Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

Vandal covers BLM, anti-Asian hate messages with paint in Shorewood

Trying to mute a message against hate, a vandal was caught on camera throwing paint on the window of a Shorewood restaurant in an attempt to cover the signs in the windows supporting Black Lives Matter and stopping Asian hate.

SHOREWOOD, Wis. - Trying to mute a message against hate, avandal was caught on camera throwing paint on the window of a Shorewood restaurant in an attemptto cover the signs in the windows supporting Black Lives Matter and stopping Asian hate.

Police are looking for the man seen on surveillance putting paint on the outside of the restaurant over signs against racism.

At Cloud Red on Oakland Avenue in Shorewood, messages line the windows of the restaurant, supporting Black and Asian lives -- standing against racism -- but Sunday night, March 28, someone attempted to cover them up.

"Freedom of speech and people have the right to express themselves, and it crosses the line when it hits vandalism," said James Forster.

Shorewood police released the surveillance showing a man walking up to the window around 9:30 p.m., putting paint over the signs.

"I mean, its just troublesome," said Rob Spiering. "Iknow that people are just looking for trouble these days."

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android

The restaurant owners declined to talk on camera, but released a statement to FOX6 News:

"We were disappointed to find the vandalism to our windows this morning. This wasnt an attack on Cloud Red, but more so an attack against the BLM movement itself and that should be at the forefront. Unfortunately, its a sad reminder that hate continues and there is still work to be done. We stand behind the messages in our windows - Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate. We encourage all to stand together and participate in peaceful efforts to end racial injustice and inequality. Anyone with useful information regarding this incident please contact the Shorewood Police Dept directly."

A day later the paint was cleaned up but the criminal act left its mark.

"This wasn't an attack on Cloud Red, but more so an attack against the BLM movement," said Forster. "Unfortunately, it's a reminder that hate continues. You definitely dont like to see destruction of property where you live, close to home and its a shame."

Police are asking anyone with information to give them a call.

Go here to read the rest:

Vandal covers BLM, anti-Asian hate messages with paint in Shorewood - FOX 6 Milwaukee

EXCLUSIVE:The US Navys "extremism" training says its okay to advocate for Black Lives Matter (BLM) while at work but sailors are not allowed to discuss "politically partisan" issues, according to training slides obtained by Fox News.

A question posed in a "scenarios for discussion" slide asked if BLM was "political stuff" that superiors in the Navy are "not supposed to be talking about at work," according to the slides, which Fox obtained from aU.S. military official who took part in the training at the Pentagon.

BLM PAC RAISING $500K TO BACK OSSOFF, WARNOCK IN GEORGIA

The answer given by the Navy called BLM a "public policy issue" and gave the green light for advocating for the organization "as long as the behavior is otherwise lawful and the advocacy is not politically partisan in nature."

"Advocating for or against a public policy issue (as here) is authorized as long as the behavior is otherwise lawful and the advocacy is not politically partisan in nature (e.g. it doesn't specifically address a political party)," the slide reads. "If the discussions make you uncomfortable, discuss the matter with your boss or another supervisor."

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby was askedat Monday's press briefing whethertalking about BLM in the workplace is "considered partisan."

BLM ACTIVIST ARRESTED AFTER LINCOLN STATUE DEFACED

Kirby responded that he was "not able to answer that question" and that the discussion as to why could "go down a rabbit hole on a million different things."

"What we're trying to get after here is the kind of ideology that inspires conduct and behavior. And it's not about one side or the other on the aisle," said Kirby. "It's not about what God you worship or choose not to worship. It's about ideology that inspires you or can inspire others to bring harm inside the force."

"And that's what we're trying to get after," Kirby added.

BLM PRESSURES DEMOCRATS TO EMBRACE BILL DESCRIBED AS ROADMAP FOR PRISON ABOLITION

Kirby said the Pentagon was taking their push to combat extremism in their ranks "seriously" and recognized that the issue was "a hard problem to get our arms around."

