Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), a leading global creative platform offering full-service solutions, high-quality content, and applications for brands, businesses and media companies, today announced the results of a landmark study, DE&I in Marketing: A Global Report by Shutterstock. The results explore the opinions and actions of 2,700 marketers in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, the UK, and USA, across their use of diverse content in marketing campaigns, and how global events have impacted decisions.

Our DE&I in Marketing study encompasses the events of the last year and a half, and how these monumental moments have impacted how diversity is valued and prioritized in brand content decisions, said Meeckel Beecher, Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Shutterstock. Despite the widespread lockdowns, content creation excelled, and the resilience of creativity has prevailed. There is no denying the worlds media has paid more attention than ever before to cultural movements and raising much needed awareness, however, we wanted to understand to what extent this has been truly mirrored in content choices. Upholding values of diversity, inclusivity, representation and respect have never been more important, or more urgent. Launching this Global Diversity Awareness Month, our report highlights that there is more work to be done, and were looking forward to collaborating with our partners to do the work. Its positive to note that people are listening, and our mission at Shutterstock continues to be ensuring all creative content represents the diverse global community.

Societal Movements Impact on Diverse Content

Globally, the rise of awareness surrounding the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements last year drove brands to launch and develop existing anti-racism pledges. Nearly two-thirds of global marketers (63%) state these movements significantly impacted content decisions over the last 12 months. Exploring this further, 65% of marketers agree racial and ethnic diversity is an important factor when targeting campaign audiences. However, the results also show that 44% of those surveyed believe it can be difficult to reflect their brand with racial and ethnic diversity visually.

Lockdown Restricts Localized Content

Given the current international travel restrictions in place, lockdown restrictions still have a monumental impact on marketing content creation. With borders closed and stay-at-home orders enacted in many places, 37% of global marketers say their ability to source diverse content has been significantly impacted due to travel restrictions. The knock-on effect on content creation is clear: a quarter of marketers (25%) state they have been unable to localize content for individual markets. This has pushed more than one in six (17%) global marketers to violate lockdown restrictions risking health and legal implications to continue to create diverse content.

Brands Battle to Marry Representation With Authenticity

Events over the last year plus have encouraged more than a third (34%) of global marketers to believe that accurately representing the world we live in is the most important objective for content used in marketing campaigns. There is more of a desire for brands to effectively represent the world we live in over what their brands purpose is (34% vs. 33%). However, as consumers look to engage with authentic brands, marketers must understand how to ensure marketing is aligned with their core beliefs and values, or risk being seen as disingenuous.

Marketers state accurate representation is the top reason behind increasing their usage of content that features same sex couples (64%), racially diverse models (68%), people with disabilities (60%), and transgender models (62%). It is reassuring that 75% of marketers understand the importance of this content being created authentically by the same audience it intends to reach.

Marketers Are Indifferent To Political Ideology

Global brands are more focused on presenting their own ideology through their marketing decisions rather than representing the political landscape. Just under half (41%) of global respondents said they focus their efforts more specifically on their own company ideology, compared to just 32% who look to reflect the political landscape. More than a quarter (26%) aim for their campaign creative to oppose the political landscape, demonstrating the increasing rise of brands making their own stand to social issues, and establishing their own voice.

Other Key Global Findings Reveal That:

Research Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide among 2,723 marketers in the UK, USA, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, Australia and South Korea between 13th April and 27th April, 2021. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society to operate, according to the ESOMAR principles.

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Nearly Two-Thirds of Global Marketers Adapt Creative Following Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate Movements - The Ritz Herald

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A Virginia Beach grandmother is causing quite the stir in her neighborhood not far from the Hilltop Area.

Paula Hughes, who has lived in her home for about 40 years, said she added the handmade Black Lives Matter sign to her front window last fall to show her support for the movement.

The BLM letters were originally bright pink and just recently, but she and her grandkids have since decorated them with autumn leaves, Hughes said.

They decorated them after she got an anonymous letter in the mail, about a month ago.

