Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

YPSILANTI, MI After a Black Lives Matter mural was found covered in white paint, organizers hoped it would strengthen the fight against racism.

In a way, an organizer was almost glad it happened.

Everybody thinks we go around (complaining about racism), that were the problem, Trische Duckworth said.

No, this the problem, she told MLive on Sunday, Sept. 19.

A Black Live Matter mural in Ypsilanti was vandalized with white paint. (Photo by Chris McCall)

Vandals painted over the words, Black Lives, on the 260-foot mural, with 18-feet tall lettering at the entrance drive for Riverside Park in Depot Town. The word Matter was untouched.

A similar mural, on South Washington Street, off Michigan Avenue, was not touched. Surveillance cameras downtown may have kept vandals away.

Duckworth, executive director of Survivors Speak, a community organization, was joined by city officials and others who were outraged.

It was an ugly display of hatred, Duckworth said.

A Black Lives Matter mural in Ypsilanti was defaced with paint. (Photo by Chris McCall).

The vandals had painted the name of a group identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group.

Duckworth said that no matter who defaced the mural it showed that racism and white supremacy are not a thing of the past. Its alive and active.

She said that the vandalism is a blatant reminder of the need to fight racism. Some suggested repainting, with some of the white paint left behind so people will understand what happened here, a reminder of how hard we need to work, she said.

(Racists) do what they do, we do what we do. What they dont know is, we wont stop. There is an outpouring of support and love coming here. We are greater than this hate, she said.

The vandalism was despicable, Mayor Lois Allen-Richardson said.

A Black Lives Matter mural is painted on South Washington Street off Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.Jacob Hamilton | The Ann Arbor News

Racism has raised its ugly head, she said. Its a shame theres still people in the country and the city that dont want to admit there is racism. Its all around us.

She said that the vandals may have been part of a group who stopped by a showing of the documentary, Walking While Black: L.O.V.E. is the Answer, on Thursday as part of an outdoor movie series.

While organizers initially planned to repaint the mural on Monday, the Ypsilanti City Council is expected to discuss next steps this week, Duckworth said.

The City Council approved the murals in February. Volunteers, using paint donated by Ace Hardware, painted the murals on June 5.

Similar murals have been painted in cities across the country. Flint, Kalamazoo and Jackson have such murals, too.

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Ugly display of hatred: Black Lives Matter mural covered in white paint - MLive.com

By September 2020, police officer Robert Black was at his wits end.

Over his year of service in the department of Millersville, Tennessee, Black had allegedly been subjected to sexual harassment, including from a female officer who used a racist slur while grabbing his genitals. The police chief, whom Black suspected of harboring Ku Klux Klan ties, had allegedly made disparaging comments about Blacks biracial son. The assistant police chief was under investigation for allegedly assaulting his wife during a dispute over an alleged affair with a drug suspect. Through it all, management allegedly silenced officers complaints by instructing them to support the thin blue line.

Nobody would listen to what was going on up there, Black told The Daily Beast. Nobody cared.

So Black made a fake Facebook profile, reached out to Black Lives Matter organizers, and blew the whistle on his department. Days later, he was fired. At least two other officers who allegedly clashed with management departed soon thereafter.

In a new lawsuit, first reported by Nashvilles NewsChannel 5, Black and former Millersville Police sergeant Joshua Barnes describe a culture of harassment and intimidation in their former department. Both men cite a pattern of alleged racist behavior from the departments leadershipdirected at Barnes because he is Black, and at Black because he is white with a biracial son.

The lawsuits three defendants are Millersville Police chief Mark Palmer, assistant chief Dustin Carr, and the city of Millersville. Carr did not return The Daily Beasts request for comment. Palmer stated that, although he would like to address the suits allegations, all comments must be directed through the city and its manager. Millersvilles city manager did not return requests for comment.

The case is not the first time Palmer and the city have faced a lawsuit from within their ranks. In 2015, two men who had previously been Millersvilles only Black officers sued Palmer and the city, alleging racial discrimination.

In their lawsuit, which was dismissed with prejudice in 2016, both men claimed Palmer had told each of them that I dont like n-----s. One of the former officers, Anthony Hayes, claimed Palmer took him on an unexplained visit to a former KKK leaders home, where Hayes was subjected to an extended conversation in the presence of KKK memorabilia. Hayes also accused Palmer of placing a copy of a KKK magazine in Hayes locker, with a sticky note that read this was left for youdont let your subscription run out. In their response to the lawsuit, the city denied the allegations against Palmer. (The plaintiffs included in their lawsuit an email from the city manager stating that Palmer would be disciplined in the magazine incident.)

Hayes and the other former officer, Brian McCartherenes, claimed to have been forced out of their posts after they accused the department of racism. Hayes claimed he was forced to resign following a punitive shift change. A police memo shows that McCartherenes was fired for alleged racist conduct, because he told a new Black officer that at the end of the day, remember you are Black.

This KKK publication is not something you can go get at the library. You cant go buy it at the 7/11. These publications are like, homemade...

McCatherenes claimed he intended the statement as a warning about the risks of being a Black officer in a small town. That new officer was Joshua Barnes, one of the plaintiffs in the latest suit against Millersvilles police brass.

Barnes claims he soon encountered a culture of racism firsthand. Palmer called Black people n-----s, monkeys, and animals, Barnes alleges in his suit, adding that Palmer invoked racial stereotypes about Barnes always want[ing] to get some fried chicken and watermelon.

