Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

Back the Blue rally attendees walk past counter protestors on the left. Protestors against police brutality march on University Ave on June 29. (Preston Crawley)

Provo Police are investigating gunshots and an injury after Back the Blue and Black Lives Matter protesters butted heads Monday night in downtown Provo.

Video shows a person firing on a vehicle that was pushing its way through protesters on University Avenue. Several protestors began crowding around the vehicle. A male protestor ran to the SUV on the passenger side, pointed a handgun at driver and shot one round through the window. The driver, who was struck by the bullet, hit the gas trying to leave the situation, Provo Police said on social media Tuesday morning.

The night started with each group on opposite corners and ended with counter-protesters marching and stopping traffic on Center Street and University Avenue before returning to the police station and being met by police in riot gear.

Throughout the course of the night, at least three vehicles were driven through the protestors as they blocked intersections, including the one that drew gunfire.

The pro-police rally collected notes for the police and passed out popsicles as cars drove by with signs and flags on 100 South behind the Police station. Provo resident Sara Thompson organized the event as a family home evening activity to show the police that people in the community supported them. Thompson didnt anticipate the event would grow as large as it did.

I hope they feel that despite the current issues we still need them and we recognize that they make our community a safe place, she said.

At the same time, the counter protestors spoke over a speaker about police brutality and chanted on the corner of Center Street and 300 West. Protest organizers had participated in demonstrations in Salt Lake City and wanted to bring the protests down south to Provo in response to the Back the Blue rally.

Serena Maxwell, who lived in Provo on and off for seven years, helped organize the protest. We just have this tendency to throw things under the rug, Maxwell said about the conflict-averse culture in Provo, BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Problem is the people who are most affected by racism people who are Black, people who are Indigenous, people who are of color they cant ignore these things.

Around 7:45 p.m., the counter protestors marched around the corner in front of Back the Blue rally. They proceeded to block the intersection of 100 South and 300 West while Back the Blue attendees met them in their trucks and honked.

The Back the Blue attendees chanted blue lives matter, and the counter-protestors responded with blue lives dont exist.

After around 30 minutes of the two groups facing off, the Back the Blue rally ended and its attendees left. The counter protestors then continued to block intersections along Center Street before turning onto University Avenue.

Jacob Sala Siolo, one of the counter-protest organizers, said he grew up in Utah County and has been protesting almost daily in Salt Lake City. He hoped bringing the protests to the streets in Provo would help residents see the issue more. Going through the streets, down all these businesses with people driving, they dont have the opportunity to turn away. They have to look at it.

As the protestors moved through the streets, the Provo Police and Fire departments worked to close off roads for the protestors. Provo Fire Chief James Miguel drove to the protestors to ensure a woman was OK after being hit by a truck. Miguel said the fire department was there to protect the protestors.

The protestors marched to 500 North and University Avenue before turning around and heading back to the police station. When they arrived at 9:40 p.m., they planned to disperse and return to their cars, but they were met with police in riot gear who surrounded the protest from all sides of the intersection.

People have been hurt. Things have been damaged. Time to leave, a police officer announced. Another officer declared the protest to be an unlawful gathering at 9:44 p.m.

Protest organizers asked attendees to leave, and the majority left for their cars. A handful remained to give police witness statements about the cars running through traffic.

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Shots fired as Black Lives Matter and Back the Blue collide in Provo - Universe.byu.edu

A majority of the American public, including more than half of whites, say they agree with the ideas expressed by the Black Lives Matter movement. And more support than oppose the people protesting the treatment of African Americans by police. Most, regardless of their view, expect a lasting impact: 8 in 10 Americans think the protests will have at least some influence on the way police treat racial minorities.

More than half of whites agree with the ideas of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it finds widespread agreement among African-Americans.

There is a matter of degree, as African Americans are more likely to strongly agree and whites are more mixed between somewhat and strongly agreeing.

