Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would create a commission to study the idea of reparations for slavery,an idea that has also been gaining ground in Europe since Black Lives Matter protests went global last summer.

Legislation to create acommission to study slavery reparations for Black Americans cleared aHouse committee in a historic vote this week,sending it on its way to a full House vote for the first time more than three decades after it was introduced.If the legislation, HR 40,is passed by the Democrat-controlled House, it would go to the evenly divided Senate, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.

Reparations are ultimately about respect and reconciliation and the hope that,one day, all Americans can walk together toward a more just future,saidDemocratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Leeof Texas, a sponsor of the bill.

Some Republicans voiced opposition to the bill, arguing that the suffering wrought by slavery happened too long ago.

No one should be forced to pay compensation for what they have not done,said Republican Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio. Paying reparations would amount to taking money from people who never owned slaves to compensate those who were never enslaved.

Historical precedents

The idea of compensating the descendants of the estimated 4 million Africans forcibly brought to theUnited Statesbetween 1619 and 1865 was revived by the wave ofprotests that followedthe death of George Floyd in May 2020. But the first version of the legislative text advanced onWednesday was draftedmore than three decades ago.

Compensation to freed slaves was promised towards the end of the American Civil War in 1865, when Union GeneralWilliam TecumsehShermanfamously promised them forty acres and a mule. But this vow was never kept. It took until the 1970s and the creation of the Reparations Coordinating Committee by Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree for the issue to re-emerge.

Proponents ofreparations, however, remaindivided about what form they should take. Some argue for more welfare programmes and an expansion of existing measures such asaffirmative action.Others argue for direct financial compensation citingfact that there is still severe economic inequality between Black and White Americans,andmaintainingthat the long-term effects of slavery and segregation areresponsible. In 2019, the median annual income for an African-American household was $43,771 (36,000) compared to $71,664 (60,000) for White families.

Advocates of compensation havealso citedhistorical precedents.In 1988,Republicanpresident Ronald Reagansigned a 1988 lawto pay $20,000 (17,000) each to all survivingJapanese-Americans detained during the World War Two.In 2012,Barack Obamas White House agreedto pay more than $1 billion to 41 Native American tribes over the federal governments mismanagement of money and natural resources held in trust.

Partly inspiredby theBlack Lives Mattermovement, demonstrators in Bristol in southern England toppled a statue of18th-centuryslave trader Edward Colston and tipped it into the nearbyharbour last June.

Thatsame month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bacheletcalled on former colonialistcountries tomake amends for centuries of violence and discrimination, including through formal apologies, truth-telling processes and reparations in various forms.

In 2013, the Caribbean Community (or CARICOM), an intergovernmental organisation of 15 states in the region, believes that France, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Sweden and Denmark should pay compensation for their role in the transatlantic slave tradebetween the 16th and 19th centuries.

Senior politicians inthe Democratic Republic of Congo demandedreparations from the countrys former colonial ruler Belgium after the2020 publicationof a letter of regret from Belgian King Philippe for atrocities committed duringthat era. They also called for the removal of statuesof King Leopold II, known for his brutal rule of what was then Belgian Congo. DR Congos neighbour Burundihas been calling for yearsfor 36 billion in compensation for atrocities committed by German and Belgian settlers from 1896 to 1962.

In 1999,a Truth CommissionConference held in Ghana estimatedthe total amount of reparations owedto African countriesbyformer colonial powers at $777 trillion (650 trillion).

An association of descendants of slaves filed a requestwiththe French state for 200 billion in compensationin 2005 on the groundsthat Frances historical participation in slavery was recognised as a crime against humanity in a 2001 law(known as the Taubira law).But a court ruled that this request was inadmissible because it was impossible to discern the amount due for events that happened so long ago.Thejudgement was confirmed by Frances two highest courts of appeal.