Barnes claims the legacy of Millersvilles previous Black officers lingered over his own employment. Assistant police chief Dustin Carr informed Sgt. Barnes that Millersville did not want to hire Black people because they may sue the City like Anthony [Hayes] and Brian [McCartherenes] did, the lawsuit alleges. Barnes claims the department hired only one other Black person during his tenure: an officer whom Palmer allegedly joked was related to O.J. Simpson. The officer lasted a few months before he left out of frustration due to Mark Palmers racist comments, the suit reads.

When Robert Black joined the force in June 2019, he had been unaware of its reputation. That changed quickly, he claims, when Palmer learned that Blacks son is biracial. The lawsuit claims Palmer expressed dissatisfaction with Black, telling another officer that Robert is a little different. Hes not one of us. When the other officer asked what Palmer meant, the chief allegedly replied well you know, his kid and all Hes just not one of us.

Black told The Daily Beast that Palmer started treating him with hostility around the time of the alleged comments. Other Millersville officers also allegedly turned against Black. A female officer allegedly made repeated unwanted advances toward Black. At one point, according to the lawsuit, the officer allegedly grabbed Blacks genitals through his pants. When Black told the colleague to leave him alone, she allegedly responded why? Because Im not a n----r?

Although Black claims to have reported his colleague, his supervisors allegedly refused to pursue the matter, with Carr allegedly making his own sexualized comments about Black. (Black told The Daily Beast that Carr gave the nickname Tripod in the office. It made me feel very weird, Black said, adding that other officers picked up on the name before he learned it was an innuendo.)

Carr, meanwhile, was facing other accusations of impropriety after he allegedly began a relationship with a Millersville woman who was charged, but never convicted, on multiple drug counts. Carr was married at the time. In April 2020, according to Barnes and Blacks lawsuit, Carr allegedly assaulted his wife when she accused him of infidelity. Carr began bringing his new partner into the office in May much to the chagrin of some officers, the lawsuit alleges.

That month marked another flashpoint for law enforcement. The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer set off nationwide protests, allegedly enraging Palmer. In the lawsuit, Barnes claims to have witnessed Palmer watching a video of a protest in Nashville, during which Palmer allegedly called the demonstrators n-----s and animals. Let these motherfuckers come to my house, the lawsuit claims Palmer said. Ill shoot em and string those fuckers up in my front yard.

In August 2020, Nashvilles WSMV reported, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation began investigating Carr for alleged domestic violence. (A TBI spokesperson told The Daily Beast the investigation into Carr remains active and ongoing.)

Barnes and Black allege that Carr and other police leadership became convinced that officers were leaking details to investigators. According to the lawsuit, and an October 2020 report by NewsChannel 5, Millersville Police pressured officers not to cooperate with the TBI investigation. Chief Palmer berated Barnes about the thin blue line, and the need to cover for other officers, the lawsuit alleges.

But while Palmer allegedly warned officers against speaking to TBI officials, Black was ready to go public with a growing dossier of complaints. Following Palmers alleged remarks about Blacks son, Black had read up on Hayes and McCartherenes 2015 lawsuit, particularly Hayes account of finding a KKK magazine in his locker.

This KKK publication is not something you can go get at the library. You cant go buy it at the 7/11. These publications are like, homemade, produced on someones printing press. Its hate literature, Black told The Daily Beast.

The rarity of the publication, plus Palmers alleged field trip with Hayes to a former KKK house, led Black to suspect the police chief had current or former Klan ties of his own.

You cant find this anywhere, Black said of the magazine. Thats why I hit up BLM [Black Lives Matter] reps. I was like, hey yall

Nobody would listen to what was going on up there. Nobody cared.

Black said that in September 2020, he made a pseudonymous Facebook page and began seeking out Nashville-area Black Lives Matter activists. I started letting them know: hey guys, maybe you want to look into the police chief up here. Its a small city and everyones so focused on Nashville. This guy was apparently in a KKK lawsuit by a Black cop five years ago.

Activists decided to host a mid-September protest against Palmer. Black said he wanted to promote the protest using his pseudonymous Facebook account, but didnt know how to share the event information. Frustrated, he said he asked a room full of officers, who either appeared to support him or actively helped him share the post.

My sergeant closed the squad room door, Black recounted. A detective said heres how you do it. He grabbed my phone from me and started sending out the messages. (The Daily Beast was unable to reach the detective for comment.)

His success was short-lived. On Sept. 11, 2020, the city fired Black, citing his promotion of the protest.

These posts have been shared multiple times, and there is no way we can know at this time whether a large crowd will in fact show up at City Hall this coming Thursday evening, an email from Millersvilles then-manager reads. As a result of your actions, the City has been forced to incur expenses and devote resources to prepare for a potentially large and unruly mob of angry protesters. Your conduct has put the lives and property of our citizens in danger. (The protest took place several days later, without any such mob or arrests.)

Blacks firing was the first in a wave of departures. In his lawsuit, Black claims the citys then-manager told him to tell everyone who is involved in this [BLM protest] that we are coming after them next!

An officer who witnessed him send the protest invitations resigned the day of Blacks termination, he said. The lawsuit also describes Barnes and another officer as being forced out in the following weeks. Barnes, who claims to have been moved onto another shift in punishment for his ties to Black could no longer deal with the stress from the Defendants constant retaliation, and on October 2, 2020, he resigned from his position, the lawsuit reads.

