Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

The federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters via heavy-handed criminal prosecutions in an attempt to disrupt and discourage the global movement that swept the nation and beyond last summer after the Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, according to a new report.

Movement leaders and experts said the prosecution of protesters over the past year continued a century-long practice by the federal government, rooted in structural racism, to suppress Black social movements via the use of surveillance tactics and other mechanisms.

The report was released by the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 50 activism and advocacy civil rights groups and professional associations representing Black communities and published in partnership with the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (Clear) clinic at City University of New York (Cuny) School of Law.

The empirical data and findings in this report largely corroborate what Black organizers have long known intellectually, intuitively, and from lived experience about the federal governments disparate policing and prosecution of racial justice protests and related activity, the report stated.

The report, which was first shared with the Associated Press, argues that as the uprisings in the summer of 2020 increased, so did police presence, the deployment of federal agents and prosecution of protesters.

Titled Struggle For Power: The Ongoing Persecution of Black Movement By The US Government, the report details how policing has been used historically as a major tool to deter Black people from engaging in their right to protest, and to weaken efforts to draw attention to issues affecting Black Americans.

It also draws a comparison to how the government used counter-intelligence program techniques to disrupt the work of the Black Panther Party and other organizations fighting for Black liberation.

We want to really show how the US government has continued to persecute the Black movement by surveillance, by criminalizing protests, and by using the criminal legal system to prevent people from protesting and punishing them for being engaged in protests by attempting to curtail their first amendment rights, said Amara Enyia, the Movement for Black Lives policy research coordinator.

It is undeniable that racism plays a role, Enyia said. It is structurally built into the fabric of this country and its institutions, which is why its been so difficult to eradicate. Its based on institutions that were designed around racism and around the devaluing of Black people and the devaluing of Black lives.

In the report, the Movement for Black Lives calls for amnesty for all protesters involved in the nationwide protests.

The group, also known as M4BL, is demanding reparations from the government that include an acknowledgment and an apology for the long history of targeting movements in support of Black life and Black liberation.

It also is pushing for passage of the Breathe Act, proposed federal legislation that would radically transform the countrys criminal justice system, and ending the use of joint terrorism taskforces in local communities.

The report also points to the stark difference in how the government handled the Covid-19 protests against local government shutdowns and mask mandates amid the pandemic during the same period.

It analyzes 326 criminal cases initiated by US federal prosecutors over alleged conduct related to protests in the wake of Floyds murder and the police killings of other Black Americans, from31 May 2020 to 25 October 2020.

A key finding of the report is that the push to use federal charges against protesters came from top-down directives from Donald Trump and the former attorney general William Barr.

M4BL and Clear found that in 92.6% of the cases, there were equivalent state-level charges that could have been brought against defendants, mostly with less severe potential sentences.

We saw Barr overnight go from expressing some level of sympathy for racial justice protesters to labeling them as radical and violent agitators with absolutely no basis for that sort of characterization, said Ramzi Kassem, founding director of Clear and a law professor at CUNY, adding that it was very transparently aimed at disrupting a Black-led movement for social justice that was happening both spontaneously and in an organized fashion nationwide.

Race data was only available for 27%, or 89, of the defendants. Of that number, 52% were identified as Black. Of the Black defendants, 91% were identified as male.

Portland, Oregon, led in the number of charges brought for protest-related activity, making up 29% of federal charges. Chicago, Las Vegas, Washington, DC, and Minneapolis followed.

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US targeted Black Lives Matter activists in bid to disrupt movement, report finds - The Guardian

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The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Home Depot, accusing the retailer of discriminating against a Minneapolis store employee who raised issues of racial harassment with coworkers and managers and displayed a Black Lives Matterslogan on his apron.

HOME DEPOT'S EARLY RELEASE OF HALLOWEEN PRODUCTS SOLD OUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY

According to the complaint, the worker began wearing the Black Lives Matter logo in August 2020. The complaint notes that, sometime this year, Home Depot gave the employee the ultimatum of either removing the Black Lives Matter logo or quitting. The employee refused to remove the logo, which lead to his suspension.