The Afro-Caribbean groupsbehind the demandsrejected thecourt rulings on the grounds that Francehadcompensated slave owners when it abolished slavery in 1848. The following year,the French state disbursed the equivalentof7.1 percent of public spending to compensate the owners of slaves in Senegal, Madagascar, Reunion Island, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana.

In 1825, France imposed a considerable debt on Haiti which had won independence in 1804 as compensation for the French former owners of slaves there. The young Haitian republic was also forced to pay colossal interest on loans from bankers in Paris.

A French research initiative known asthe Repairs project is building a database to log the names of those who received compensation as former slave owners and the amount paid to them.

The British Empire also compensated slave owners when it abolished slavery in 1833.

Some historiansnote that a significant number of these former slave owners were free people of colour former slaves who themselves became owners of slaves.

We tend to see the history of slavery exclusively through the lens of White on Black racial oppression, but this is problematic because race is not the only criterion to be taken into account when thinking about the history of slavery, said Myriam Cottias, director of the Paris-based International Slavery and Post-Slavery Research Centre (Centre international de recherches sur les esclavages et post-esclavages).

In light of this, it seems to me that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to identify the right people to receive compensation, Cottias continued.

In 2015, then FrenchpresidentFranois Hollande ruled outpayingany compensationto thedescendants of slaves.It would be impossible to calculate because it was so long ago, he said.

Private initiatives

While nocountry involvedin the transatlantic slave trade hasestablished reparationsfor the descendants of slaves,other initiativeshave been set up.In the US, the local council of the prosperous town of Evanston in the Chicago suburbs voted in March to hand out $10 million (8m) in compensation to its Black residents over the following decade.

In 2019, Georgetown University in Washington,D.C.,approved the creation of a fund to compensate the descendants of slaves sold to balance the universitys books in the19th century.Thatsame year, Glasgow University in Scotland announced that it would pay 20 million(23m)to fund a joint venture with the University of the West Indies as a way ofrefunding the descendants of slaves for donationsit had received centuries ago from slave owners.

In the private sector,Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank and brewer Greene King have acknowledged responsibility for their involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. So far,no French companyhas acknowledged involvement in slaveryor offered compensation.

This article was translated from the original in French.

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How Black Lives Matter put slave reparations back on the agenda - FRANCE 24 English

ALBANY - They gathered Saturday at Townsend Park, just as they had three days before.

Are we ready? Legacy Casanova asked the crowd of protesters, most wearing black, many carrying signs that professed the grief and anger that has enveloped so many across the city and nation.

They walked down Lark Street, where business employees peered outside and saw raised fists, raised signs and heard raised voices that screamed, Matter! each time the words Black lives were spoken.

When is this going to stop? Nahshon McLaughlin asked as he walked past the giant yellow Black Lives Matter mural painted last summer, a marker that reminded him of the last time he was here protesting, chanting different names of Black Americans killed by police: Breonna Taylor, George Floyd.

And now here he was again, over half a year later, chanting new names Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo walking atop a mural that was fading away.

Its sadness. This is just anger and sadness, he said.

The scores of activists and supporters eventually converged at the South Station on Arch Street, the scene of a confrontation Wednesday evening.

Casanova told the protesters not to climb or even touch the rail at the South Station an action that police said escalated tensions at the last protest.

As evening settled the scene was calm outside the station, with protesters singing and marching. No police were seen stepping outside, though at least two could be seen on the roof. The rails leading to the entrance were empty of people.

Three days ago the similar demonstration culminated in the brief clash between police officers and demonstrators, where officers deployed pepper spray and a window was broken by some protesters. City officials held a news conference about Wednesday's protest on Friday, describing the gathering as a "riot."

Protesters were peacefully chanting as night fell, with leaders reminding people to pick up their trash. Many criticized Mayor Kathy Sheehanfor her comments equating the clash Wednesday in Albany to the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

What she said made me sick, one protester said.

Lukee Forbes, a community leader, said officers not being outside dramatically helped with deescalating tensions.