Another officer was allegedly instructed to pick a side and chose to resign in October. A NewsChannel 5 report that month cited at least four officers as leaving the department over the previous weeks.

Black said he hopes his lawsuit will clear his name so that he can one day return to policing.

I tried to do my job. I tried to learn, I tried to do the right thing, he said. It seems like if youre a good guy in this type of work and youre willing to do the right thingits almost like if you dont toe the line, youre going to be dealt with, one way or another. And if you do toe the line, youre going to be living with the moral conflict of doing things you may not agree with.

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This Police Department Is So Bad, a Cop Reported It to Black Lives Matter - The Daily Beast

This summer began the first hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on Capitol Hill. The insurrections review invites fresh examination about the ideology, symbolism, and aesthetics defining race and America today.

There is a war being waged on the fault lines of the symbolic. As individuals took to the streets to labor on behalf of Black life, the destruction of monuments and other edifices has taken a front-row seat in the struggle towards an anti-racist future. While the toppling of artifacts and iconography of the past may seem like token gestures, they are part of a tradition of creative protest that focus on aesthetics and should serve as a model to advance organizations and society towards social change.

Aesthetics and arts role in advancing political visions was most recently on display during the Capitol riot earlier this year. The mob came armed, not only with weapons but with far-right symbols, battle colors of the Confederacy, white supremacist emblems, ultra-nationalist and Blue Lives Matter signs, and other associated clothing and flags interspersed between pro-Trump campaign paraphernalia. Protestors utilized this symbolism to unify, powerfully connote their objectives, and mark their conquest of the Capitol. A rioter was seen removing an American flag and replacing it with a Trump flag in the institutions rotunda to signal that space was mapped in their ideological garb.

The deployment of art, symbols, and representation has not only been utilized by Capitol rioters but is an integral part of the Black Lives Matter resistance. From the Mayor of D.C. painting the space in front of the White House, Black Lives Matter plaza; to racist edifices being torn down that memorialized slave traders like a statue in Bristol, England. From films like Gone With the Wind being placed in historical context; to the ongoing debate about removing Confederate names and iconography in NASCAR and military installations.Art has been a site of resistance against white supremacy and the history of extrajudicial killings by police.

Stakes around this issue rose as former U.S. President Donald Trump mobilized the military to protect monuments and enacted an Executive Order to increase prosecution of those who damaged these exhibits. This policy formed part of the justification for a surge in federal forces dispatched to American cities including my hometown of Chicago. Describing the danger, the 45th President noted that, our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values. Trumps words represent the importance of symbols in crafting history and defining our future. At issue is not just damage of artifacts, but embodies a larger struggle of ethics and what we stand for as a nation.

Drawing from Americas past reveals that aesthetics has always played a role in shaping politics. For instance, the significant proliferation of Confederate statues and monuments by organizations like the United Daughters of Confederacy was part of a well-conceived plan to mythologize the Civil War. The fight to keep slavery was depicted as a noble cause from a benign institution to engender sympathy. This message helped solidify white Southern national identity and embolden racist power holders and vigilantes while terrorizing African Americans by projecting white supremacy.

Juxtaposed from these efforts is the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. This movement championed the Black Aesthetic, which weaved art and activism to detail the particularities of African American struggles, strength, and experience. To embody the aesthetic, Black artists drew on Black musical forms, especially jazz; Black hyper-masculinity to challenge historical degradation of African American men; Black vernacular speech; and experimentation with grammar and sound conventions. The movement, rooted in civil rights struggles, is considered the cultural sister of the Black Power Movement because it sought to transform the portrayal of African Americans in mainstream society, awaken Black consciousness, build Black community, and provide an impetus for their self-determination.

These examples of art from the Confederacy and Black Arts Movement, which helped to diminish and amplify Black life, illustrate how cultural production often serves an essential role in creating the type of society we would like to see. As we witness this aesthetic struggle play out in the streets today, it is essential to understand that this conflict is not an external fight resigned to protestors attempting to remake public landscapes and advance political visions, eluding the rest of us. Instead, it holds significant lessons for organizations as they reflect on how to achieve inclusive Black futures.

Institutions need to be thoughtful not only about who is in their space (increased Black and brown bodies) or what is taught in their space (diversity training or intersectional instruction), but also an institutions aesthetics itself (how space is curated and experienced). A spaces construction signals what it values; facilitates specific encounters; produces certain knowledge amongst its inhabitants; reinforces culture; and can serve to welcome or exclude Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities. Numerous studies have detailed the impact of space design on achieving academic and workplace outcomes, but usually the focus for organizations is on enhancing innovation, performance, or safety (especially in light of the ongoing pandemic). What protestors are teaching us is that an organizations space also bears on its ethical commitments.

I understand the power of an institutions space and construction aiding equity goals firsthand. As a student at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, I co-founded the Visibility Initiative. The project championed alternative aesthetics and facility construction that promoted social justice, human rights, inclusion for persons with disabilities, and diverse voices in the legal community. At the school, elite portraits and paintings featuring white men were a constant, reinforcing the idea of law as only serving a narrow community, dominated by judges and lawyers, and entrenched in power and privilege. Elevating different cultural expression such as sculpture, photography, graffiti, and performance art gave prominence to significant movements and actors like community activists, faith leaders, and artists that helped expand rights and equality under the law.