"But we cant just put our head in the sand and pretend it doesnt exist. We cant just say, well, its not a problem. It is a problem," continued Kirby. "The other problem is, we dont know how big it is. And so thats what were trying to learn. And I think youre gonna see this unfold over time."

"I'm not going to be able to come to the podium this week, next week or the week after with a plan and say, 'This is it. This is how this is how it's defined," the press secretary continued.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"And this is exactly how deep the problem is. This is going to be something and Secretary Austin has made very clear he's going to work on every day that he's the Secretary of Defense."

"Its not something that you can take your foot off the pedal on," he added.

See more here:

Navy's 'extremism' training says it's OK to advocate for BLM at work but not 'politically partisan' issues - Fox News

More than a dozen cities have reviewed the police response to Black Lives Matter protests and the reports show poorly trained, over-militarized, and stunningly unprepared police forces across the country.

According to the New York Times, the missteps transcended staffing levels and financial resources meaning police departments from New Yorkto Indianapoliswere unprepared to deal with the protests. That includes everyone from top commanders to beat officers were not only unprepared and untrained to deal with the protests, but many of their actions did the exact opposite of what was intended.

The Times analyzed reports across the country by watchdog organizations and outside investigators in nine major cities and post-action examinations by police in five other large cities. One of the conclusions drawn from almost every report was that officers need more training when dealing with large, organized protests.

They also offered a range of proposals to improve and lessen the number of incidents between protestors and police. Those include entire departments working with community organizers and consulting with civil rights attorneys on protest-management solutions. Police leaders developing more restrictive guidelines for tear gas, rubber bullets, and other crowd-controlling weapons. The suggestions also include officers receiving more training to control their emotions and aggression in the moment.

The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement began last summer after the death of George Floyd. More than 100 cities across the nation began marching and protesting against police brutality and called to defund police budgets and put more money into social services such as drug addiction and prevention, mental health services, and youth education and sports.

The overwhelming majority of those protests were peaceful, especially during the day. However, many were escalated by police actions. In New York, one officer shoved a woman violently to the ground. In Florida, a White cop shoved a Black woman kneeling in front of him and had to be removed from the area by a Black female officer.

In some incidents, the police themselves were under attack and forced to respond to buildings being burned stores being looted, and police being ambushed by protestors including one incident where a woman threw a Molotov cocktail at a police vehicle.

Amnesty International has logged more than 120 incidents of violence by police in 40 different states during the summer of protests.

In the aftermath, more than a dozen cities cut their police budgets, redistributing their funds to various social services and introducing programs where social service officers will respond to non-emergency calls including mental health calls.

Read the original post:

Police Mishandled Black Lives Matter Protests In Multiple Cities, Study Shows What We Already Know - Black Enterprise

Tufts Global Education hosted a virtual panel on Wednesday titled Black Lives Matter Around the World, moderated by Dr. H Adlai Murdoch, professor of Francophone studies and director of Africana studies at Tufts, featuring speakers from academic and activist backgrounds in the United States, Spain, Jamaica and Germany. The panel was co-sponsored by the Africana studies program, the Africana Center and the international relations program.

Charlene Carruthers, a PhD student in the department of African American studies at Northwestern University, has a background in the research of Black feminist political economies and the role of cultural work within the Black radical tradition and has spent more than 15 years community organizing.

Carruthers opened by saying that the importance of amplifying Black voices is not new.

I believe that the overall topic for our discussion today is always relevant. Its been relevant, frankly, for hundreds of years, and its absolutely relevant today, Carruthers said.

She said that this particular moment in the fight for Black lives, especially in the aftermath of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others, is part of something larger.

This is situated within ongoing local, national and transnational movements for Black liberation, Carruthers said. This is not new.

In particular, she noted that Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., with large African immigrant populations, demonstrate the interconnectedness of global demands for Black justice, and how this issue has been prominent in Black peoples lives long before the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction last summer.

People havent forgotten their people on the continent of Africa, their people in other parts of the world, Carruthers said. They are involved with struggles globally as well and making those connections and not waiting for conversations like this to help them figure out theyre talking to their cousins, theyre talking to their family members.