The complaint further alleges Home Depot "threatened employees with unspecified consequences if they engaged in protected concerted activities regarding racial harassment."

NLRB Regional director JenniferHadsall said in a statement that issues of racial harassment "directly impact the working conditions of employees"

"The NLRA protects employees rights to raise these issues with the goal of improving their working conditions,"she added. "It is this important right we seek to protect in this case."

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A spokesperson for Home Depot told FOX Business the NLRB complaint "misrepresents the relevant facts."

"The Home Depot does not tolerate workplace harassment of any kind and takes all reports of discrimination or harassment seriously, as we did in this case,"the retailer said. "We disagree with the characterization of this situation and look forward to sharing the facts during the NLRBs process.Regardless of the outcome, we will continue to be fully committed to diversity and respect for all people."

A hearing on the allegations against Home Depot will be held over Zoom on Oct. 4.

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NLRB accuses Home Depot of forcing employee wearing Black Lives Matter logo on apron to quit - Fox Business

The artist responsible for a Quebec City mural in honour of Black lives says the piece being vandalized in such a short time reinforces its importance and relevance.

Two new street art pieces a fresco reading "Les Vies des Noire.e.s comptent", or Black Lives Matter, stretching a full city block in the Saint-Roch neighbourhood, and a collage of photographs depicting people of several races standing in solidarity with Black people in the Saint-Jean Baptiste neighbourhood were inaugurated Monday.

By Wednesday, the collage was defaced with graffiti reading "kebe-quoi?" scrawled across it, with "quoi?" spelled as the French word for "what?"

"I found this particularly difficult for the people who were photographed," said artist Wartin Pantois. "For me it was an act of intolerance."

Michelle Osbourne, one of the people pictured in the mural, said she wasn't surprised the art was defaced. But she's still hurt by its message that people of colour aren't welcome.

"Some people might just see it as graffiti, but it's not," she said."It's tough waking up every day feeling hated for existing."

Osbourne, who's lived in Quebec City for seven years, says she's going to keep fighting, because she doesn't want her daughter, who she plans to raise in the city, see her give up.

"I'm disappointed because we sent a message of solidarity and justice," said Mba-Hadji Mbarewaye, the founder of a collective of five organizations that came together to create the two pieces.

Mbarewaye said he was surprised by how quickly the art was defaced, and that it sends the message that Black people in the city should shut up and suffer in silence, but they will not.

Quebec City police say they received a complaint about the vandalism around 7 p.m. Wednesday.Officers also found graffiti with the same wording on Parvis Street and Fleury Street.

The incidents are being investigated.

Osbourne said she was "humbled, honoured and grateful," to have been included in the project, especially because she sees it as ahistoric piece that would not have happened when she first moved to the city.

"As someone who's had a really difficult time being an anglophone in Quebec City, it makes me so proud," she said.

The collective Mbarewaye started came together in response to a lack of recognition from city officials and police officers of systemic racism.

"There is some concern about us here in Quebec City, especially about racial profiling," Mbarewaye said. "The police service and elected officials in Quebec City don't like to talk about this problem."

He said he's not blaming all police officers, but he's calling for systemic change.

Breakaway11:22Black Lives Matter art installations in Quebec City

In an email earlier this week, the Quebec City police service wrote it does not consider there to be a systemic racism problem within its ranks.

Spokesperson David Pelletier wrote there are hundreds of employees within the SPVQ, which reflects Quebec society, and the organization is paying attention to this issue.

He wrote that officers are trained in what they call a cultural context, which addresses racial profiling.

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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Artist and organizers shocked as Black Lives Matter mural in Quebec City defaced in just 3 days - CBC.ca

A Quebec City mural in honour of the Black Lives Matter movement was defaced just three days after the mural's inauguration.

The word "Kebequoi?" was scrawled in black lettering across in the mural, which features several figures posing with their fists raised; a symbol frequently used to represent the Black Lives Matter movement.

