boys, MAGA people, whoever they want to take from this verdict what they want and to use it as permission to attack Black Lives Matter," Reid fretted.

This is a problem white America has to do. They need to look inward. And don't look for a black lady to come zooming on her white horse to fix it and to fix your feelings about it. Because the problem is there is an L.A. Times reporter that talked about the far-right groups from The Proud Boys on who are absolutely licking their chops today acting like they won the Super Bowl according to this L.A. Times reporter. What we need to worry about is we have nothing in place legally. We have nothing in place culturally or socially to stop the next group of white nationalists, Proud Boys, MAGA people, whoever they want to take from this verdict what they want and to use it as permission to attack Black Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter ain't just black people as we just saw. Mr. Huber and Mr. Rosenbaum are white. they are Jewish. They are also victims and easily made victims because anyone who supports Black Lives Matter should be very afraid tonight.

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Joy Reid: Nothing In Place To Prevent White Nationalists From Using Rittenhouse Verdict To Attack Black Lives Matter - RealClearPolitics

This series is more nuanced than Justified, not necessarily telling viewers that what Winslet's character did was, indeed, justified. It operates in a moral grey area often necessary for interesting drama. Other shows draw an ethical divide between police figures by contrasting good and bad behaviour, and honing in on subjects such as corruption and malfeasance creating unflattering impressions of the police force.

In recent years these more sobering series have included Line of Duty, which follows a self-professed "proper copper" (Martin Compston), along with Vicky McClure's DI Fleming and Adrian Dunbar's tough-talking quip machine Superintendent Hastings who take a moral stand against their colleagues in their work on the anti-corruption unit. In The Shield, the "bad cop" is the principal character: a dirty, in-your-face loudmouth (Michael Chiklis) who partakes in all sorts of unethical behaviour, including beating a suspect in an interview room with a telephone book.

A more cynical future?

Lamb predicts that, going forward, we are likely to see more in this already popular trend of cynical productions. He says that "at no other time" have cop dramas from both sides of the pond been "overwhelmingly invested in police corruption and going to great lengths to uncover why things are not as they first seem. To me this seems indicative of a time when faith in political leaders has been more sectarian than ever, and public trust is at an all-time low."

On the question of what else is in store for the future of the TV cop drama, like television more broadly the genre will almost certainly produce fewer shows anchored by white men. More will join a growing list of female-led procedurals, that includes Top of the Lake, Happy Valley, The Fall and Mare of Easttown. This modern twist on the genre however is not without its own challenges. Jenner, for instance, notes that female police characters often suffer more than male characters: "the outcome is always that the worst things that can happen to a person happen to them in the end," she says.

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What is the future of the cop drama? - BBC News

Desean Terry as Daniel on the Apple TV Plus series The Morning ShowPhoto: Apple TV+

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the season two finale of The Morning Show. If you are worried about that sort of thing, watch the episode and come back.

Does the season two finale of The Morning Show really mark Desean Terrys departure from the show? Is his character, Daniel, really done at UBA? Honestly, considering how little theyve appreciated him, he probably should be.

We talked to Terry about all of those burning questions and more for the video interview above.

For instance, is Daniel really done? According to Terry, Itll be interesting to see exactly what Daniel does next. The actor says he admires Daniel walking away and prioritizing family, saying that his COVID experience made him reassess his life and maybe he has his priorities out of whack.

Terry says that switch up is something hes seen in his own life, and that he hopes, whatever happens with with Daniel that we get to see that he approaches the world with a new sense of hierarchy about whats important for him. Maybe some of the stress that he placed on himself to prove himself at UBA hopefully melts away and he finds out that he is destined for even greater things.

Terry also had thoughts on the shows reflection of the explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020, saying:

Ive always been a person whos been vocal about representation mattering and whats happening in terms of systemic racism, but during COVID, I had to go back and do even more research and more deep dives about what was going on.

I found that there were so many Daniels out there. There were so many journalists and all this amazing literature out there that was evolving our conversation about systemic oppression. How do you even have a conversation about that when youre fighting for being recognized and being seen without just talking about your relationship to whiteness? Its a very, very difficult and challenging thing to approach.

What I like about what Daniel is doing is that were seeing that he is one of those harbingers. He is one of those people who is saying, you guys have to recognize what is happening here. You have to see the level to which this system is set up against me as a black person functioning within a white space.

I think what happens three months later really opens that up, and we have not just a national conversation, but an international conversation about race.

Season two of The Morning Show is now available in its entirety on Apple TV+. You can check out our interview with the shows producer here, and with one of its stars, Jennifer Aniston, here.