In that letter, the author asked her to take down the sign. The homeowner believes the letter was written by an adult but the envelope was addressed by a child.

The anonymous author said, Please take down your bright pink sign in your picture window. At this point we ALL know you are a lover of BLM. It is obvious you are neglecting your yard with overgrown bushes and trees. If your intention is to bring down your street by making your yard ghetto, you have succeeded. I am writing this on behalf of your neighbors. It would serve you well to educate yourself on BLM. God bless you. You are in our prayers.

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75-year-old Hughes decided to take that letter and enlarge it into a giant posterboard and put it in her yard for the neighborhood to see.

Since then, she said she has had people stopping by and showing their support. However, last night, there were two notes scribbled onto the sign.

At first, she thought it was graffiti that was condemning her but it appeared it was actually people supporting her efforts.

One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said, "She merely is stating what she believes in, and I think its great."

Hughes described how it all began with those three letters.

It went up because I couldnt march and felt there was something I had to do to show solidarity with the movement. So I went out and bought the brightest colors I could find.

And Hughes said she doesnt feel like she has done anything wrong and there is no homeowners association, so she says she is not breaking any rules.

Hughes has reached out for some legal advice. She said she does not intend to take down the BLM letters anytime soon.

RELATED: Virginia legislators pass resolution declaring racism a public health crisis

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75-year-old Virginia woman displays anonymous letter in front yard for all to see - wtvr.com

THE Lady Lever Art Gallery is placing a painting featuring an enslaved African person at the front and centre of its displays.

The oil painting of Catherine-Marie Legendre, painted about 1705 and attributed to Jean Baptiste Santerre (1658-1717), is the only item in the gallerys collection, from the 18th century, to depict a person of colour. Following a period in conservation, the painting will be on display from October 1 2021 in a new and more prominent place on the gallery, inviting comment from the public.

The disturbing portrait by Santerre is designed to show the sitters wealth and position in society.

It depicts a young boy, who is an enslaved African person, brought from a plantation to work as an unpaid house servant. He is wearing a decorative metal slave collar around his neck. His name is not known, but the sitter is Catherine-Marie Legendre (or Le Gendre, died 1749), the wife of French nobleman, Claude Pecoil (1629-1722), Marquise de Septme.

Alyson Pollard, Head of the Lady Lever Art Gallery said: The Lady Lever Art Gallery is seeking to display, more openly, the Black histories and stories linked to the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its legacies which are hidden in the collections. Displaying a problematic and disturbing painting, like this, prominently and acknowledging its context is the beginning of a long term project to ensure our collections are not seen and viewed through a single historic lens but instead reflect multiple histories."

This intervention is one of several actions which the Lady Lever Art Gallery is taking in response to Black Lives Matter and the death of George Floyd. The gallery has updated its website to acknowledge Lord Levers activities in West Africa during the period 1911 to 1925 and has started to engage in research into Levers legacy and reinterpret its collection to fully reflect the histories of the collection.

For more information on National Museums Liverpools response to Black Lives Matter see liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/blacklivesmatter

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LOOKING BACK: Slavery painting will be displayed as museum confronts Black Lives Matter issues - Wirral Globe

Hate crime has hit a new record after racially-motivated incidents rocketed during Black Lives Matter protests and a far-right backlash.

Police recorded over 124,000 hate crimes across England and Wales in the year to March, of which three-quarters were racial.

A Home Office report published on Tuesday said police have improved the way the crimes are recorded, but there have also been short-term genuine rises in hate crime following certain trigger events.

It added: Increases in hate crime were seen around the EU referendum in June 2016 and the terrorist attacks in 2017. There was also an increase in public order hate crimes during the summer of 2020 following the widespread Black Lives Matter protests and far-right counter-protests.

The death of George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in the US in May 2020, triggered huge demonstrations in London and towns and cities across the UK.

In response, some far-right groups took up the slogan white lives matter and mounted counter-protests that saw clashes.