Additionally, I worked with other law students to use art to discuss social issues in Chicago through theatre productions;host photography exhibitswhere we brought the voices of urban youth onto campus; establish the Black Law Students annual Open Mic Night featuring poetry, song, and introspection; and even in my academia to incorporate the local community.

After these events, several students and faculty expressed feeling more invested in the school since it began to reflect their reality and closer to their peers because they felt comfortable being vulnerable in these settings. Many were pleased that community engagement and marginalized topics were finally discussed in ways that engendered empathy and action. For me, however, the impact was simple: I felt less alone.

These illustrations highlight what is possible through an intentional focus on art and aesthetics to enhance the inclusive climate of academic, business, religious, and other institutions of society. Art affirms through culture, expression, and connection. That is all Black people want: for their freedom and truth to animate the unfolding story of humanity.

In our pursuit of a more just world, many are understandably weary of concentrating on aesthetic disruptions, preferring substantive change to symbolism. But the passage of laws does not equate to their enforcement. Policy implementation happens by people, and the aesthetics of their lived environment helps shape their behavior, understanding, taste, and moral connection to others. To be represented in public space as inferior, as depicted in this Boston statue that has drawn criticism of Abraham Lincoln standing over a kneeling Black man, normalizes exclusion. If the decision to fight for macro-level change is ultimately the choice between life and death, then things that help determine how one views Black bodies (as a threat or as human) are also important.

Not only will policy execution be enhanced, aesthetic focus prompts specific interventions into the political, such as:

Pursing a new world requires reengineering policies and processes, but it also starts with the locations we inhabit every day. If you are committed to anti-racism, it means committing to creating anti-racist spaces, too. The values elevated by Black Lives Matter need to be reflected throughout society as a constant reminder of what we are fighting for, inside our institutions of public life, and outside on our streets as well.

Chime Asonye is a lawyer and development practitioner. He is a former Commissioner of the Washington, D.C. Commission on African Affairs.

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The art of Black Lives Matter: Lessons for organizations and policymakers from the streets - Brookings Institution

In this op-ed writer Jameelah Nasheed unpacks the current conversations around elitism, fashion, and how the protests outside of the Met Gala show our vastly different realities.

This years Met Gala was filled with celebrities and influencers wearing attire intended to be in alignment with this years theme, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. Although some attendees left viewers confused, some nailed it. Still, the most on-theme part of the evening was the fact that while the Galas powerful attendees by way of fame, fortune, or job title enjoyed their evening, something far different what was going on outside: a protest for racial and social justice, which resulted in some protesters being arrested by the police.

According to The Daily Mail, a flyer from the protest referred to the group, called #FireThemAll on Twitter, as an autonomous group of NYC abolitionists who believe that policing does not protect and serve communities. The flyer also explained the protesters objective, which was to interrogate why the NYPD is being allotted $11 billion in resources, rather than allocating those funds to help Black and brown communities that are in need of support. In a video posted to Twitter, a protester is heard saying, Black and brown people are on the brink of houselessness. We cannot go back to normal. Where was your rage last year? The protester, who has been identified as Ella, and was one of the at least nine people who were arrested, continued, We demand free housing, we demand all political prisoners to be freed, we demand justice for our people.

Last year the Met gala was cancelled because of COVID-19. At the time, the world was just beginning to understand the gravity of the virus that would end up killing more than 670,000 people in the US alone with the majority being Black, brown, and Indigenous Americans. For many the return to normalcy this year felt premature.

Im not going to act like I dont love fashion like I dont enjoy watching in anticipation of my fashion faves. But I also understand that we live in a capitalistic society where things like fundraising work in a very complicated socio-economic scheme of privilege. So, theres something to be said about this years Gala, in context with the various challenges were facing as a global society.

Read the original here:

Black Lives Matter Protesters Arrested Outside of the Met Gala 2021 - Teen Vogue

Black and white Tennessee officers reported their departments alleged racism to Black Lives Matter (BLM).

The department of Millersville, Tenn., allegedly has a culture of harassment and intimidation, so Robert Black created a fake Facebook to contact his local BLM chapter, The Daily Beastreported.

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During that time, the assistant police chief, Dustin Carr, was under investigation for allegedly assaulting his wife, who was herself allegedly involved in an affair with a drug suspect. Black and other police officers claim they were fired for not complying with Blue Lives Matter.

In addition to questioning the police department management, Black endured alleged sexual harassment, including a female officer grabbing his genitals, and a second incident in which a male allegedly made disparaging comments about Blacks biracial son.

In a new lawsuit, Joshua Barnes, a former Millersville Police sergeant who is Black, claims the department harbors a culture of harassment and intimidation. Robert Black, who is white with a biracial son, has joined Barnes in the lawsuit.

The lawsuits three defendants are Millersville Police Chief Mark Palmer, Assistant Chief Dustin Carr and the city of Millersville. Palmer told The Daily Beast that all comments must be addressed to the city manager, which did not return requests for comment, and neither did Carr.

Palmer and the city had already in the past faced racial discrimination allegations. In 2015, two Black officers sued Palmer for racial discrimination, claiming that each of them were told I dont like n-----s.