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Desean Terry on Black Lives Matter and what's next for The Morning Show's Daniel - The A.V. Club

Nadine Seiler poses with a piece of artwork that was once displayed on the Black Lives Matter fence near the White House. Seiler is working to find new homes for the 700-plus artifacts left by protesters. Jonathan Franklin/NPR hide caption

Nadine Seiler poses with a piece of artwork that was once displayed on the Black Lives Matter fence near the White House. Seiler is working to find new homes for the 700-plus artifacts left by protesters.

Nadine Seiler has an activist spirit very "noisy," she says, but always "in the crowd."

"I'm the voice that you hear that you don't know where it's coming from," Seiler says.

The Waldorf, Md., resident is stepping forward this time as one of several people preserving protesters' artwork from the Black Lives Matter memorial fence that stood between protesters and the White House. The displays bore the faces and names of Black people who died from police violence.

As authorities took down the fence earlier this year, Seiler made it her mission to preserve every artifact that she could knowing that each sign represents a part of the nation's history.

Seiler is working with fellow protester Karen Irwin from New York to find new homes for what Seiler estimates are more than 700 items.

Signs on the fence surrounding the White House during the 2020 Presidential election. The fence, which came down in January 2021, once served as home to nearly 700+ signs and artwork during the course of the racial protests in D.C. following George Floyd's murder. Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

Signs on the fence surrounding the White House during the 2020 Presidential election. The fence, which came down in January 2021, once served as home to nearly 700+ signs and artwork during the course of the racial protests in D.C. following George Floyd's murder.

Protesters came to Lafayette Square Park next to the White House following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and federal authorities quickly put up metal barricades to block off various entrances to the site.

The fencing went up Jun. 4, 2020, and came down on Jan. 30, 2021.

Seiler and others had spent long hours at the fence on what is now called Black Lives Matter Plaza.

"Whether it was going to rain, snow or ice, we lived at the fence," Seiler says. "There was somebody on that fence or within a few feet of the fence, wherever the police pushed us."

Signs on the fence surrounding the White House on Nov. 4, 2020. The majority of the artwork featured on the fence will be preserved in an archive in partnership with Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library. Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Signs on the fence surrounding the White House on Nov. 4, 2020. The majority of the artwork featured on the fence will be preserved in an archive in partnership with Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library.

As the group stood guard, the artwork on the memorial became a symbol for the movement, a place where people stopped and took pictures, honoring what the fence and its signs stood for.

The drive to save the artwork was inspired on Oct. 26, when demonstrators saw counterprotesters tearing down the signs displayed on the fence.

"Because people would come by and vandalize this stuff, part of me felt disrespected," Seiler says. "I made sure the stuff wasn't going to get torn down."

Seiler made it her mission to pick up and save as many signs as she could.

Thanks to her and others, the artwork is being housed in a storage unit as it waits to be scanned by archivists at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library, a joint project with the D.C. Public Library.

"The collection serves as part of the record of one of the most important social justice movements of our time," says Jodi Hoover of Enoch Pratt Library.

Hoover, who serves as the library's digital resources manager, tells NPR that preserving and documenting historical events in real-time is not only incredibly important but is also a rare opportunity.

A steel fence at Lafayette Park was turned into a makeshift memorial after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed that section of 16th street "Black Lives Matter Plaza" near the White House in June 2020. The artwork that was once displayed on the fence is currently being digitally archived for a future visual collection. Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption

A steel fence at Lafayette Park was turned into a makeshift memorial after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed that section of 16th street "Black Lives Matter Plaza" near the White House in June 2020. The artwork that was once displayed on the fence is currently being digitally archived for a future visual collection.

"By working collaboratively we are able to preserve and provide access to this collection for years to come. It is my hope that it will be of use now and in the future," she says.

The signs are being driven to Baltimore by Seiler in batches of 100 and nearly 300 signs have already been digitally archived.

But according to Seiler, four more batches are still left to be scanned.

"I don't expect this process to be over before the end of 2021, given it takes six to eight weeks to scan a batch," she says.

Once the items have all been scanned, Seiler says the gifting process for the artwork will then begin.

Ideally, she says organizers with the D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter would like for the pieces to stay in the hands of Black organizations but mentions that wherever the pieces may land, she hopes people would recognize their worth and the messages behind them.

"I don't know what it's going to take, but whoever takes some has to agree to care for them," Seiler says.

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Nadine Seiler Black Lives Matter Fence Preserving ...

MUNCIE, In. (WISH) Muncie Central High School announced a third e-learning day in a row after nearly 300 students protested Monday in response to Black Lives Matter signs being taken down by the schools security officers.