The vandalism of statues linked with slavery and colonialism during some Black Lives Matter protests sparked rallies by people claiming to defend monuments, including one that saw police attacked in London in June 2020.

More than 92,000 race hate crimes were recorded in the year (74 per cent of all hate crimes), as well as 18,500 motivated by sexual orientation (15 per cent), 9,943 disability (8 per cent), 6,377 religion (5 per cent) and 2,799 transgender (2 per cent).

The overall number of hate crimes increased by 9 per cent on the previous year, which was itself a record.

But only 10 per cent of all hate crimes resulted in a prosecution, figures show, and a suspect is not identified by police in a quarter of cases.

Figures show racial hate crimes spiking during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and counter-protests

(Home Office)

Labour said the statistics must be a wake-up call for urgent change.

The shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, added: The shamefully small number of offenders being brought to justice shows how damaging Tory police cuts have been, allowing vile criminals to escape justice yet again.

The backlash against people standing up to racial injustice shows how far we have to go as a country to defeat hatred.

The Race Equality Foundation said the figures paint a bleak picture for equality in the UK.

Chief executive Jabeer Butt OBE added: The fact that almost three quarters of hate crimes were racially motivated shows just how far is left to go towards building a society that is truly tolerant and anti-racist.

It is all too clear that too many people still face horrific attacks simply on the basis of who they are. The government's Hate Crime Action Plan has clearly fallen short and needs to be revisited as a matter of urgency.

The largest proportionate rise was to race hate crime, up 12 per cent, while disability hate crimes increased by 9 per cent, sexual orientation hate crimes by 7 per cent and transgender identity hate crimes by 3 per cent.

People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square, London, in memory of George Floyd who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis

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A girl wears a face mask during a Black Lives Matter rally in Parliament Square

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People are seen by a mural of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Stevenson Square, Manchester

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People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens

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Children pose for their family in front of discarded placards fixed on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens after a Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Manchester

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People shout slogans during a Black Lives Matter rally in Parliament Square

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Demonstrators in Leicester

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A demonstrator holds up a placard during a Black Lives Matter protest in Parliament Square

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A demonstrator gestures during a Black Lives Matter protest in Manchester

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A mounted police officer raises their baton as police horses ride along Whitehall, past the entrance to Downing Street, in an attempt to disperse protestors gathered in central London

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People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Bute Park, Cardiff

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People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally march on Vauxhall Bridge Road, London

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Protesters hold up signs as they march along a road during a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in Aylesbury

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People climbing on top of the Queen Victoria Statue as they take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens

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Children pose for a photo during a Black Lives Matter protest at Parliament Square

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Demonstrators hold placards as they attend a protest march to the US Embassy in London

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Protesters demonstrate near the the US Embassy in Nine Elms in London

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Protesters in Whitehall following a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square

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Demonstrators wearing protective face masks and face coverings hold placards during a Black Lives Matter protest in Leicester

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A demonstrator is seen during a Black Lives Matter protest in Parliament Square

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Demonstrators are seen as police officers look on during a Black Lives Matter protest near Downing street in London

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Demonstrators are seen wth police liaison officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Luton

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A protest at Parliament Square in London

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A demonstrator in Leicester

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People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square

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Demonstrators wearing protective face masks and face coverings hold placards during a Black Lives Matter protest in Leicester

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Demonstrators block traffic outside Victoria Station

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People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Custom House Square, Belfast

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Police on horseback in Whitehall following a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square, London

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Protesters hold placards as they attend a demonstration in Parliament Square

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Demonstrators throw flares above a police line during a Black Lives Matter march in London

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People climbing on top of the Queen Victoria Statue as they take part in a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens

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Demonstrators raise their hands facing police officers after scuffles during a Black Lives Matter march in London

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People are seen placing placards on a fence in London

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A demonstrator is seen with a protective face mask during a Black Lives Matter protest in Watford

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A sign alternatively naming Wilson Street 'Rosa Parks Street' in Glasgow. Activists have put up names of black people and civil rights activists throughout history alongside street names around the Scottish centre as part of the ongoing worldwide demonstrations following the death of George Floyd