Police not being here is whats going to keep this from escalating, he said. Thats what gets tensions high: when police are here.

Many protesters promised to return to the station and continue protesting until the officer who pushed at a womans megaphone on Wednesday is fired.

Kat Reyefico, 29, was at the station on Wednesday. She wasnt hit with pepper spray, she said, but her friends were, and as she tried to help them, she inhaled the residue from the chemicals. She was beginning to have an asthma attack, she said. She borrowed he friends inhaler, and promised herself she would return again on Saturday.

This is where Im supposed to be, she said, playing a drum she had borrowed from the heavy metal band shes in. She was giving rhythm to the chants, providing a beat for the people who yelled again and again: No justice, no peace.

Troy protest

The Albany march came a few hours after another gathering in Troy.

Under different circumstances, the gathering under the Collar City Bridge Saturday afternoon could have been mistaken for a family reunion. Music played, kids drew with chalk on the asphalt, and people passed out snacks and water. A large table loaded with flowers below a large banner reading "Black Lives Matter" taped to bridge supports and signs in the crowd with messages like, "Abolish Racism in Troy PD or Abolish the Troy PD" revealed the event as both a memorial and a call to action. There were no uniformed police present.

Saturday was the fifth anniversary of the day Edson Thevenin, 37, was killed by a Troy police officer during a traffic stop on the road above the crowd of roughly 150. The police officer who shot Thevenin, Sgt. Randall French, was cleared of wrongdoing.

The case roiled Troy, and people who spoke at the Spring into Action: Rally 4 Black Life gathering Saturday said the pain they feel over what they see is a lack of justice in the Thevenin case has only been worsened by the subsequent deaths of people of color at the hands of police, both locally and nationally.

Luz Marquez, a founder of Troy4BlackLives and a cosponsor of the event, spoke passionately, urging the crowd to keep raising their voices for Black lives and keep up pressure on the city's elected leaders.

"If you want to stop gun violence, stop white supremacy," Marquez said, adding her voice to others Saturday to defund the police.

Angela Beallor, a founder of Reimagine Troy, said as a white person, she has had interactions with police, but lived to tell the tale. Black and brown people often do not. Jessica Ashley read a statement from Gertha Depas, Thevenin's mother.

"Five years have not eased the pain, they have intensified the struggle," Ashley read. "The power is always in the hands of the people and change comes when we speak up."

Other speakers included Messiah Cooper, whose nephew, Dahmeek McDonald, was shot by police in 2017. Cooper said what he sees as his failure to act in the past is what motivates him to do so now. It's important, he said, not only to stand up for people because they are a friend or a relative, but simply because it's the right thing to do.

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Albany Black Lives Matter protest takes to the streets - Times Union

Brian Amadi, Precious Familusi and Raven Khadeja are the founders of Black Lives Matter N.L. (CBC )

After the murderofGeorge Floyd, Precious Familusi, Brian Amadi and Raven Khadeja started talking back and forth in Facebook messages.

"It was a time where we saw a lot of people rallying and we decided this was a time to talk about racism here in Newfoundland," said Precious Familusi."People in Newfoundland are really friendly but this doesn't mean that racism doesn't exist."

Those initial Facebook messages became the start of Black Lives Matter N.L., which Familusi, Khadejaand Amadico-founded in June 2020.

Amadi is quick to point out that the organization is more than just an activist group against racism.

"Black Lives Matterdoesn't just mean stopping racism because stopping racism doesn't do much for Black lives that are already suffering from the effects of racism," Amadi said.

For our latest segment of Being Black in N.L., host Ife Alabaspeaks withAmadi, Familusiand Khadejaabout their organization, the importance of having open and honest conversations about racism,and the need for anti-racism education.

WATCH | See Ife Alaba's interview with Black Lives Matter N.L.:

You may already be familiar with Ife Alaba she's one of the charismatichosts ofCBC Newfoundland and Labrador's series Stuffed.