Our teacher was pulled from our classroom by the school security officers at the school and had been told that they did not agree [and] that our claims are false, Quinnith Bouton, a Muncie Central High School student, said.

Bouton gave I-Team 8 the video she took showing the moment security officers discussed their issues with the Black Lives Matter posters on lockers, which Bouton says was part of an English project. Bouton says the signs were taken down after Attorney General Todd Rokita suggested schools limit Black Lives Matter posters, calling BLM an unequivocally political organization.

[Students] felt that the school officers had a racial bias. And so that in itself made them feel unsafe. I think there is a lack of education in the sense of people of color in general. And I believe that it is appropriate to discuss these topics as it affects many of us every day in their everyday lives, Bouton said.

Bouton says students are planning on writing to the attorney general and are demanding a personal apology from the security officers involved.

Muncie Community Schools says while they will be remote on Thursday, they will be back to in-person learning on Friday. The following statement was sent to parents by the school:

Dear Students, Families and Friends,

As you know, a group of students led a peaceful protest at school on Monday stemming from some posters that were displayed in a hallway last week. This was an opportunity for them to have their voice heard on a number of different issues. School and district officials were able to hear their concerns and have a constructive conversation.

It is our intent to have students feel secure and respected when they are at school. This means every student, not just those who feel aggrieved or are passionate about a particular issue. Moreover, in order for our educational mission and responsibilities to be met, prolonged disruptions need to be limited. As such, we are working to balance the educational needs and responsibilities of all of our students with the concerns raised by those who were protesting on Monday.

As we strike this balance, MCS realizes the importance of addressing the concerns brought to light by the events of the past several days and commits to do the following:

With regard to our return to in-person instruction, in order to ensure school safety for all and to permit the educational process to move forward, there will be no more in-school protests allowed. However, the Muncie Human Rights Commission has organized a peaceful protest to take place after school on November 23. Protestors will march to City Hall and back to Centrals football field. Once we return to in-person schooling, if students decide to protest in a disruptive manner when they should be in class, they will face appropriate disciplinary action.

MCS has worked hard to be an inclusive school system where everyone is valued and respected, and we plan to keep it that way. Thank you for your support!

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Muncie Central High School to have third e-learning day after student-led Black Lives Matter protests - WISHTV.com

Black and Missing is a real-life based documentary series that is all set for its premiere on November 23, 2021. The series is directed by Geeta Gambhir, who has won several Emmy awards alongside Soledad OBrien, who is a notable author, journalist, activist, and documentarian.

The series focuses on Derrica and Natalie Wilson. They are the founders of the Black and Missing Organization that fights against the marginalization that Black missing person cases face in the media and law enforcement. The series intends to bring out the harsh realities that the Black people have to undergo due to prevalent racism in the system and society.

The four-part documentary series Black and Missing focuses on the marginalization and oppression that the Blacks undergo at the hands of an exploitative system and a less inclusive society. Directed by Soledad O Brien and Geeta Gambhir, the documentary focuses on Derrica and Natalie Wilson. They are the founders of the Black and Missing Organization that fights against the marginalization that Black missing person cases face in the media and law enforcement.

Over 200,000 Black people went missing in 2020; however, these cases take four times longer to get resolved, and there is a bias in the media as well as it becomes well ignorant in reporting these cases. The series targets and focuses on what is known as the Missing White Woman Syndrome that has well exposed a system that doesnt really care if black lives actually matter.

Black and Missing documents Wilsons desperate effort to make grounds for providing the missing Black people and their families the due share of reporting and investigation by calling out the normalization of such discrepancies. The missing Black people are often categorized as being trafficked, runaways or even worse, dead and hence are never prioritized by the system.

Black and Missing brings out how the Black women are the least protected and dont even exist or the system. The series aims to provide a multi-dimension perspective on Black lives through Black and Missing and create a sense of awareness by exposing the harsh reality of an ignorant system. The series is a definite must-watch for being brutally true.

Black and Missing is a real-life based documentary series that will be premiered on November 23, 2021. The documentary will be released in four parts on HBO and HBO MAX on the specified date. Black and Missing is available exclusively on HBO and HBO MAX as of now.

Black and Missing have been in the making for about 3 years before its final release. The series focuses on the marginalization and oppression that the Blacks undergo at the hands of an exploitative system and a less inclusive society. Whether a sequel is planned or not is not confirmed yet by the makers but there is definitely a need for such shows that depicts the reality of the society one lives in.

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HBO's Black And Missing Review: It Confronts A System That Doesn't Believe That Black Lives Matter - Gizmo Story