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Boxer Anthony Joshua is seen with demonstrators during a Black Lives Matter protest in Watford

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Demonstrators gather outside Downing Street

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Demonstrators kneel facing police officers after scuffles during a Black Lives Matter march in London

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Demonstrators lay on the pavement during a Black Lives Matter rally at Trafalgar Square

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A protester stands on bus stop and raises their hand during a Black Lives Matter protest at Parliament Square

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New hate crime record after racial attacks rocket during Black Lives Matter protests and far-right backlash - The Independent

Dubai:

The T20 World Cup will commence on October 17 in the UAE and Oman and West Indies are among the favourites, given their form and the fact that they are the two-time champions.

The West Indian players have been taking a knee and raising their fists before the start of games in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement ever since American George Floyd was killed in May 2020.

"From my knowledge at this present time, I think it's something we're going to continue because it's something that we strongly believe in, as a team. Hopefully we can just continue to show our support for something that I think is close to our hearts," Pollard told espncricinfo from his quarantine hotel in Dubai.

On whether he would encourage England cricketers and support staff to take a knee before their matches, Pollard added, "Everyone has their own opinions on racism and Black Lives Matter and all these things. So, I can't tell them what to do or expect anything, because sometimes when you expect things from people, you tend to get disappointed.

"Again, sometimes, you just have to look at the man in the mirror, and if we think it is something that is very, very important to us, we will do it. And if the opposition thinks that as well, it's up to them. If they don't, (it's a matter of) personal choices," added Pollard.

England will take on West Indies in the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on October 23, and there is speculation whether the Joe Root-led side will show support for the BLM movement.

England pace bowler Chris Jordan has said that his side has not yet taken a decision on the issue at its training camp in Oman.

"Nothing has been discussed, really. We'll discuss it and if people feel strongly about it, we'll definitely do it. On the flip side, if we don't, then we won't. We'll have to discuss that internally and then take it from there," he said.

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West Indies to continue taking a knee in support of Black lives matter: Pollard - DTNEXT

Artists push for continued change through pieces displayed at Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum

PORTIA SIMMONS

Alison Saar walks patrons of the museum through her exhibit Mirror, Mirror.

The Black Lives Matter Artist Grant allows artists to create pieces reflecting the structural changes in our society enacted by the BLM movement.

These works were put on display at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the Pullman campus. The artists awarded the Black Lives Matter Artist Grant were given $2,500 eachto create art concerning the Black Lives Matter movement and institutionalized racism in our country.

During the Press Hour on Oct, 5, collector Jordan Schnitzer said he felt frustratedbecause he not only felt the movement was long overdue, but because he wanted a medium to advocate for change.

The power behind these pieces can be felt when one walks around the room. Every artist had a personal reason for entering her work.

Artist Jasmine Iona Brown said her soninspired her to create her pieces because society makes assumptions about him based on his appearance.

I still fear every time he walks out the door, Brown said. Why cant he be perceived as a young man instead of a threat?

Artist Bob Lloyd said he will continue to promote modifications to our society by giving more power to Black individuals in the judicial, medical and educational systems.

Im going to push for that change, Lloyd said.

Artist Lisa Myers Bulmash said the time for change is now since people of color have been oppressed for hundreds of years.

What needs to be more gradual? Myers Bulmash said.

She said people cant just decide to do a one-off when it comes to supporting the Black community. People need to make gestures, such as a one-time donation or giving a part of your life to truly support the community.

In the U.S., if you dont have a certain skin color, all bets are off, said artist Rene Westbrook. She didnt have a way to channel her voice until she discovered how to speak through her art.

The currency of skin is a right of passage, Westbrook said.

After the grant winners spoke, sculpturist and artist Alison Saar guided the audience through her pieces. She said she felt sculptures have an amazing presence.

You can look right in their eyes, toe to toe with them, Saar said.

