Daily Archives: April 21, 2021

As protests against racist police brutality sweep across the United States and spread around the globe, rallying cries of "Black Lives Matter" echo through our streets and our digital avenues. As we all digest the news and think about how to respond and participate at such a pivotal time, its important to recognize what Black Lives Matter really means as well as why the phrase "All Lives Matter" is problematic.

At its face, "All Lives Matter" sounds like a we're-all-in-this-together statement. Some may be using the phrase to suggest that all races should join hands and stand together against racism, which is a sentiment that comes from a good place. But the problem is, the phrase actually takes the focus away from those who need it. Saying "All Lives Matter" redirects the attention from Black lives, who are the ones in peril.

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Instead, it's important to understand what drives the BLM movement and how to support it by using the phrase and standing behind what it means. It can be an uncomfortable experience for many of us, especially if you're someone that hasn't taken the time to grapple with your own role in the systemic oppression that exists in our society. But it's also an essential education, no matter where you are in your journey.

Black Lives Matter is an anthem, a slogan, a hashtag, and a straightforward statement of fact. While it is not a new movement, the message is central to the nationwide protests happening right now. BLM speaks out against the police brutality and systemic racism that caused the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and Breonna Taylor, as well as the thousands of violent incidents that happen to Black people that arent recorded, arent reported or arent afforded the outrage they deserve. At its most basic level, it calls for a shift in the statistics that Black people are twice as likely to be killed by a police officer while unarmed, compared to a white individual. According to a 2015 study, African Americans died at the hands of police at a rate of 7.2 per million, while whites were killed at a rate of 2.9 per million.

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One of the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement is to raise awareness that we, as a nation, need to reconsider our priorities. Right now, there are U.S. institutions and systems that act as if black lives don't matter. For example, according to a report by American Progress, in 2015, each of the 10 states with the highest percentage of Black residents reported state and local policing expenditures of more than $230 per resident per year. Thats at least 328 times more than what each state spends on enforcing anti-discrimination laws.

While racism in the United States goes back hundreds of years to the country's founding, the Black Lives Matter timeline started much more recently. The movement arose out of the acquittal of George Zimmerman after he killed Trayvon Martin in 2013. Today, the Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc. is a global organization thats active in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, although it has supporters all over the world.

The BLM guiding principles are to eradicate white supremacy and intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities through advocacy, fundraising and education. The organization aims to combat and counteract violence, amplify Black innovation, and center Black joy.

While the intention of the phrase "All Lives Matter" may be to put everyones life on equal footing and convey a sense of unity, responding "All Lives Matter" to "Black Lives Matter" is actually more divisive than unifying. That's because it discounts and diminishes the focus on the violence and discrimination Black individuals face every day in this country.

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It's a natural reaction to respond to one group centering its experience with, "But what about all lives?" or "Isn't my safety important, too?" But the truth is, Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by police violence and systematic racism in our nation. Our entire social structure centers around whiteness as a default. Asserting that "All Lives Matter" just reaffirms or at best ignores that reality. Of course every life is valuable, but not everyone's lives are in danger due to their skin color. Saying "Black Lives Matter" isn't equivalent to saying other lives don't, but rather that Black lives should matter as much as white lives.

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Alicia Garza, one of the creators of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, explained in 2014 how Black lives mattering is a precondition for all lives mattering:

Think of it this way: If you get into a car crash and one person has a serious head injury but the others have a few bumps and bruises, the person whose life is at risk gets first priority when it comes to medical care. That doesnt mean paramedics wont help the rest of the passengers, but that triage places the most dire situation first in line. Or, to look at it another way, if someone keeps setting your house on fire, you'd want firefighters to do something about it. Wouldn't it upset you if instead, people kept telling you that "all houses matter equally," if yours was the one burning?

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For those of us who are invested in working toward equality for all people, its important not to only see color, but to work on leveling the playing field. Its a sad reality that the Black experience in America isnt the same as non-Black experiences, in both seemingly small and incredibly large ways. If youve bought adhesive bandages, pantyhose, or foundation, you know what the default color range is. Many workplaces and schools still prohibit natural hairstyles or look at them as less "professional."

More than half of African Americans also report experiencing racial discrimination at work, from getting interviews at lower rates right on up to pay and promotion disparities. And the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that was established to fight workplace discrimination is too underfunded to adequately respond. In 2018, the EEOC secured $505 million for victims of discrimination, but the agencys lack of resources has created a backlog of nearly 50,000 charges. Moving through the world is just easier for non-Black people in America, and its long past time we acknowledge that. Only then can we work to fix it.