(Samuel Pouliot)

The mural, created by artist Wartin Pantois, is located in theSaint-Jean-Baptiste district of Quebec City.

"I find this act very sad for the participants I photographed and the collective of associations who asked me to create a Black Lives Matter work," says Pantois, adding that the real scandal in the situation is the "intolerance and non-recognition of systemic racism in Quebec."

Pantois adds that, when the mayor of Quebec City and the police department were questioned about systemic racism during the official unveiling of the mural, they "remained silent."

"It is time to break the silence and show solidarity in the face of injustice."

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Black Lives Matter mural in Quebec City vandalized just three days after its inauguration - CTV News Montreal

The Air Force Academy requires its incoming cadets to watch a diversity and inclusion video supportive of attending a Black Lives Matter chapter meeting.

Critics argue this proves military academies have implemented critical race theory as part of their curriculum.

We are pleased to offer this introductory D&I course as part of our commitment to working with cadets and cadet candidates in fostering a safe community built on mutual respect, teamwork, and personal dignity, a note from Yvonne L. Roland, the director of Culture, Climate, and Diversity, reads at the onset of the training.

The video follows Jose, a minority student, and three friends, while the instructions tell cadets to decide how you think his friends should respond. In the first scenario, two of the white friends pressure Jose to attend a Black Lives Matter rally, while the third later posits that the slogan should be "All Lives Matter," which was later described as a really problematic comment.

DEPOSED AFGHAN PRESIDENT ASHRAF GHANI RESURFACES IN UAE AFTER FLEEING KABUL

I can confirm this is part of required training for inbound cadets, Air Force Academy spokesman Dean Miller told the Washington Examiner. This is the first year this training has been used, and it is used at universities across the country.

Retired Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop and Dr. Ron Scott, a retired USAF Col., created an organization, Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, Incorporated, to stop the implementation of critical race theory, which they argue is simply Marxism repackaged in new terms.

Black Lives Matter as an organization has openly espoused Marxism as part of its stated aims, though the phrase is often used to describe concerns about police shootings in black communities.

Critical race theory dates back to the 1970s, and it provides an alternative perspective on the country's history of issues of race. Critical race theorists allege that the country's foundational institutions are designed to keep white people ahead of minorities, requiring the dismantlement of the system to achieve a more just society.

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Opponents of the theory, mainly but not exclusively conservatives, argue that it is divisive because it assigns whites the role of oppressors and people of color the role of victims.

The decades-old theory has gotten significantly more attention in recent months amid accusations that schools and military institutions have begun introducing its core tenets in the classroom.

Col. Mark Anarumo, the president of Norwich University and formerly the director and permanent professor for the Center for Character and Leadership Development at the Air Force Academy, told the Washington Examiner in an interview that the teaching of critical race theory does not allow for a high-level debate or enhanced understanding of a topic.

Its what to think versus how to think, and the problem with that is there is a natural power dynamic in higher education, or really in any education, where if the professors are steering you towards a certain way to think, and you buck that, your grade suffers, he added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Department of Defense does not teach or embrace the theory during a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing in June, but Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave an impassioned speech defending the merits of teaching the theory, comparing it to learning about Mao Zedong and Karl Marx, during the same hearing.

Lynne Chandler Garcia, an associate professor of political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy, admitted to teaching critical race theory in a June op-ed for the Washington Post, in which she argued that doing so was vital.

Asked about the apparent discrepancy between Garcia and Austins comments, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Politico, "There is no contradiction here. The Secretarys comments stand. That a professor at an academic institution such as the Air Force Academy teaches a given theory as part of an elective course does not in the slightest way signify some larger effort by the Department to teach, espouse or embrace said theory.

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Critical race theory was referenced during the academys Acceptance Day Parade, which occurred earlier this month, according to one veteran who was in attendance to celebrate a relative who was honored as a newly accepted cadet, and he said he has never been sicker in my life.