One of the men, Anthony Hayes, claimed Palmer took him to a former Ku Klux Klan leaders home, where Hayes was subjected to an extended conversation in the presence of KKK memorabilia.

Hayes claimed that Palmer placed a copy of a KKK magazine in his police locker, with a sticky note that read, This was left for youdont let your subscription run out.

You cant find this anywhere, Black said of the KKK magazine. Thats why I hit up BLM reps. I was like, hey yall...

In their response to the lawsuit, the city denied the allegations against Palmer. The city managers office has not responded to a request for comment from Changing America.

Brian McCartherenes, the other officer who sued Palmer, said they were being forced out of their post after they accused the department of racism.

According to a police memo, McCartherenes was fired for alleged racist conduct, telling a new Black officer at the time, At the end of the day, remember you are Black. McCartherenes says he intended the comment as a warning about the risks of the job.

Robert Black was fired by the city manager for inciting a protest on Sept. 11, 2020, but the protest was relatively peaceful without anything getting damaged or anyone getting arrested, contrary to the warnings of the then-city manager who allegedly told Black in private to tell everyone who is involved in this [BLM protest] that we are coming after them next!

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Police officer reported his own department to Black Lives Matter | TheHill - The Hill

QFC and Fred Meyer violated federal labor law when store officials prohibited workers from wearing union-sponsored Black Lives Matter buttons, according to a ruling by Region 19 of the National Labor Relations Board.

Seattle-based UFCW 21 announced in a Sept. 17 press release that the board informed the union of the ruling against both companies, which are owned by Kroger.

Specifically, Region 19 (Alaska, Montana, Oregon and Washington) found merit in UFCW 21s charges that Kroger violated the law by: 1) failing to bargain with the union over a change in workplace conditions in this case the practice of allowing the wearing of buttons at work; and 2) prohibiting workers from taking action together in this case, by wearing Black Lives Matter messages to protest racism in the workplace and in society, generally, according to the press release.

Seattle-based Region 19 will now seek a settlement agreement with Kroger, which would likely require a change to company policy, according to the union. If a settlement cannot be reached, Region 19 would typically issue a formal complaint and a trial would be held before an Administrative Law judge, whose ruling would be subject to an appeal to the NLRB in Washington D.C.

This is very uplifting, said Sam Dancy a front end supervisor at the Westwood Village QFC in West Seattle. When workers were trying to speak out through these buttons and collectively say Black Lives Matter and Kroger said to take the buttons off, that was an insult. This decision is welcome news in our work to bring attention to social and racial injustice in the workplace and in our neighborhoods.

A QFC spokesperson issued the following statement in a Sept. 17 email to the Kent Reporter.

We look forward to reviewing the proposed settlement agreement, according to the spokesperson. Our company is unequivocal in standing with our Black associates, deeply listening and taking action to advance more diverse, inclusive and equitable communities.

UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther released the following statement.

In the wake of this welcome action by the NLRB, we are calling on Kroger to respect workers rights and take meaningful steps to address racial inequities in Kroger workplaces, Guenther said. Among other things, Kroger needs to do a better job of hiring and promoting African Americans at every level of the company and making it clear that it will not tolerate racism from customers or employees.

After Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020, many UFCW 21 members working in grocery and retail stores chose to express their opposition to racism by wearing face masks (otherwise worn for protection from COVID-19) or other items bearing the Black Lives Matter slogan.

Although Kroger issued public statements expressing sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement, managers at Kroger-owned stores in Western Washington started ordering UFCW 21 members to remove Black Lives Matter masks in August 2020, according to the union press release.

UFCW 21 responded to the companys Black Lives Matter ban by collaborating with Fred Meyer and QFC workers to distribute union-sponsored Black Lives Matter buttons with the UFCW 21 logo. When managers banned the union buttons, UFCW 21 filed charges in September 2020 with the National Labor Relations Board.

UFCW 21 represents over 46,000 workers at grocery stores, retail, health care and other industry jobs.

See the article here:

Grocery store workers have right to wear Black Lives Matter buttons | Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

A Government insider raised concern that the NHS description of BLM failed to mention the contentious calls from some supporters to defund the police.

Managers, nurses and doctors are being indoctrinated with deadly doses of dodgy diversity and pernicious propaganda all at the taxpayers expense, a Whitehall source said.

In another of the four NHS People diversity courses, medics are warned: "You may lose 'friends' as you commit to anti-racist allyship".

As part of this process, the course suggests: With fellow white people, honestly explore how racism privileges you and how racism injures BME [black and minority ethnic] people.

The course adds: "To become authentic allies who will be in the struggle for the long haul, white people will need to deliberately and honestly work on understanding white culture and white privilege. [...] White people will need to see themselves as racial beings."

Other modules include exercises on what is white privilege and the importance of understanding your personal privilege.

The revelations come after it emerged that the NHS diversity tsar Prerana Issar, the chief people officer, earned 35,000 more than the recently departed NHS chief executive.

According to accounts for 2019 to 2020, Ms Issar earned between 230,000 and 235,000 - more than her former boss Sir Simon Stevens and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Danielle Boxall of the Taxpayers Alliance said: "Taxpayers expect their money to be focused on improving frontline NHS services, not wasted on woke causes.

"There are already extensive laws to prevent discrimination in the workplace so training programmes like this should not be required.

"With the upcoming spending review, ministers should cut back on these controversial courses and save much-needed funds."