The first step to combating racism in our society is listening, no matter who you are. It hurts to hear that you might hold prejudice, especially if you consider yourself an open-minded person. But instead of getting defensive or jumping in to explain your own perspective immediately, listen to other points of view including those of Black change-makers, elected officials, celebrities, friends and coworkers. Push back on prejudice in your own social circles, even if it requires awkward conversations. And educate yourself on your own inherent bias, even if you dont think you hold any. Vote in your state and national elections to help enact change on a wider platform. And support racial justice organizations monetarily if you can, and share their messages on social media so others can get the information, too.

Follow the lead of black leadership and your own local city and your state," BLM co-founder and chair of Reform L.A. Jails Patrisse Cullors told Nightline. She listed Dignity and Power Now and the Youth Justice Coalition as places to start. Those are just a few organizations that help in these moments when we have people who are upset and [in] pain, angry, grieving," she added. There's hundreds of thousands of more organizations across the country.

We can all work together to dismantle the racial bias that underpins virtually every aspect of our country and world. Its hard work. Its uncomfortable. But nothing worth doing is easy. Theres nothing more important than creating a world in which our children dont have to be afraid to walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood, to go birdwatching, to buy a bag of Skittles, to browse in a high-end store, or even ask a police officer for help, no matter the color of their skin.

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What Black Lives Matter Means - Why Saying 'All Lives ...

Crowds outside of Hennepin Government Center react after Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd last May. USA TODAY

National columnist Suzette Hackney is in Minneapolis for the trial of Derek Chauvin, reporting on the people, the scene and the mood.

MINNEAPOLIS Nearly one year to the day from when George Perry Floyd was killed about 3 miles from here, a Hennepin County jury found the man who used his knee to press the life out of him guilty of all charges, including second-degree murder.

The last words Floyd uttered in his 17,026 days of life were"I can't breathe."

As the verdict was read, I had that same feeling as I stood here, among hundreds of Floyd family supporters and other journalists.

But for an entirely different reason.

Throughout the 14 days of testimony the 44 witnesses, mostly for the prosecutionthe steady loop of video footage showing Floyd'straumatic death from every possible angle reinforced this inescapable fact:Chauvin's utter indifference and lack of compassion as a man lay dying under his knee. We can see and hear the desperation in those who triedto save Floyd's lifebut were rendered powerless.

Editorial: Derek Chauvin was convicted, but the public still hasn't won

Courteney Batya Ross, George Floyd's girlfriend in red, center, outside the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. on April 20, 2021 as they wait for the jury's verdict in the trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin.(Photo: Jarrad Henderson, USA TODAY)

I gathered with angry, hopeful, scared Minnesotans outside the Hennepin County Government Center. I was here to do my job, but it felt like my chest was going to explode. I feel this pain, this frustration, too. See, Im Black. I have young nephews, and I pray for their safety nightly. I see how quickly a traffic stop can go left, how quickly a Black man can be killed.

This case is so important. It has galvanized a movement. It has opened eyes and hearts. Blacklives domatter. Black lives shouldmatter. This is history for America. And this community is literally begging for justice.

Outside the courthouse, the reaction matched the gravity of the moment: People everywhere were sobbing. Embracing. (And masked.) The crowd chanted, "All three counts," a nod to the fact that Chauvin was convicted of all charges against him.

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During closing arguments Monday, prosecutorSteve Schleicher rightly and methodically humanized Floyd. He talked about his family and childhood. He reminded jurors and all of us watching:Floyd was a human being. He was a 46-year-old man. And but for Chauvin's assault on him, he would likely be alive today.

The verdict doesn't bring him back, of course. But it's a big step in the healing process. And hopefully an even bigger step toward saving the next George Floyd.

National columnist Suzette Hackney, a member of USA TODAYS Editorial Board, has been in Minneapolis for three weeks for the trial of Derek Chauvin, reporting on the people, the scene and the mood.Contact her at shackney@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @suzyscribe

Read the rest of her coverage from Minneapolis:

44 witnesses, 14 days of testimony: Now we wait for a verdict, with so much at stake

Daunte Wright killed: Despair is real as police 'mistakes' persist

Mostly empty chair: Courtroom seat for Derek Chauvin supporter sits unused

Floyd as inspiration: Former gang members help neighborhood

Still haunting after 7 years: Chauvin trial brings fresh pain to Eric Garners mother

George Floyd Square: 'Injustice closed these streets; only justice should open them'

What is justice?A weary city that wears George Floyd's face waits for an answer

Police stand guard outside the Hennepin County Government Center as people await the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on April 20, 2021 In Minneapolis.(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)

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George Floyd was murdered. Derek Chauvin is guilty. Black ...

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