I was disgusted by the fact there was a message of divisiveness vice a message of unity. I believe American citizens join the military because they love this nation, the veteran, who requested anonymity to protect his relative from retribution, added. I've never met anyone who said they joined just to see what was going on. This same love of nation, patriotism, is what brings men and women of all backgrounds, all races, all religions, and all ethnicities together. It is the glue that holds us together. It is also the one thing that will make a person risk his/her life in defense of the greatest nation in the world.

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Tags: News, Critical Race Theory, Pentagon, Air Force, National Security, Military, military training, Defense, Black Lives Matter

Original Author: Mike Brest

Original Location: Air Force Academy requires training linked to critical race theory and Black Lives Matter

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Air Force Academy requires training linked to critical race theory and Black Lives Matter - Yahoo News

An image showing rainbow pride and Black Lives Matter flags on the roof of the United States embassy in Kabul has been digitally altered.

The photo, posted to Facebook and Twitter on Aug. 16, shows a Chinook helicopter hovering by the embassy building, which appears to be flying both flags nearby.

Examples are viewable here , here , here and here .

One user said in the comments: The only flag should be american [sic] flag! this is a joke!

Another social media user said: Everything about this current administration disgusts me.. this picture of those flags are [sic] a disgrace.. [sic] I cant even wrap my head around half of the crap thats going on these days.

The image, however, is not authentic, as both flags were not a feature in the original photo, which was captured by Associated Press photographer Rahmat Gul on Aug. 15 (here). According to the caption, helicopters were landing at the U.S. embassy as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advance on the Afghan capital.

Taliban insurgents took little more than a week to collapse the Western-backed government in Kabul and take over Afghanistan (here and here).

This has prompted evacuations of foreign diplomats (here and here).

False. An image showing Pride and Black Lives Matter flags flying on the roof of the U.S. embassy in Kabul is digitally altered. No flags were flying in the original photo captured on Aug. 15.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .

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Fact Check-Image of Pride and Black Lives Matter flags on roof of the U.S. embassy in Kabul is digitally altered - Reuters

Carla Monteiro's family and friends had been encouraging the social worker to run for office for years.

She is now running for an at-large seat of the Boston City Council. And why not? As Monteiro said, "every part" of her life "prepared" her for politics.

From getting evicted as a child growing up in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to losing loved ones to gun violence and substance abuse, to getting fired twice in one week from employers who didn't grant time off while her son was hospitalized for asthma, Monteiro has witnessed the effects poor policy has on the lives of the country's most vulnerable people firsthand.

Yet while the idea of running for office had been looming in her head for a while, she hadn't felt ready until after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis law enforcement last May.

"The George Floyd murder was devastating for all of us. That could be anyone's son," Monteiro said, adding that "all of my life experiences have played a role" in her decision to run for office, "but being the mother of a Black son and being a Black woman, I thought it was just the time."

Monteiro joins an exponentially growing group of people of color who've long championed racial justice through their advocacy work, but have recently been inspired to run for office because of last summer's Black Lives Matter protests and the pandemic's exacerbation of racial inequality.

While comprehensive data recording the exact number of people of color running for various offices is scarce, Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something (RFS), an organization that aids young, progressive political newcomers with their campaigns, attests that RFS' candidate recruitment numbers "spiked" at the height of the protests in May though July 2020.

"We saw a surge of people signing up to run and it never really slowed down," Litman told Insider. "People started to really connect the dots and started saying, 'if I care about these problems, if I care about police accountability, if I care about the way schools are run in my community, if I care about criminal justice reform, it's really solved on the local level.'"

"The people currently in office are not getting it done, even and especially in places where Democrats are ostensibly in charge," she argued.

Running for office once seemed unfathomable for Basheer Jones, who currently serves on the Cleveland City Council and is now running for mayor of the city.

As a community activist, working on issues like literacy and community-police relations, he spent his early career attempting to institute change from outside the political arena.