Meanwhile, Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the Common Sense Group of more than 50 Tory MPs, has written to Mr Javid asking whether taxpayers money is being squandered on woke propaganda.

He labelled it grossly inappropriate for the health service to be propagating the work of radical critical race theorists and peddling the dangerously divisive notions of collective racial guilt and collective racial oppression.

His letter was prompted by a blog post on the NHS Leadership Academy website, titled Dear white people in the UK, which advised white staff to be uncomfortable when discussing issues of race.

The Telegraph then revealed how NHS leaders had been told in a series of online seminars on whiteness and racial justice this year that speaking with a cottage cream-thick English accent was an example of privilege.

While almost one-fifth of NHS staff are from ethnic minorities compared to 14 per cent of the UK population they are under-represented in many senior roles.

An NHS spokesman said :"The NHS continues to improve recruitment, retention and patient care by ensuring all staff feel valued and supported," they added.

See the article here:

Black Lives Matter training among new diversity courses offered to NHS staff - Telegraph.co.uk

Black Lives Matters Protesters Arrested Outside Met Gala

Source: Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty

Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with New York Police Departments Strategic Response Group on Monday night, Sept. 8, as high-profile attendees celebrated the 75th annual Met Gala just steps away ironically themed around American independence.

According to the Daily Mail, a flyer circulating the demonstration detailed that the protest was organized by an autonomous group of NYC abolitionists who believe that policing does not protect and serve communities.

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The NYPD has a total financial allocation of $11 billion per year, the flyer highlighted. This money goes towards racist policing that destroys Black and brown communities while people who are struggling do not get the resources they need. CARE, not COPS, is the answer.

Dozens of NYPD officers repeatedly told protesters to Move back! and demonstrators responded by chanting Black Lives Matter and the name of Mike Rosado, a 24-year-old Bronx-resident who was fatally shot by police officers in August, according to PIX11.

One user tweeted, and provided commentary on the hypocrisy of the high-profile guests who attended the Mets fashion-forward event:

Just a thought: if you are privileged enough to be at the #MetGala, you most definitely are part of the rich, so if you actually wanted to protest it and not be a hypocrite, you shouldve stood outside and protested with a sign rather than go and enjoy it.

The tweet seemed to be a shot at U.S. (D-NY) Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who controversially wore the words Tax The Rich on the back of her gown at this years gala where individual tickets to attend were $30,000-$35,000 a pop.

Ocasio-Cortez attended the event with the designer of her dress, Brother Vellies founder and creator of the 15 Percent Pledge, Aurora James. In a Vogue interview about the nights festivities and Ocasio-Cortezs ensemble, James told the outlet, We can never get too comfortable in our seats at the table once theyve been given. We must always continue to push ourselves, push our colleagues, push the culture and push the country forward.

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Fashion is changing, America is changing, she added. And as far as this theme goes, I think Alexandria and I are a great embodiment of the language fashion needs to consider adding to the general lexicon as we work towards a more sustainable, inclusive and empowered future.

RELATED CONTENT: Throwback Thought: In 1971 Nikki Giovanni Talked About What We Now Refer To As Copaganda'

Multiple protestors were arrested outside of the gala on Monday. Jezebel shared that later that evening, protesters reportedly moved their demonstration to outside the NYPDs 28th precinct, where some of their fellow demonstrators were still being detained as of around 9 p.m. local time.

Its unclear how many protestors were arrested in total.

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Black Lives Matter Protest Is The Showdown That Wasnt Highlighted At The Met Gala - Yahoo Lifestyle

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During the Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyds murder last year, every time I looked at Twitter Id see see another shocking video of someone almost always a person of colour on the receiving end of excessive force from police.

Traditionally, police have been the loudest voice in media coverage, but the emergence of camera phones and mobile-first social media changed the balance by elevating the voices and perspectives of others.

According to the University of Newcastles Dr Justin Ellis, whos researched the topic, theres a link between the trend of amateur videos of police brutality shared on social media and the Black Lives Matter movement. Its not a coincidence both emerged in 2013, he said.

Towards the end of last year, I started seeing videos that echoed this shaky eyewitness-perspective footage of clashes between police and individuals shared to social media with a call-to-action but which were coming from people refusing to wear masks or social distance. These would circulate in anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown groups before often bubbling up to my normal feeds. These videos are engaging and prone to being widely shared. Theyve got conflict, power dynamics and intrigue a perfect recipe for going viral.

This is another example of anti-vaxxers co-opting the rhetoric and symbols of successful social-justice movements, to piggyback off success and normalise baseless claims.

Since the mid-2010s, anti-vaxxers have lifted from successful reproductive rights movements by co-opting bodily autonomy slogans like my body my choice. (Friend of the newsletter Gina Rushton points out that these same campaigners and politicians simultaneously oppose abortion.) Similarly, anti-government messaging popular on the right is used too. Drawing from both sides of politics messaging reflects the movements composition of people from all parts of the political spectrum, and might explain why, frankly, a lot of what they say doesnt make sense.

But these different users arent at all the same. Videos of police brutality depict people being hurt by a system thats supposed to protect them. Anti-lockdown advocates are putting others at risk by refusing to follow rules, but hoping to frame their struggle as that of a victim.