These issues do continue to show partisan differences. Most Democrats and independents support the protesters and agree with the ideas of the movement with Democrats strongly agreeing and most independents agreeing at least somewhat. By contrast, a large majority of Republicans say they disagree with the ideas expressed by the Black Lives Matter movement overall, including half who say they strongly disagree, and most Republicans also oppose the protesters though one-quarter of Republicans join that majority of Democrats in supporting them, too.

We asked Americans if Confederate statues should be removed from public places, and also if all statues of historical figures should be considered for removal, too, depending on what those figures did in their lives. We found divisions by party and race, and age.

Three in four Democrats want Confederate statues removed, while more than 8 in 10 Republicans want them to remain.

Eight in 10 black Americans want Confederate statues and symbols removed, and while a slight majority of white Americans want them to remain, the opinion of white Americans is largely related to partisanship. Most white Democrats want the statues removed, while most white Republicans and independents want them to remain.

Age matters: younger Americans are more likely to want Confederate statues removed most do while older Americans oppose; and younger Americans are much more likely to consider all historical statues for removal. Some of this, too, hews to partisanship.

By region, a slight majority of Americans in the South (56%) want the Confederate monuments to remain, but this is also true in the Midwest (57%) and West (55%). Only in the Northeast do a majority of Americans want Confederate monuments removed, and there just barely (51%). Here again, partisanship and race within regions factor more heavily than region itself.

As protesters remove or try to remove a wider group of statues, it is Democrats who mostly would reconsider other figures, depending on what those figures did in their lives, while Americans overall are much less likely to back this idea. Forty-one percent of Americans think statues of all historical figures should be considered for potential removal. Democrats are most in favor, with two-thirds saying consider them all for removal, and large majorities of Republicans and independents saying not to consider a wider group for removal.

Views on this issue largely track with views on the recent protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Most who support the protests support both removal of Confederate monuments as well as considering whether all statues of historical figures should be removed based on what they did in life. Those who oppose the protests want the statues and monuments to remain in place.

Six in 10 Americans disapprove of President Trump's handling of the recent protests of the treatment of African Americans by police, and over half of all Americans (53%) say he hasn't shown enough understanding about protesters' concerns.

Most Democrats and independents disapprove of the job he's doing (three in four Democrats disapprove strongly), and two thirds of Democrats say he's been too tough on the protesters. Most Republicans at least somewhat approve of the job he's doing (though less than half strongly approve) and most Republicans say he hasn't been tough enough on the protesters.

Fifty-five percent think major changes are needed in the way police departments operate. People do differ in degree. While Americans across the political spectrum think some changes are in order, most Democrats and independents think major changes are needed, while most Republicans think only minor changes are necessary. Only 9% of Americans think no changes are needed.

Overall Americans say they think the police are more apt to treat white people better than black people more so than to treat both equally.

A majority expect the recent protests to lead to at least some changes to the way police treat racial minorities, including half who think major changes will result. More black Americans say the protests will lead to major changes than minor ones.

Most Americans are dissatisfied (58%) with President Trump's response to calls for police reforms, and this also breaks along party lines. Most also disapprove of Congress' response, however, and on that, partisans agree.

This CBS News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 2,009 U.S. adult residents interviewed between June 23-26, 2020. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as 2016 presidential vote and registration status. The margin of error is 2.6 points.

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Majority agree with Black Lives Matter and say major police reform is needed CBS News poll - CBS News

Organizer Otis Edgecomb said the recent movement to dismantle monuments dedicated to the Confederate States of America was a vital part of that larger goal.

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine About 15 people participated in the latest iterations of weekly Black Lives Matter demonstrations across from the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle on Saturdays, June 20 and 27, as protests in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd continued across the country.

Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after an officer knelt on his neck during an arrest. His death captured in a widely seen video spurred a nationwide protest movement against police brutality and racism.