Alaba is host and producer of our Being Black in N.L. segment where she chats with members of theBlack community about their lives,businesses and passions.

Watch out for more Being Black in N.L. right here, on our social media channels and on Here & Now.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.

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An open conversation about racism: Meet the founders of Black Lives Matters N.L. - CBC.ca

Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, blasted the Black Lives Matter movement in Louisville, Kentucky in a since-removed Facebook post.

I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud [sic], Ms Palmer wrote on Wednesday. A screenshot of the post was later published by a local media show.

A screenshot captured by WAVE 3 News shows a since-removed Facebook post by Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor

(WAVE 3 News)

She called Kentucky statehouse representative Attica Scott another fraud.

Ms Palmer gave credit to family, friends and local activists for supporting her family after the death of her daughter. Ms Taylor, who was 26, died following a police shooting in her home during the execution of a no-knock warrant.

Ms Scott has pushed for a ban on no-knock warrants since Ms Taylors death.

Ms Palmer said local activist Christopher 2x and other supporters had never needed recognition.

I could walk in a room full of people who claim to be here for Breonnas family who don't even know who I am, she added.

She criticised people who have raised money for Ms Taylor's family without knowing them, writing: Ive watched yall raise money on behalf of Breonnas family who has never done a damn thing for us nor have we needed it or asked so Talk about fraud.

Its amazing how many people have lost focus Smdh. Im a say this before I go Im so sick of some of yall and I was last anybody who needs it Im with this enough is enough!!

Ms Taylor died after being shot six times as police returned fire after her boyfriend Kenneth Walker discharged his weapon, hitting one of the officers, as they used a battering ram to enter the apartment.

Two of the three officers who used their guns have been fired, with one remaining on the job. None of the officers have been charged in the death of Ms Taylor, but one of them is facing charges for wanton endangerment in respect of bullets that entered another apartment.

Sgt Jonathan Mattingly, who remains on the police force, is writing a book about the event and its aftermath to be published by Post Hill Press.

The Independent has reached out to BLM Louisville and Representative Attica Scott for comment.

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Breonna Taylors mother blasts Black Lives Matter movement - The Independent

Cloe Poisson :: CTMirror.org

A protestor holds a Black Lives Matter sign at the start of a protest march at Keney Park to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

My life and every other black life matters.

This is every black persons motto in the United States of America. In the past few months, weve seen an increase in deaths among the Black community. Besides COVID-19 disproportionately affecting this community, resulting in many deaths, so has police brutality. Racism is a public health crisis.

The recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and now Daunte Wright of Minnesota help reveal the sad truth about how devalued lives of people of color are in the United States. People worldwide are now finally having open discussions about what racism looks like and how it is disproportionately affecting their communities in their day-to-day lives. We are starting to finally hold officers accountable for their actions and speak out against these reoccurring injustices.

Every day, it seems as if another killing or shooting results in the death of another black man. On Sunday, April 11, 2021, 20-year-old Duante Wright was shot and killed after the traffic stop in Minnesota, miles away from where George Floyd was murdered. The shooting was just recently ruled as a homicide, but is claimed to be accidental. Many Black Americans, including me, want to see the officer responsible for this young Black mans death held accountable.

It is no secret that people continue to suffer daily from the trauma we see, such as the deaths of our brothers and sisters at the hands of the police, the people who take a vow to protect us. Black people are not viewed as humans in this society. This is the reality: Black men are afraid of the police. We are scared that if we get pulled over, our lives will be put at stake, and we can be brutally murdered at any given time, regardless of the environment.

To continuously mourn the loss of a Black life every day is draining. We were put on this earth to be conscientious members of society, not to be eternally oppressed.

Today, and every day: Black Americans such as I will continue to say that our lives matter.

Eugene Bertrand is a student at Eastern Connecticut State University.