Sometimes, there is a blending of the two issues when police respond violently to people breaking public health measures. Police brutality, no matter how fringe someones beliefs are, is still brutality. Even in the face of a hostile individual, law enforcement has a responsibility to respond in a proportionate way.

But its a greyer area when you consider how these interactions are baited: people intentionally and proudly eschewing public health orders, often intentionally inciting such an interaction with police with the hope of gaining public sympathy for their cause.

Being arrested makes for great content. Plus, you look like a martyr! When Monica Smit, leader of Australias new major anti-vaxxer group Reignite Democracy Australia, was arrested for incitement recently, her first instinct was to tell her livestream audience: Please share this video as much as possible.

Even arrests where police do everything by-the-book can appear brutal, particularly if you sympathise with the person being arrested.

(These anti-lockdown groups have inconsistent relationships with police. Members of these movements often sympathise with law enforcement, and claim police are being forced to enforce rules they dont actually believe. Others threaten to doxx or even kill police as retaliation for enforcing the states whims.)

Initially, I thought that these tactics are politically agnostic, but Ellis frames it a different way.

Were seeing a broadening of these tactics across the political spectrum, he said.

The subtle difference is that amateur video of police arrests shared to social media still has a political slant: its anti-police and, by extension, anti-state. But this perspective doesnt belong to just one side of politics, and it certainly doesnt belong to people fighting against real struggles and not confected conspiracies.

A few weeks ago, I saw something that illustrated just how far COVID-19 denialists would go to co-opt the success of other movements: users in online conspiracy groups sharing footage of what they claimed was a man who attended the August anti-lockdown protests having his head stomped on by police.

Except, it wasnt. The footage was from 2020, and it depicted a man who had nothing to do with anti-lockdown protests.

A user found the video and decided to reappropriate someones worst day on earth to try and score points for their own campaign. After all, why put yourself in harms way for a few retweets when you can just re-share someone elses pain for your own cause?

Crowdfunded lawyers and the rise of anti-vax, COVID denialist sentimentHow are people making money from hyper-engaged anti-vaccine movements? I did a big look into how hundreds of thousands of dollars are going to crowdfund legal challenges. So far, none have been successful but the donations keep rolling in. (Crikey)

Patrick McGorry withdraws from event run by shadow pandemic mums group with links to LiberalsA nice look at how a slickly organised campaign can gather a lot of attention quickly using social media, which in this case almost snagged prominent mental health campaigner Patrick McGorry. (The Age)

Pauline Hanson is profiting off a meme created by a 23 year old Asian woman from western SydneyUsually the people who make money off popular internet memes arent the original creator, but its particularly galling that Hanson is profiting off a young woman of colour. (Pedestrian)

Google, Facebook to bankroll Australian digital publishers allianceFascinating that digital publishers would create a lobby group funded by Big Tech when the platforms are probably one of the main people they need to interface with. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Kerry Chants new world order: how a throwaway comment went viral with conspiracy theoristsTheres two lessons in this one. Firstly, theres a whole ecosystem of bad actors on the internet who search for content to share to feed and grow their audiences. Secondly, if youre a public figure: please dont use the phrase new world order.(Crikey)

Now, here at WebCam were unashamedly pro-science, pro-vaccine, and pro-anything that encourages people to get a jab.

But the latest vaccination trend started by Jim Penman the Jim from Jims Group and other Jim-related franchises could be putting people at risk.

In a TikTok video thats been viewed almost 700,000 times since being posted almost a week ago, Penman promises to give a Jims Jabs t-shirt and hat to anyone who posts a picture of their vaccination certificate on social media.

And people have been doing just that: posting videos of their vaccination certificate, posing with it, even doing a dance in front of it.

Unfortunately, as The Guardians Josh Taylor noted, people are not doing a lot to protect their privacy. I saw dozens of people sharing their full names, dates of birth, and vaccine certificate numbers just for a free hat and shirt

Even worse, anti-vaxxers began using the hashtag to find vaccinated people to harass. One poor TikTok user @heyitsb2000 made a video where she spoke about being harassed.

All I wanted was some merch, she pleaded. Leave me alone, okay?

It appears as though Jim (whos previously expressed anti-lockdown views and has had his thoughts on race science challenged) didnt think through every wrinkle of this campaign.

Its more than a newsletter. Its where readers expect more fearless journalism from a truly independent perspective. We dont pander to anyones party biases. We question everything, explore the uncomfortable and dig deeper.

And now you get more from your membership than ever before.

Peter FrayEditor-in-chief of Crikey

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WebCam: What the anti-lockdown movement stole from Black Lives Matter - Crikey

For several weeks, students at Westfield High School have called on their school district to return pride flags, Black Lives Matter signs and more to classrooms after they were removed earlier this school year.

The removal of flags and signs is one more example of how diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have been in the spotlight and criticized by some for months in schools around Central Indiana.

On Tuesday afternoon,students and their supporters will participate in a Walk for Equity to support having pride and BLM flags as well as other symbols of inclusion in the classrooms. The walk includes attending theWestfield Washington school board meeting that starts at 7 p.m. at Westfield Middle School.

Heres what you need to know:

Westfield Washington Superintendent Paul Kaiser has had several meetings with a group of Westfield High School students.

During one meeting over the summer, several students told Kaiser that things like pride flags, BLM flags and other items that are symbols of inclusion were important to them and something they wanted to see more of in classrooms.