Saar said she uses many recycled materials in her work, such as frying pans. One of her pieces, titled Mulatta Seeking Inner Negress, shows a woman gazing into a frying pan and a reflection looking back. Saar said she uses mirrors to show a piece of her own identity.

It is a reflection of my ancestry, Saar said. I identify as Black but appear white.

Visit the gallery at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. You can see the BLM Grant works from today until Dec. 18, 2021. Alison Saars exhibit Mirror, mirror,will be on display until March 12, 2022. Hopefully, this will inspire you to promote change. Not only do these artists want you to hear their message, but be a supporter of it.

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Grant winners share inspiration behind BLM art The Daily Evergreen - The Daily Evergreen

The bronze bust of Sir Henry Morton Stanley - who is best known for the famous line: "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" - has been stood for a decade in his Welsh town of Denbigh. However, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, the statue could be torn down.

On Friday and Saturday, locals will take to vote on whether the statue dedicated to the journalist and politician should be removed.

Chairman of Denbigh town councillor Rhys Thomas said: "I need to keep neutral on all of this.

"I think it's been active on Facebook, but there we are.

"It is something a few people are quite interested in on either side."

Councillor Glen Swingler said: "I think the feeling in town is very mixed.

"I've noticed on social media over the last couple of days that those coming out against it, they've got a bit more vociferous.

"It's not getting nasty. I wouldn't like to guess which way any sort of vote would go, but then again, I don't know how many people are actually going to go out and vote."

He added: "I will vote, yes. I've got my own opinions, but I will vote as it is my right."

READ MORE:GB News host in brutal slap down over London university's Nelson row

However, his supporters have said Sir Henry was not working for the Belgian despot when the atrocities took place.

Sir Henry has been accused by his contemporaries for his atrocities towards the African people.

Explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton once said that "Stanley shoots Africans as if they were monkeys".

The vote will be taken by Denbigh Town Council on October 15 between 10am and 7pm and on October 16 between 10am and 1pm at the Town Hall.

It will be open to all Denbigh residents aged 16 and over.

In the UK, several statues and busts were removed or vandalised during last year's Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the nation.

Protestors in Bristol pulled down the controversial statue of slave trader Edward Colston and threw it into the harbour.

Several monuments commemorating Captain James Cook were targeted with activists claiming the explorer symbolises racial oppression and violence.

The statue of slave trader Robert Milligan was also removed by authorities.

In wake of the protests last year, Sir Winston Churchills monument in Whitehall was vandalised before being encased in a protective box.

This week, the statue of Christopher Columbus in London was vandalised with red paint.

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Sir Henry Morton Stanley statue subjected to vote on whether to toppled amid BLM protests - Express

Last summer, only a few months after the murder of George Floyd, police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake, bringing about another wave of protests.

Blake, a Black father of three, was trying to break up a fight between two women on the street when the cops showed up. His children were in the backseat of his car.

A horrific video makes clear exactly what happened. Blake was walking to his car, surrounded by at least three police officers. As he opened the drivers-side door, Rusten Sheskey who was standing a few feet behind him opened fire, hitting him at least seven times in the back at point-blank range. His three children witnessed the shooting; his little boys were 3-, 5-, and 8-years-old at the time.

This cop shooting took less than eight seconds, and Blake was left paralyzed.

The video emerged in the midst of the Black Lives Matter mobilizations across the country, including in Kenosha, where protesters had directly confronted the cops and set fire to the Kenosha County Courthouse.

Despite protests, the cop who shot Blake was cleared of any state criminal offense. And last Friday, October 8, the Biden administrations Department of Justice announced Sheskey wont face a federal civil rights violation. As the Kenosha News reported, Officials said that the department made the decision because the evidence obtained was insufficient to prove that Sheskey willfully used excessive force.

Apparently, a video of a man shot in the back seven times at point-blank range is not enough evidence of excessive force.