In Presque Isle, several cars drove by and honked in support as protestors waved signs reading Black Lives Matter, systemic racism is real, and no justice, no peace. On June 20, organizer Otis Edgecomb of Fort Fairfield held up a multi-colored peace sign that also featured a raised fist a symbol of solidarity in activist movements.

While Juneteenth a holiday celebrating the abolition of slavery in 1865 had become a rallying call for protests over the weekend of the 20th, Edgecomb said the rally was more about continuing to protest racial inequality across the country.

Edgecomb said the recent movement to dismantle monuments dedicated to the Confederate States of America was a vital part of that larger goal.

Todd Russell, left, Griffin Goins, center, and Otis Edgecomb, right, hold signs in a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Presque Isle on Saturday, June 27. (David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald)

He disputed a belief held by supporters of maintaining those monuments that removing them would be forgetting history. He said it was important to remember and learn from history, but keeping the statues up commemorated symbols of racism.

Edgecomb said he was shocked by what he believed to be the increased display of the Confederate battle flag in Aroostook County after Donald Trump became president in 2017.

That flag can occasionally be spotted on T-shirts or hoisted on vehicles in the Presque Isle-area.

Logically, it [doesnt] make sense in my head, Edgecomb said. We are in Northern Maine. They werent even part of the Confederacy.

Edgecomb said his fight was against police brutality and racism in the United States. He said efforts by activists to defund the police had brought some important results, with the Los Angeles City Council on the verge of transferring $133 million from law enforcement to social services.

Yet, he does not want to defund local County police departments. He said that this was a personal opinion and did not necessarily reflect other protesters views.

Police departments like the Los Angeles Police suffer from police misconduct issues that County police departments had avoided, Edgecomb said. He said County departments had treated others with respect while focusing on de-escalation.

I cant say that Id want to defund them, Edgecomb said. Why would I want to take money away when they are doing a good job?

Claudette Edgecomb Otis Edgecombs mother who joined him at the protest on June 20 pointed to Fort Fairfield Police Chief Shawn Newells leadership as an example for other police departments to follow.

Otis Edgecomb, right, andClaudette Edgecomb, left, hold signs at a Black Lives Matter protest in Presque Isle on Saturday, June 20. (David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald)

Otis Edgecomb said Newells membership in the LGBTQ community also provided him a greater understanding of discrimination.

Shawn Newell, whos openly gay, said police officers across The County did their jobs with high integrity, treating others with respect regardless of status.

I dont see color. I see how an individual treats another person, and thats what matters most to me, Newell said. Not where you came from, your ethnic background, religious beliefs or your sexuality.

Todd Russell, 77, of Presque Isle is far apart from the young demographic many associate with the nationwide protest movement.

Yet, Russell who attended both protests said he had supported social justice movements his whole life, including participating in rallies against the Iraq War in Montana with his wife in the early 2000s.

Im kind of used to speaking out, Russell said. It is who I am.

Russell said the historic injustice directed at Black people in America had driven him to broadcast his message to the Presque Isle public.

As passing cars continued to honk in support, Russell said many in the Star City had been receptive to the protestors message a view shared by Edgecomb.

In the middle of the protest on June 27, a man handed out a case of water to the protestors. The man who declined to be identified said he appreciated the demonstrators devotion to their cause and the peacefulness of the protests.

Im sure theres a lot of people who feel the same, but they have a lot of responsibilities, Russell said. Its not like because they arent here they dont support what were doing.

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Presque Isle Black Lives Matter protests call for end to discrimination and symbols of racism - The County

The answer is clear. It is because BLM feeds into the same wretched culture of victimhood and oppression that has been cynically championed by the left for decades. By continually caricaturing black people as perpetual victims of systemic white racism it infantilises them by depicting us as stupid, helpless and impotent cultural punchbags, forever crushed beneath externalised discriminatory forces beyond our control.