It wasn't until he interviewed Marcia Fudge, the secretary of housing and urban development, for a radio show more than a decade ago, that he decided to merge his advocacy work with traditional politics. "I was not political. I was the activist that was leading the marches in Cleveland against politicians," Jones said. "Marcia Fudge told me, 'Basheer, I understand you're upset, but you can be an elected official and a public servant. Basheer, you have to be part of the system and change it from within.'"

If Jones wanted to see things change, he would have to run for office even if he believed there were many politicians "who are standing in the way of progress."

Politics has been diversifying in recent years; since the 2016 presidential election, more white women and people of color are running for office and winning.

The phenomenon is most visible in Congress. With nearly a quarter of its members identifying as racial and ethnic minorities, Congress is more diverse than it's ever been, per the Pew Research Center.

Since RFS began five years ago, more than half of the nearly 2,000 races RFS endorsed were people of color, Litman noted, which she said speaks to their growing presence in politics.

Racial justice protests that continued into this year have become another inflection point motivating people to run, according to Litman, who cited RFS candidates and Black Lives Matter activists like Bridgette Craighead, Indira Sheumaker, and Justan Parker Fields as examples of candidates who were ignited in large part by the events of the last summer to turn to politics .

Crystal Murillo, who is running for re-election on Aurora City Council, recalls how her Colorado constituents were shaken by the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who suffered a cardiac arrest and died days after a violent encounter with the city's police.

An independent probe, which was commissioned by the city's council, found that police were not justified in using force against McClain and that the paramedics at the scene sedated him "without conducting more than a visual observation."

"He was 23 years old when he died. I was 23 years old when I was elected. The proximity wasn't lost on me," Murillo, who's now 27, said. "We're both from Aurora, we're both young people. The only difference is he was a Black man and I'm not."

Murillo, who, if reelected, said she would invest in programs like Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) a public safety system that sends unarmed paramedics and mental health professionals to answer non-emergency calls recalled the difficulty of having to wait for the investigation to conclude as people demanded answers and grappled with pain and anger.

"It felt very bureaucratic. It was hard not to be able to do something immediately, to have to sit with that truth that no one should die like that and let the process play out," Murillo said.

She added that nearly half of all use of force in Aurora last year was against Black residents, even though they make up only 16% of the city's population.

Several of the most high-profile stories involving police killing Black men last summer, including Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks, occurred in Georgia.

"The protests revealed a lot about where we are at this time," Carter said. "It wasn't even just George Floyd. It was Ahmaud Arbery, it was Breonna Taylor. When you look at the institution of policing, not much has changed since the 1940s."

"Until we start to address the policies, the fabrics of these bad laws stay in place," he added.

Carter's campaign involves instituting legislation that improves law enforcement accountability and community-police relations so that communities feel "protected, not occupied."

"We don't have to wait on the president to sign the George Floyd bill," Carter said, referring to The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives in March and has yet to receive a vote in the Senate.

"A mayor has the ability to put those things into practice at the local level."

The bill would end qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, ban no knock warrants in federal drug cases, and prohibit chokeholds and carotid holds two police techniques that involve the use of deadly force. It is considered "the most ambitious policing reform bill in decades."

Candidates want to be clear that the fight for racial justice goes beyond police reform as inequity permeates every facet of policy from housing to healthcare.

Aftab Pureval, who's running for mayor of Cincinnati, has been especially concerned with how courts perpetuated racial inequality with exorbitant fines that "prevent mobility" and the lack of affordable housing in the city, particularly since Black women are disproportionately facing eviction.

"We need to prioritize creating affordable housing in a systematic and ongoing fashion and eradicate housing zoning laws that prevent multifamily housing, artificially keeping our supply down and driving prices up," Pureval, who, if elected, would be the first Asian-American mayor of Cincinnati.

For people of color and anyone else from a marginalized community, there are many obstacles to running for office, not least of them: money to finance their campaigns and distrust in a government that hasn't traditionally served them.

However, many candidates say they are buoyed by the belief that they can truly make a difference and envision a better country that fulfills its ideals.

"We've been out here doing the work," Boston mayoral candidate Carla Monteiro said. "There's a lot of us who've been doing the groundwork all this time. We're also realizing our voices need to be heard on the policy level."