CTViewpoints welcomes rebuttal or opposing views to this and all its commentaries. Read our guidelines andsubmit your commentary here.

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Opinion My life and every other Black life matters - The CT Mirror

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter on Tuesday for killing George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man whose death brought forth calls to defund the police and sparked massive worldwide protests for racial justice, including weeks of action in Sacramento.

Stevante Clark, whose 22-year-old brother Stephon Clark was shot and killed by Sacramento police in 2018, said while theres more work to be done, slow progress is better than no progress.

Ive always said that Derek Chauvin was in the courtroom, but America was on trial, Clark said. And Ive always said as well that theres a difference between justice and accountability. We are still fighting for justice. We just seen accountability.

Clark was at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Sacramento when a Minnesota judge read off the three guilty verdicts that sent Chauvin to jail while he awaits sentencing. Since his brother Stephons death in 2018, Sacramento has seen large-scale protests all over the city.

Family of Stephon Clark including SeQuette Clark, Stevante Clark and Sequita Thompson address reporters and the public on the West steps of the California state Capitol Thursday, March 18, 2021.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Those demonstrations were heightened last summer after Floyds murder.

Sacramento organizer Sonia Lewis has been among those at those forefront of local demonstrations. Like many others who have for decades seen police officers kill and harm unarmed Black Americans without being convicted of a crime, Lewis said she had been emotionally preparing for a different verdict.

I have watched every moment of all these big trials, and we have been disappointed and justice has not prevailed, Lewis said. "Leading up to today has been extremely emotional.

She added that when she heard the judge read of the guilty verdicts, she was surprised, but not necessarily in a joyful way.

Justice is not a guilty verdict. Justice is allowing Black people to live, Lewis said. I cannot be happy for George Floyds family because George Floyd is no longer here with them.

Other local activists and organizers agreed.

Asantewaa Boykin, cofounder of the Anti-Police Terror Project, said she also felt relief upon hearing the verdict, but she added that the work isnt done with just one trial.

Its not enough to incarcerate bad apples when the entire system is guilty, Boykin said. Just since the trials been going on, theres been a number of folks who have died at the hands of police, and I think thats a testament to the fact that its a public health crisis.

In recent weeks, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man from Minnesota, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. The officer who shot Wright, Kim Porter, was a 26-year veteran with the Brooklyn Center Police Department who resigned shortly after the shooting. She was later charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Meg White co-founded Justice Unites Individuals and Communities Everywhere (JUICE) the summer Floyd was killed. She said her organizations fight for justice in police killings specifically those in Sacramento wont stop just because of one ruling.

This is a drop in the bucket, she said. I think were still quite a ways away from law enforcement in Sacramento being a lot less racist and more ethical.

She added that while she was surprised by the guilty verdict, she doesnt believe it will lead to widespread change.

I feel like in general, its not like just Derek Chauvin was guilty, the whole system was guilty of overpolicing, the whole system is guilty of tons of physical and emotional abuse specifically of Black and Brown people, White said.

Many organizers said they didnt watch many details of the Chauvin trial, as it was too emotionally difficult to follow.

Bishoy Abdelshaid of Black Lives Matter Sacramento didnt tune into most of the trial, but said he was happy to hear the verdict and wants other Black Americans to sit in the joy you may have, sit in the happiness you may feel from this.

For allies and non-Black people, Abdelshaid said the verdict should not signify the end of the racial reckoning that began over the summer.

For non-Black folks and all allies and accomplices, this is not a time to sit down, this is not a time to pause, this is a time where weve seen the strength of the people so the people need to keep pushing.

Local activists had been preparing for action regardless of the verdict just as they have for the myriad other examples of racial injustice across the United States.

Floyds death led to weeks of demonstrations in Sacramento last summer, some of which resulted in property destruction downtown. In response, the National Guard was called in to protect state buildings, more than 100 people were arrested in the first five days, and some protesters were shot with projectiles.