The shooting of Blake in the middle of the Black Lives Matter movement showed clearly that the cops will not be deterred by the state and system they serve. They exist as a murderous force against the Black community, other communities of color, and the working class as a whole. This DOJ decision reinforces that the courts and entire justice system are on the side of the murderous police. The conviction of Derek Chauvin was an exception aimed at quelling the movement, not a shift to more justice in a system that essentially never charges police with murder and locks up tens of thousands of Black people every year.

Last year, Democrats in Congress wrapped themselves in Kente cloth and talked about supporting Black Lives Matter, promising to use their offices to tackle systemic racism. Clearly, that was just an electoral ploy. All those promises and every sidewalk and street painted with Black Lives Matter were just about getting votes while there was an uprising. They were an effort to co-opt the movement while making sure nothing fundamentally changed which was Bidens real promise.

Last summer, it was the Democrats who sent the National Guard to tear gas and spray rubber bullets on protesters. In Kenosha, it was Democratic Mayor John Antaramian who filled the streets with riot police and imposed a curfew. Now its Bidens justice department that says theres just not enough evidence that Sheskey willfully used excessive force when he shot Blake in the back seven times on video. This is what Biden promised: to defend, promote, and expand the murderous police and give them free reign to terrorize, paralyze, and murder people. Its the policy of the Democrats and Republicans alike.

The politicians serve the interests of the capitalist system of exploitation and oppression. The cops support and maintain that system. We cant rely on any of those politicians promises. We must continue to fight to abolish the police and the capitalist system they protect.

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Biden's Department of Justice Refuses to Bring Charges Against the Cop Who Shot Jacob Blake in the Back - Left Voice

Fox News host Mark Levin slammed members of the mainstream media, Democratic Party and collegiate academia on his radio show Thursday for their hypocrisy in condemning concerned parents at school board meetings, while they excused actual violence from Black Lives Matter protesters last summer.

On "The Mark Levin Show" on Westwood One, the host commented on recent events at his local municipality's school board meetings in Loudon County, Virginia. One event included a man who was arrested during a school board meeting, after alleging his daughter was assaulted by a transgender student.

Levin said Loudoun County used to be reliably Republican, but local offices swapped parties over the last decade as the Old Dominion trended Democratic.

The "Life, Liberty & Levin" host added that as a young man, he ran for and was elected to the school board in his Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, hometown while he was a law student and remarked that the people he is seeing leading school boards these days were not prevalent back then.

Levin played recent clips of political and media figures condemning parents in harsh terms, including one MSNBC guest who described them as "violent-looking, angry spewing."

In another MSNBC clip, host Alicia Menendez commented that some of the actions by parents "have become scary at these meetings."

Former FBI counterintelligence official Frank Figliuzzi told Menendez that the bureau is "tailor-made for this kind of national level coordination, who will become overwhelmed with overtime, intel-gathering and this becomes a security crisis in a sense for the nation."

MAJORITY OF VIRGINIA PARENTS WANT A SAY IN THEIR KIDS' EDUCATION, FOX NEWS POLL FINDS

Levin also played a clip of Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe telling a local news affiliate that boards of education are intended to be the creator of curriculum, not parents while MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle voiced concern for the home life of children of the parents who speak out at school board meetings.

Concluding the montage, Levin slammed the media as "propagandists".

"[They're] trashing the parents-- they have no evidence of pattern of violence whatsoever we have plenty of it summer before last with Black Lives Matter and Antifa and most of these individuals defended Black Lives Matter and they do to this day," Levin said.

Princeton African-American studies Prof. Eddie Glaude Jr., said during MSNBC's "Morning Joe", that tensions at school board meetings were once "fringe elements" but that they have been "mainstreamed."

"In many ways, were in a cold Civil War. It turned hot on January 6th. It is turning hot in these local spaces," Glaude said.

Levin called out Glaude as a "clown," and blasted the academic as well as the MSNBC host, former Florida Rep. Joe Scarborough, as being indicative of the "reprobates and miscreants" who are offered a platform in the media.

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Levin wondered if Glaude was on the same "sanctimonious high horse" when BLM was rioting and looting in America's cities in 2020.