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More people of color and women are jumping into politics. How protests inspired activists to run for office - Insider

The violent death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, sparked protests across the U.S. that soon after spilled over into Europe and other regions of the world. Under the slogan Black Lives Matter (BLM), a worldwide protest movement formed after Floyds death to demonstrate against racism and police violence. How did the protests form in Europe? Who were the organizers in the countries, and what remains of the movement especially after the conviction of Floyds murderer?

An international research team with participation from Chemnitz University of Technology has studied and compared the scope, form, and resonance of BLM protests in Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Poland. Part of the team wasDr. Piotr Kocyba, research assistant at theProfessorship for Central and Eastern European Studies(Head: Prof. Dr. Stefan Garsztecki) at Chemnitz University of Technology. Kocyba conducted research in Poland for this study.

The researchers show different characteristics and emphases of the protests in the countries studied. In addition, they conclude that the BLM protest wave mobilized new activists and gave rise to new organizations. In addition, they say, the issues of racism and police violence have become more prominent in the publics mind. Still, BLM in Europe is still at the beginning, he said.

The results of the study have been published in theDeZIM Research Noteseries with the title Black Lives Matter in Europe Transnational Diffusion, Local Translation, and Resonance of Anti-Racist Protest in Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Poland. The study was conducted for the German Center for Integration and Migration Research DeZIM e. V., which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth (BMFSFJ).

The data collected was based on newspaper reports and interviews with organizers of the protests. This revealed similarities in the form of the protests, which were often organized by young Black and People of Color (PoC) activists. It was also noticeable that they rarely had protest experience or connections to established social movements. However, there were also striking differences in the size and geographic distribution as well as the orientation of the protests.

Accordingly, the rallies have been particularly large in Germany, with a focus on Berlin and Munich, but also in Denmark. In Italy, there have been the most protests. Thus, about 200,000 people in Germany had participated in more than 80 rallies between the end of May and the end of July 2020.

Moreover, the protests were driven by solidarity with the movement in the United States. However, the basic themes were each translated into a specific local context.

For example, the BLM protests represented a turning point for the racism debate in Germany. The protests have raised awareness here that racism is about more than individual prejudices or even right-wing extremist ideologies but that it is also a structural problem. In addition, there has been a positive response to the protests, in part because PoC activists were able to speak out publicly for the first time.

Basically, in the course of the BLM protests, Germany also dealt extensively with racism in its own country. In Germany, however, there was little or no discussion of the situation of refugees, who were one of the main focuses of the protests in Italy and Denmark.

Dr. Piotr Kocyba experienced a different situation in Poland, which was the focus of his research. According to him, there were clear differences in the composition of the protesters here in comparison. While in Germany more young black women became active, in Poland it was mainly white activists who took to the streets.

In general, the BLM protest wave in Poland was overshadowed by internal political disputes, which also explain the comparatively low level of mobilization. For example, there were only 17 BLM protests in Poland, in which a total of only about 7,000 people participated.

Another specific feature in Poland was the presidential elections, which took place during the international BLM protest wave. In the course of these, the re-elected president Andrzej Duda increasingly put forward homophobic content. Because of this, the focus of protests in Poland has increasingly shifted. This has led progressive activists to advocate primarily for the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community during theBLM Summer 2020 in Poland.

The BLM Summer 2020 protest wave mobilized new activists, gave rise to new organizations, and made the issues of racism and police violence the focus of public debates. Also, in Germany, for example, with theCabinet Committee to Combat Right-Wing Extremism and Racism, the first concrete political successes can be recorded. Nevertheless, the BLM movement is at its very beginning, says Piotr Kocyba. Under the difficult conditions of the pandemic, people have managed to network and draw public attention to their own concerns. But whether it will have a lasting effect, in other words, whether individual BLM movements will be able to establish and develop in the various European societies, remains to be seen. This exciting question will be pursued in a follow-up project that will allow for a more intensive as well as longer-term investigation of European BLM movements. A consortium to this end is currently being established.