In reaction to police killings of Daunte Wright, 20, in Minnesota and Adam Toledo, 13, in Chicago, protesters last week held a vigil on the steps of Sacramento City Hall and marched through downtown streets on two separate nights. There were no arrests on either night according to the Sacramento Police Department, though they are investigating several instances of vandalism. The department said four officers were sent to the hospital after being sprayed with an [unknown] liquid irritant.

Sacramento organizers also held protests between 2014 and 2017, in response to the growing number of high-profile and local police killings including those of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Joseph Mann in Sacramento, and Philando Castille in Minnesota.

But in 2018, Sacramento was in the national spotlight.

Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old father from Sacramento, was killed by two police officers in the backyard of his grandmothers Meadowview home. Clarks death led to national civil unrest, and sparked months of protests locally. Activists shut down a Sacramento Kings game at the Golden 1 Center, occupied the freeway, marched through Meadowview, and interrupted City Council meetings.

Nearly a year after his death, both Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that they would not file criminal charges against the two officers who killed Clark.

After Schuberts announcement, demonstrations started again this time with renewed focus on affluent areas of the city and places that generate money. Eighty-four people were arrested after marching through the streets of East Sacramento; and youth demonstrators held a sit-in at Arden Fair Mall.

Clarks death and subsequent demonstrations forced change within the state, city and police department. Less than a month after the shooting, the police department changed its policy around muting body cameras. The police department also changed its foot pursuit policy, making officers consider their own safety, danger to the public and suspect and the importance of making an arrest.

The state Legislature increased police records transparency in California, allowing police department personnel records available through public records requests. Not all departments have been forthcoming with the records since.

Gov. Gavin Newsom later signed a bill dubbed the Stephon Clark Law that would change the use-of-force standard from reasonable to necessary.

CapRadio's Scott Rodd contributed to this reporting

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'Sit In The Joy You May Have': Black Sacramento Organizers Respond To Derek Chauvin Verdict With Relief, Urgency For Change - Capital Public Radio...

City officials say the mural painted on the fence doesn't conform with West St. Paul city ordinances. (FOX 9)

WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The City of West St. Paul says a Black Lives Matter mural painted on a fence in the city has to be painted over, or the homeowners will face a fine.

The Black Lives Matter mural was painted on a fence that's on private property late last summer. Homeowner Ryan Weyandt says the fence turned canvas forces people to take pause at a normally busy West St. Paul intersection and thats the point.

The City of West St. Paul says a Black Lives Matter mural painted on a fence in the city has to be painted over, or the homeowners will face a fine.

"We thought this was an appropriate way to get a visual message out," said Weyandt.

Weyandt and his husband couldnt stay quiet last summer after George Floyds death and unrest in the cities -- so they spoke out through the mural, a Black Lives Matter message painted by two local artists.

"We had hoped if it just made one person who had to pause at this stop sign and think," said Weyandt, "that that would really fulfill what we were trying to do."

Its caught the eye of many in the community, including some neighbors who didnt like the mural and called it into the city.

"Turns out there is both a sign ordinance and a fence ordinance in town," said Weyandt.

Now, Weyandt says they have until April 15 to paint over it or pay a fine.

"We have had other messages on this fence for three years and this is the first time weve ever gotten a citation for it," said Weyandt.

Community activist and former mayoral candidate KaeJae Johnson, whose face is also part of the fence artwork, wants to see it stay.

"This is about my life, this is saying, this is telling my granddaughter that it matters that she lives in West St. Paul," said Johnson. "It's telling her shes welcome here."

Johnson tells us messages like this are needed to make sure the Black community knows they matter and are important in West St. Paul.

"This is what were aiming West St. Paul to be," added Johnson. "Has it changed on so many levels, absolutely, but its not there yet why is it not there yet? Because theyre asking him to take it down."

We did hear back Thursday from the City of West St. Paul, who told us in a statement the fence does not comply with city code which states: "Fences shall not contain pictures or lettering and shall be one uniform color."