"He didn't talk about that arson, looting, no, no, mostly peaceful, its the parents,'" he said. "I just want you parents to understand. The media, the Democratic Party, these tenured professors, many of whom are Marxists this is the crap that's being fed to your kids."

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Mark Levin blasts 'reprobates' in media and academia attacking parents while excusing actual violence by BLM - Fox News

I want to bring you in, Judy, to talk about this, because you were working in the organization. Nonviolence was a cornerstone. Can you explain why that was so important?

Judy Richardson (JR): We knew that we did not have the guns. Our main thing was, how do you get Black people registered to vote without getting them killed? And we knew that the state government, the local government all controlled by white people and the federal government, they were not going to support us. And what we had to do was be able to organize at the grassroots, with the Mrs. Hamers and the Mrs. Blackwells, throughout the Deep South in the rural south. But if you reacted with guns, they would shoot you down. They would kill what you were doing and everybody who was around with you. And your larger responsibility was to the people that you were organizing with. At the same time, it was the rural south. So there were people who definitely defended themselves who were local.

I read some of the transcripts, Jennifer, about being in these spaces knowing that your life was on the line. How did that impact your life and what did that do to you as a young person? People died in this movement.

JL: Judy and I both know so many people who lost their lives because of their work in the civil rights movement. A very concrete way in which it changed, dramatically changed, my own life [is] I was a student at Tuskegee and planning to go on to become a doctor someday. And that all went away when one of my classmates, Sammy Younge Jr., was killed in January of 1966. We would go out into the community to help register people in rural Macon County [in Alabama] to vote and he was killed. And I thought to myself, Whats the value of my education if I cant even safely live in the state of Alabama? So I joined many other students at Tuskegee who then started marching, demonstrating, continuing our work on getting out the vote, and then some of us decided, No, well leave school and join SNCC and work full-time with SNCC in Mississippi and Alabama and Georgia to try to really change things. And its one of the proudest accomplishments of my life that the work that we did really did make a difference.

What do you think was the critical thing that helped shift the minds of the people in power to help make the change?

JL: Well, I wouldnt say that we were shifting the minds of people. For example, during this time. George Wallace, an avowed segregationist, was the governor of Alabama. We didnt put our emphasis on changing George Wallaces mind. Judy and I worked in Lowndes County. Where we went into Lowndes County, there were only four registered Black voters, because Black people had been so intimidated that they couldnt register to vote. When we left Lowndes County, people had not only registered to vote, they had created their own political party. The Lowndes County Freedom Organization had had as a symbol, the black panther, and that was the first Black Panther [Party] emerging in the movement. In that way, they werent trying to change the minds of the people who were in power. They were trying to become the people who were in power. So later, the man who started the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, he became the sheriff and served as sheriff there for about 20 years.

So basically, it showed people how to pick up the reins for themselves.

JL: Exactly, exactly. It was about empowering people.

JR: But I would also just like to add to that that when Jennifer mentions George Wallace, you know, he cuts back on his segregationist He vocally becomes less racist. But thats only because there are Black people registered to vote. And in Alabama, he has to worry about these folks who are going to come to the polls on Election Day. Now, there were always white allies. I mean, there were wonderful people who really supported us and provided funding and provided their bodies, and some were killed in the process. But the main thing was how do you get Black folks organized so that white people know that we are a power to be dealt with? Part of the reason that you use the vote is because we dont have Koch brothers money. But what we do have is our vote.

Yeah. And I want to fast forward to today, when you look at the movement, I mean, we saw the tragic murder of George Floyd. You know, we look at today, a lot is left undone.

JR : Yeah, we really do understand the importance of working with the young people, and its because we see ourselves in them. You know, as Jennifer said, we were the only youth-led civil rights organization working in the South back in the 60s. And what we saw was brilliance. Part of that is seeing that brilliance in these young people, and theyre looking to us and were looking to them.

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On 60th anniversary, SNCC veterans reflect on the struggle to register Black voters in the South - WHYY