Then, at a later meeting after the school year started, Kaiser told the students that anything deemed political or as having an agenda would be removed from classrooms. He said this list includedpride, BLM and Red for Ed.

Students said they told Kaiser that having a symbol of inclusion, such as a flag, sign or sticker that supports their identities whether that's supporting LGBTQ students or students of color, helps them feel valued and comfortable in school.

Those symbols of inclusion are a way to know that teachers affirm students' identities and are someone who will support them and be understanding, students said.

The changes were made on an individual basis with teachers after concerns were expressed to the district, Joshua Andrews, Westfield Washington spokesperson, previously told IndyStar. There is no policy banning the flags and signs currently and one is not in the works, he said.

Andrews said that the superintendent'sapproach was"let'sremove it, and then we can talk about it."

Additionally, the district has stressed that it wants to make sure classrooms are welcoming to all students, noting that it's the same for every student, and said there are ongoing discussions about that topic.Part of thatisdefining what is political and what isn't, Andrews said.

Kaiser told students that if pride flags or BLM flags/stickers were allowed, I would have to allow other forms of expression in the classroom, the superintendent wrote in a Sept. 3 email to staff that was obtained by IndyStar.

I used the extremeexamples of a Nazi flag or a Klan flag with the students. I did not intend to compare the flags of hate with flags that our students and staff support," Kaiser wrote in the email, apologizing for what he said and adding that he apologized to the students too.

Yes.The district is no longer using the terms diversity, equity and inclusion or social-emotional learning.

However, Andrews stressed thatnothing has changed with those efforts in the district, just the terminology. He added that diversity, equity and inclusion and social-emotional learning are thingsKaiser wants to see "embedded in everything we do."

This change was not announced to familiesbut is something that the district hopes families and students will notice the work is embedded in the schools.

The students were surprised with the changes and skeptical about what it means for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts going forward.

They created aChange.org petition toadvocate for keeping symbols of inclusion in classrooms, and in roughly two weeks, there were nearly 1,500 signatures.

Last week, students asked those who supported symbols of inclusion in the classroom to wear red to school on Sept. 8 and they also organized the walk for equity, which starts at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday in Asa Bales Park and includesspeakers, delivering a letter to the administration office and a sit-in at the board meeting.

Additionally,Westfield Parents for Change, an advocacy group that aims to end racism and bigotry in Westfield schools, has supported the students and having symbols of inclusion in classrooms.

Soon-to-be board members of GLSEN Central Indiana organized a "Raise Your Flags" event on Sept. 3 where more than 50 people lined West Hoover Street with BLM and pride flags.

GLSEN is an organization that aims to end harassment and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in K-12 schools. It also works to promote inclusion of LGBTQ students.

Andrews, the district spokesperson, said that at least some of the concerns came from parents, but he didn't have further details.

Unify Westfield, a group that aims to "bring academic excellence back" to Westfield schools and has opposed books that address gender identity in the schools, said the focus in schools shouldn't be on "divisive political and social issues."

In an email to supporters sent Aug. 29, Unifyacknowledged the petition, saying itwas "opposing Dr. Kaisers philosophy that teachers should not display political propaganda in their classrooms (e.g. gay pride flag, BLM flag, etc.).We need to make sure your voices supporting neutrality and academic focus in the classroom are heard."

It's another example of efforts to be inclusive to theLGBTQ community as well as larger diversity, equity and inclusion work being under scrutiny.

In the spring, it was books addressing gender identity in elementary schools that prompted hours of debate about access to the books as well as diversity, equity and inclusion in general during public comments at Westfield school board meetings.

Themarathon public comment sessions were onlypaused when school board president Jimmy Cox said there would be no more comments related to the books and any decisions would wait for the new superintendent.

However, Kaiser has not made an announcement to the community at large about the books. Andrews said there have been no policy changes, however he did say that some books arebehind the counter," but that it's notan entire category of books.

In addition to wearing red to support symbols of inclusion in the classroom, students brought flags to school. That included students with pride and BLM flags as well as other students with Trump flags, causing tensions.

In a message posted to the Westfield High School website, principal Alicia Denniston wrote that the school is supporting the students having "symbols,"except for full-body flags which are a potential safety hazard and are distracting in the classroom.

Students are allotted more freedoms than school personnel when it comes to displaying political and religious symbols of allegiance," she wrote.

She said the only time symbols will be taken from students is when they cause disruptions or are used to harass, ridicule or undermine another.

While there have been a few situations we have addressed, the majority of students have worn these symbols peacefully and without incident," Denniston wrote.

Both Kaiser and Denniston have stressed that they are trying to balance different viewpoints in the community.

The tough part is how tomake sure everyone has a voice and is comfortable in their skin at the school, Denniston wrote in her online message.

At the high school, the principal said she is working with teachers on a sign of support that saysEvery Student Welcome to be displayed in classrooms. The letters in the word "student" will represent the different identities and cultures.

At the district level, Andrews said Monday that the district is still having ongoing conversations on this topic. He added that whenever possible, Kaiser will work with administrators at each school to take a building-level approach as a response.

This topic is not on the agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting and not expected to be discussed by Kaiser or board members. Public comment is allowed only on agenda items.

Call IndyStar education reporter MJ Slaby at 317-447-1586 or email her at mslaby@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mjslaby.

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What to know about pride flags and BLM flags being removed in Westfield schools - IndyStar