Signs also cannot be fixed on fences, adding that: "the City cannot and does not take content or message into account when dealing with infractions of City Code. All City Code, as well as enforcement, is content neutral."

Weyandt tells us if he does not comply, he will face fines of about $250 dollars a day. But he has had offers from lots of people who can come help paint.

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City of West St. Paul tells resident to paint over Black Lives Matter mural on fence or face fines - FOX 9

During the tumultuous summer and fall of 2020, a photojournalist needed more than cameras and lenses to cover the news. Kevlar jackets, ballistic helmets, and gas masks were also standard operating equipment.

That was the case for Mason Trinca, a documentary photographer who covered the at-times violent protests in Portland for the New York Times. The city was in the national spotlight repeatedly as activists and protesters clashed with opponents and the police for more than 100 days on issues including Black Lives Matter concerns, the 2020 election, and federal responseto protests.

Against a backdrop in which tear gas and rubber bullets were nightly concerns, Trinca, BS 13 (environmental studies), suited up in body armor and dove into the fray. Relying on tips from sources, real-time guidance from the newspaper, and his own instincts, he strove to capture in pictures all sides of a fast-evolving story with subplots including the seizure of protesters by unidentified federal agents and counter protests by right-wing groups.

A Trinca photograph provided one of the defining images of the summer: a birds-eye view of shooting victim Aaron Danielson, a supporter of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, taken froma rooftop.

Interviewed earlier this year, Trincawho lives in Portland with his wife, designer Myray Reames (BA 14, journalism)was still trying to make sense of last summers events.

Covering the protests had drained him physically and emotionally. Far from enjoying some sort of journalistic immunity, Trinca and fellow reporters received death threats for their coverage.

We were targeted multiple times, for our coverage both on the left and right side, Trinca says. When we do fair and accurate coverage, we get threatened on both sides. People want to exist in their own ecospheres and oftentimes not want to hear the other side of the story, whether its good or bad.

Trinca hadnt fully processed the protests in part because he hasnt slowed down. He recently returned from Liberia on a shoot for a commercial client and also finished a job for Wired magazine (hes bound by confidentiality agreements from discussing projects prior to release). He was also retained by the state and Portland advertising agency Wieden+Kennedyknown for its work with Niketo provide pictures for a campaign on the importance of masks duringthe pandemic.

What ties Trincas various assignments together, he says, is storytelling. All his clients want it: genuine, revealing, human moments, whether the medium is journalism, advertising, or public service. A class in environmental studies first planted in him the notion of storytelling with a camera, and Trinca developed his skills with Sung Park, senior instructor in the School of Journalism and Communication.

What makes my workand the work of a lot of photojournalists-turned-commercial photographersspecial is that we can pitch the idea, This is a real story; were going to find real people and capture real moments, Trinca says. People want that more and more.

Next up: finding a fresh way to tell the story of this summers inevitable wildfires.

Trinca has photographed Californias sprawling blazes roughly a half-dozen times. The saturation news coverage of these catastrophes forces him to constantly reexamine his approach in hopes of producing an uncommon photograph, a different perspective. Hes already begun preparationsshoring up the camera equipment hell need, working out logistics, girding himself mentally.

How are we going to cover the wildfires differently? he asks. What will resonate with audiences when we are constantly bombarding them with terrible images? How do we bring humanity to that? These are the things I think about for the next disaster.

By Matt Cooper,managing editor for Oregon Quarterly

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Mason Trinca: Black Lives Matter Protests Behind, Wildfires Ahead - AroundtheO

A Black Lives Matter mural in Pullman, it's been the goal of one local group for nine long months now. Originally, the group went to the Pullman City Council asking for help, but since then the project has been caught up in red tape.

Pullman City Council handed off the public art project to the Pullman Arts Commission. From there the Arts Commission went to the public for mural design submissions.