It is a grotesque form of reanimated cultural imperialism that envisages a world in which every black action can only ever be a reaction to white provocation, as if we were little more than flaccid puppet minstrels forever tied to the string of white mastermind omnipotence. In so doing, black people are absolved of our need to take responsibility for our own actions and futures and must instead await salvation by accepting that our own freedom and empowerment are not ours to claim but a white establishments to give.

Oddly, it is a cult enthusiastically energised by successful black personalities, with the likes of John Boyega, Afua Hirsch and Stormzy absurdly claiming that the society in which they gained their own success is somehow systemically inclined to withhold it from all their black peers. And thiscult is founded on a toxic crucible: slavery. Martin Luther King talked of freedom far more than he talked of slavery. Yet now the civil rights lexicon has been reversed and slavery is now the historical deadweight from which BLM and its liberal enablers refuse to let black people escape.

Yes, the Atlantic slave trade was a horrendous evil. But to claim that a 400-year-old event that adapted barbarous Arab and African practices that had already been in place for thousands of years is responsible for unilaterally framing the life choices and experiences of black people today is as preposterous as suggesting that cruise ship bookings are still hampered by the Titanic. It is also a claim that might attain more integrity were it accompanied by even a scintilla of concern for the estimated 40 million people worldwide trapped in slavery today.

BLMs twisted narratives have been underscored by a liberal establishment and mainstream media that deploys identity politics to objectify and homogenise black people. In so doing it offensively lumps all black people into a vast cultural tick-box in which, by magical virtue of our pigmentation, we have all been gifted with the telepathic ability to think, eat, act and talk exactly the same way.

Yet by ignorantly conflating the richness and diversity of the black experience into a single diminished entity, patronising, reductionist terms like the black and dreaded BAME community invariably flow and perpetuate an embattled sense of otherness that merely succeeds in further separating and marginalising black people from mainstream society.

And, like all good liberal pogroms, this homogenisation is specifically designed to disenfranchise individuality, sever the links between black people and our brothers and sisters in other racial groups and, most importantly, to achieve the hallowed liberal goal of glorifying difference. And glorifying difference is exactly what BLM and the Marxist junta it seeks to establish is all about.

True integration - where character matters more than colour and George Floyd could just as easily have become a cardiologist as a criminal - was the utopian vision on which Martin Luther King based his dream, and it should be the goal of all mature Western democracies. But celebratingdifference is intolerable to a guilt-ridden liberal elite groggy on the opiate of multiculturalism. Instead it embraced the tyranny of diversity to obscure integration and emphasise what divides us rather than what unites us.

We now see this tyranny being prosecuted in a McCarthyan culture war that seeks to expunge white post-imperialist liberal guilt and self-loathing by unilaterally imposing its revisionist, puritanical values on society and toppling all ideological dissenters from Gone With the Wind to historical statues. But make no mistake, this nave identinarian purge could not just incite the odious far right but sow enough resentment and division to set backrace relations by years.

Racism is real and horrific and must be rooted out wherever it is found. But the UK, and England in particular, has offered sanctuary and prosperity to generations of immigrants who in turn have helped to transform it into one of the most welcoming and inclusive societies in the world. Moreover the way to defeat racism is to not throughthe divisive rhetoric and crass militancy of a movement that seeks to commoditise black suffering to perpetuate the divisive, defeatist myth of white privilege.

The answer is for black people not to define ourselves by how others may define us but to realise that we and we alone are the key to empowering our lives and claiming the freedom that is everyones right. Yes, of course the lives of George Floyd and all black people matter. But so too did the life of Tony Timpa. And the life of the innocent unborn black baby Floyd threatened to execute in its mothers womb.

Until black people take responsibility for their role in ending and oppressing the lives of other black people and until the regressive liberal elite realises that sowing division and resentment will lead to genuinesystemic inequality, then black lives will only continue to matter on the rare occasions when white people take them.

Ike Ijeh is an architect and critic

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Why does Black Lives Matter only care about black lives when white people are threatening them? - Telegraph.co.uk