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Black Lives Matter In Europe: What Remains Of The Movement? - Eurasia Review

When students in Newberg Public Schools show up for the first day of school next month, they may not see pride flags, or flags reading Black Lives Matter.

The school board voted Tuesday evening, four to three, to enact a ban on those flags, and any broadly political signs, clothing, and other items, with the boards three-member policy committee set to outline what constitutes political.

This action goes against recent state efforts to highlight support for students, including the Oregon Department of Educations Black Lives Matter October 2020 resolution and recent efforts to help LGBTQ+ students. Supporters of the flags said they made students feel seen, help students being bullied, while supporters of the boards vote said the signs were divisive, and that signs dont make people feel safe.

Discussion and votes on two other related topics, drafting replacement language on the districts new anti-racism policy and rescinding the districts Every Student Belongs policy, was pushed to the districts next board meeting - likely a special meeting later this month. If the board votes to roll back Every Student Belongs, the district would be in violation of state standards.

According to board secretary Jenn Nelson, there were over 90 public comments. The school board only heard 31 before ending the public comment portion of the evening.

Board chair Dave Brown said the board received over 500 emails ahead of the meeting. In his report, he said he was not racist, and that the district needs to support all students.

It still goes back to the fact that we have a lot of kids that are impacted by this positively or negatively, Brown said. As a school board, its our job to make decisions that are going to be there for every single kid at Newberg High School, not just the kids that are represented in just one group - it has to be all kids.

Board members, including Ines Pena, asked for more student input before moving forward with the motion.

The quality of some of the stories that we heard should count more than just the number of emails that we received, Pena said. And I feel like thats not being heard, the students are not being heard.

The Newberg school board meets via Zoom on August 10, 2021. The board voted to ban Black Lives Matter and pride flags districtwide.

Screengrab / OPB

In the weeks since the boards last meeting, state legislators have come out asking members of the school board to rethink the focus on banning flags and rolling back policies.

So have staff. Joshua Reid, a Newberg schools counselor, said the districts 16 counselors signed a letter asking the board to vote no on Tuesdays agenda items. During Tuesdays board meeting, Reid shared stories he heard from students, including students who had been rejected by their families and a Black student who was verbally and physically harassed and followed home.

When these students enter our schools, and see the symbols that we mean to communicate love and support and affirmation, they dont see propaganda or indoctrination or any ideology, Reid said. They see a glimmer of hope that there can still be safe places and safe people in their schools.

Another school staff member, teacher Stacey Dalton, said the LGBTQ+ pride and Black Lives Matter flags help students see themselves in school when they may not otherwise.

They are messages of love and support, Dalton said. White and or heteronormative students, the majority, see their own validation consistently in the curriculum Newberg School districts have adopted and therefore do not need extra messages of support.

The school board includes newly elected school board members Trevor DeHart and Renee Powell, both of whom supported the ban on flags and policy changes. Newberg parent Brandon Casey said Tuesdays agenda items were a direct result of the May 2021 election results.

We voted for this school board to make sure BLM signs are not in classrooms, Casey said, before pledging to unenroll his two students from the district if masks are required in schools. Under a state rule, they are required, though board chair Brown said the mask discussion will continue at the next board meeting.

Thursday, the Oregon School Board Members of Color Caucus Executive Team sent a letter addressed to four of the seven board members, including DeHart and Powell, sharing growing concern with the districts planned actions.

The letter asked the board members to avoid actions contrary to state and federal law and consider the impact of the boards actions on its community, including its students.

The actions you are considering are sending a message of division and marginalization of students and educators who are part of your community, according to the letter.

There were more public comments presented in support of the flags and policies, and in favor of postponing decisions on them, than comments in support of the boards agenda items.

Those comments included one from Newberg student Melody.

Banning these flags make me feel like I would not feel welcome, or safe, and I do not believe this is the right thing to do, she said. As a kid, I think its unfair to say kids should not be in this environment.