Before long, the call to artists generated seven submissions, and a couple had a lot of public support on social media. But according to the Pullman City Council, procedurally, there were missteps in the process, so the city council decided to scrap what they had and start over. But many who supported the mural designs that said Black Lives Matter believe the city council was uncomfortable with the phrase Black Lives Matter.

But the waiting seems to be over now, as a new non-profit called the Pullman Arts Foundation has taken the mural project into their own hands. The foundation has been working with a local business in downtown Pullman where the mural will go and has already raised more than $15,000 for the mural.

Now, all there is left to do is to rent the equipment, buy the paint, and paint. The Pullman Arts Foundation plans to have the mural complete by the end of summer 2021.

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Black Lives Matter mural in Pullman to be complete the end of summer - KHQ Right Now

Campaigners are calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to withdraw a report into racism, and instead enact recommendations from multiple previous inquiries, to tackle race equality in Britain in 2021.

Groups including Black Lives Matter UK say the Government-commissioned report has provoked national indignation, whilst campaigner Doreen Lawrence called it a green light for racists.

In an open letter to Mr Johnson, organisations said the report whitewashes the daily challenges faced by black and minoritised communities.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise

The letter said the report fails on even the most basic level, in acknowledging the fundamental rights of Black and minoritised communities, and the impact of hostile environment policies that have threatened the citizenship and status of the Windrush generation and their descendants.

Mr Johnson has said he does not agree with everything in the report, but does want to implement its recommendations.

In June last year, following anti-racism protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd in the US, he announced the setting up of a commission to investigate the state of racial inequalities in the UK.

Last month, its chair Dr Tony Sewell, came back with a258-page reportthat has since sparked a widespread backlash, as it concluded that the country no longer has a system rigged against people from ethnic minorities.

It also said family structure and social class had a bigger impact than race on how peoples lives turned out.

The report acknowledged that overt racism exists, particularly online, but said the UK should be regarded as a model for other white-majority countries for its success in removing race-based disparities in society.

The commission also said there was anecdotal evidence of racism, but no proof of institutional racism in the country.

It lists 24 recommendations, which include extending school days in disadvantaged areas to help pupils catch up on missed learning during the pandemic, and getting rid of the acronym BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).

The report also warned organisations to stop funding unconscious bias training, with government and experts developing resources to help advance workplace equality.

It also said children from disadvantaged backgrounds should have access to better quality careers advice in schools, funded by university outreach programmes, and that more research is needed to understand why pupils perform well in certain communities, so this can be replicated to help all children succeed.

In the letter, organisations including campaigning group Charity So White, Liberty, the National Education Union, The Runnymede Trust and Black Pride, called on Mr Johnson to repudiate the commissions findings immediately and withdraw its report.

They said: From the moment that membership of the ostensibly independent commission was announced, it was clear it would publish a tailored report conforming to a government narrative around racism and class a narrative that whitewashes over the daily challenges faced by Black and minoritised communities in this country.

The letter also said the report was lacking in intellectual rigour and notes that some of those cited in the report have since claimed they were misrepresented.

It urged Mr Johnson to establish a task force to implement the recommendations made by previous investigations into race including inquiries into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the Windrush scandal.

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities maintains its work has been misrepresented, adding that it had never said that racism does not exist in society or in institutions.

In a statement, the commission said: We say the contrary: racism is real and we must do more to tackle it.

Robust debate we welcome. But to depict us as racism deniers, slavery apologists or worse is unacceptable.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson said the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report was a very interesting piece of work but he was not going to say the government is going to agree with absolutely everything in it.

He said there are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address and added that the government would be looking at the ideas the commission put forward.

The letter calling on Mr Johnson to withdraw the report gained more than 20,000 signatures in 48 hours, and received support from writer Afua Hirsch and actor Riz Ahmed.

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Black Lives Matter UK tells Boris Johnson to immediately withdraw race report - iNews