Dr. Esther Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla, an associate professor of critical race studies at Tufts-in-Madrid, applied Carruthers points to her experiences in Spain.

She particularly saw the George Floyd protests as an opportunity to amplify the voices of Afro-Spaniards and to examine long-standing issues in the country, saying it marked a real turning point for local Black and African activism in Spain.

In the last five, six, sevenyears in Spain, we have the creation of multiple associations and activist groups led by collectives of young people, young Black women, and queer and questioning people, and this is new leadership in a movement traditionally led by heterosexual Black men, Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla said.

She reflected specifically on the treatment of African migrants in Spain.

These African workers in agriculture live in inhuman conditions: no electricity, no clean drinking water, working 1012 hours a day, Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla said.

Beyond poor treatment, Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla noted that Spains unique position at Europes southern border has led to poor treatment of entering immigrants. She pointed to an incident from 2014 when Spanish police shot with rubber bullets and small grenades at a group of Black migrants who were swimming toward Spain. The shooting killed 14 of the migrants.

Yasmin Nasrudin, one of the panelists and the director of the Education USA Advising Center and deputy director of intercultural affairs at the German-American Institute Tbingen, noted that Germany has a lot of similarities with Spain in this realm.

Nasrudin noted that the movement for Black lives in Germany is fairly new, having been especially spurred on in 1980s with the help of Audre Lorde, who was an American writer, feminist and civil rights activist. Lorde lived in Germany in the mid-1980s as a visiting professor at the Free University of Berlin.

She gave the Black women the empowerment and emancipation of creating their own language and giving a new perspective on life in Germany as Black people, Nasrudin said.

She also delved into the question of language, and explained the recent shift from the term Afro-German to Black German.

Dr. Danielle Roper, assistant professor in Latin American literature at the University of Chicago, spoke to the way the momentum from George Floyds killing reinforced, rather than created, the need for the work of Black activists.

I think that when we talk about Black radicalism and Black activism today, we have to think about this moment as continuing the spirit of solidarity and transnationalism that characterized Black radical practices and movements of yesteryear, Roper said.

Roper also emphasized the need to recognize that Black Lives Matter is not a movement limited to the United States nor other Black-minority countries.

I think its important to note this because conversations of anti-Blackness sometimes leave out the fact that anti-Black racism is indeed a phenomenon that organizes predominantly Black countries in the Global South as well, and such is the case in countries like Jamaica, Barbados and elsewhere, Roper said.

Murdoch then turned it over to the audience for questions.

Read more:

Tufts Global Education hosts speakers from Spain, Jamaica, Germany, US in 'Black Lives Matter Around the World' panel - Tufts Daily

Social media users are wrongly claiming that an official Black Lives Matter organization was charged with committing wire fraud, laundering money and misusing donation money.

The reality is different: a lone Ohio activist was indicted on similar charges after he allegedly created a Facebook page that he passed off as a Black Lives Matter charity.

The facts havent stopped the spread of misleading claims about what happened.

"Black Lives Matter of Atlanta Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Allegedly Using almost 500k in Donations For Personal Use," said conservative commentator Chuck Callesto, a former Republican congressional candidate, in one such tweet posted March 16.

Screenshots of Callestos tweet were shared on Facebook, along with other posts that repeated versions of the same claim. They were flagged as part of the platforms efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The posts give the misleading impression that the wire fraud and money laundering charges were filed against an official chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement formed in 2013 after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, in Florida.

But Black Lives Matter was not charged.

The charges are actually against a 32-year-old activist named Sir Maejor Page, or Tyree Conyers-Page, according to the Justice Department. Page is accused of using a Facebook page called "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta," an illegitimate nonprofit, to defraud donors on the platform who thought they were supporting a legitimate social justice organization.

Page created the Facebook account and registered "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta" as a nonprofit organization in 2016, and he continued soliciting donations through Facebook after the groups tax-exempt status was revoked for failure to submit required IRS forms for three years, according to the indictment against him.