Her comment was the only one from a current student shared at Tuesdays meeting.

A motion to postpone the action item to allow for more feedback from staff and students failed.

It being summer, we havent heard that much from our student population, and from our staff, said board member Rebecca Piros. It doesnt hurt to keep it in place a little bit longer.

Late into the boards discussion, vice chair Brian Shannon created a new amendment to expand the motion to include forthcoming policy language prohibiting the display of political apparel, buttons, placards and all modes of display, with exemptions to the policy decided on by the policy committee. After facing questions of who the motion applies to and whether the motion will restrict free speech, Shannon added that this only applies to district staff and faculty while theyre performing their duties.

The main goal of this is to get political symbols, and divisive symbols out of our schools so we can focus on the already difficult task of educating our students in the core subjects, Shannon said.

At least one school board member, Pena, was wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt and a rainbow-colored headband. Pena is the only person of color on the board.

Shannons late addition led to more comments and questions from a few board members, including what falls - and doesnt fall - under the motion.

Im not wearing a flag, but I do have a rainbow headband, Pena asked. What does that mean?

Shannon said the headband was OK, but not the shirt, under the amendment he created.

Families, staff, and community members marched in support of the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter ahead of a Newberg school board meeting August 10, 2021. The school board voted to ban Black Lives Matter and pride flags.

Joel Bock / OPB

Newberg superintendent Joe Morelock said he will check with the districts lawyers before putting this motion into place.

I wont be able to enforce it as it is until weve gone through a bunch of legal review, Morelock said.

Nationally and locally, conversations about equity in education have been ramping up for several months, becoming divisive as conservatives have challenged the movement.

Richard Arnold, a Newberg parent, asked how the conversation started in his district, where he said his daughter, who is transgender, was mostly accepted by peers and friends.

Was there a multitude of students that were talking about being threatened by identifications inside the classroom? Was there a teacher that was pushing their agenda on so many students, that parents were getting complained to? Arnold asked.

I mean, where did this all start?

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Despite calls to hear from students and staff, Newberg school board approves ban on pride and Black Lives Matter flags - OPB News

Princeton University is offering a "Black Lives Matter" class to students that includes readings from a former communist party leader who once made the FBI's Most Wanted List.

The course, which promises to explore the "historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement," will be offered to students starting this Fall semester. The course features readings from former Black Panther member Angela Davis, a two-time vice-presidential candidate of the Communist Party.

The course description describes the Black Lives Matter movement and the course as "committed to resisting, unveiling, and undoing histories of state sanctioned violence against Black and Brown bodies."

"The course seeks to document the forms of dispossession that Black Americans face, and offers a critical examination of the prison industrial complex, police brutality, urban poverty, and white supremacy in the US," the description reads.

BEN SHAPIRO TO MSNBC CONTRIB CLAIMING SYSTEM IS RACIST: 'YOU'VE SUCCEEDED' IN THAT SYSTEM

The course, first flagged by The College Fix, is set to be taught by professor Hanna Garth, who describes herself on her website as someone who is "broadly interested in the ways in which people struggle to overcome structural violence."

"All of my research, teaching, and mentoring is designed around my commitment to feminist methodologies and critical race theory," Garth explains on the site.

Some of Garth's previous course offerings include "Race and Racisms," "Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory," and "Theories of Social Justice."

The teaching of critical race theory has received increased criticism in recent months, with more than two dozen states introducing some sort of effort to ban its introduction in public schools.

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Critical race theory critics have argued that teaching it would be divisive, encouraging students to see people through the lens of race instead of judging them as individuals.

"Some of this stuff is, I think, really toxic," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose state was one of those to ban teaching the theory, said of the ideology in June. "I think its going to cause a lot of divisions. I think itll cause people to think of themselves more as a member of particular race based on skin color, rather than based on the content of their character and based on their hard work and what theyre trying to accomplish in life."

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Princeton offering 'Black Lives Matter' course taught by professor with 'commitment' to 'critical race theory' - Fox News