Prosecutors say Page misled Facebook users into believing their donations would be used to back protests in support of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. He received donations from more than 100 people through the Facebook page. He put thousands of dollars toward personal items, entertainment, hotel rooms and a house, the indictment says.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a charity created as an outgrowth of the Black Lives Matter movement, said in September that it was not affiliated with Page and that it rejected "the extreme misleading behaviors of people who utilize our name for their own personal wealth and gain."

"Our stance remains that Mr. Page is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, nor is he an activist for the movement," the foundation told PolitiFact.

Fox 5 Atlanta, a local TV station, reported in 2016 that Page had "parted ways" with the Black Lives Matter movement in Atlanta before starting his Facebook page.

A Twitter account for "Black Lives Matter Atlanta" posted two tweets that same year saying Pages group was "not a real chapter" and "not aligned w/ principles of BLM." The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation confirmed that the Twitter account is legitimate.

Using Facebook, PolitiFact messaged Callesto, who created the tweet that appeared on Facebook as a screenshot. After we reached out, he acknowledged that his tweet "could mislead" and posted a follow-up tweet in a thread under the original.

"This tweet is missing CONTEXT," Callesto wrote in the March 18 update. "It should read.. Black Lives Matter of GREATER Atlanta Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering... Black Lives Matter of GREATER Atlanta refers to a(n) illegitimate nonprofit organization."

Callesto cited a Toledo Blade article about Pages indictment. He said he had copied the original claim from a headline on a news site. But PolitiFact searched Google and the Nexis news database and did not find a headline that matched the language in his tweet.

Conservative activist Jack Posobiec tweeted a similar claim while sharing a Daily Caller story about Pages indictment. Posobiec wrote, misleadingly, "Black Lives Matter of Atlanta Charged with Money Laundering, Wire Fraud, Allegedly Used $450,000 in Donations for Personal use."

Our ruling

A tweet reposted to Facebook said, "Black Lives Matter of Atlanta Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Allegedly Using almost 500k in Donations For Personal Use."

Thats misleading. Black Lives Matter was not charged. The charges are against one person accused of misusing donations to what the Justice Department says was an illegitimate nonprofit posing as a Black Lives Matter charity.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said in a September statement that it was not affiliated with that person. A local news report from 2016 said he had "parted ways" with the Black Lives Matter of Atlanta movement.

We rate this tweet False.

Continue reading here:

No, Black Lives Matter wasn't charged with fraudulently spending donation money - PolitiFact

The Columbia Board of Education on Thursday resumed work to adjust elementary school boundaries and took time to reflect on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Another topic of discussion: Battle, Hickman and Rock Bridge high school graduation ceremonies will be held at Mizzou Arena on May 21 and 22, with an agreement in place to pay the University of Missouri $8,000 per day for the arena.

Details are still being worked out, Superintendent Peter Stiepleman said during a break in the work session. Last year, there were dozens of small graduation ceremonies in the school gyms.

Work on redrawing elementary boundaries was halted last Augustbecause of the focus on the pandemic as well as construction being delayed on an addition to Rock Bridge Elementary School until fall 2022.

"I'm ready to pull out the green flag," said chief operating officer Randy Gooch, using a racing analogy. "We've got to get this started again."

Cooperative Strategies, the consulting firm the district hired to work on the school attendance areas, has continued to work on options, Gooch said.

Before other schools are considered, a more immediate adjustment is needed at Parkade Elementary School, which Stiepleman said was at 130% of its desired capacity.

That adjustment, for the 2021-22 school year, would affect 100 students at most, Gooch said. Students moved for the coming school year wouldn't be affected by the next move, he said.

At a school board meeting April 12, the consultant will present options for the Parkade change, labeled phase 1, and the overall elementary adjustments in phase 2. The options will be posted on the district website.

There will be three publictown hall events for people to get information and share opinions on the options, from 5 to 9 p.m. April 13 at Gentry Middle School, April 14 at Jefferson Middle School and April 15 at Lange Middle School. There also will be a public survey.

The consultant will share information on the feedback with the school board April 22. A vote on thephase 1 option for Parkade Elementary is planned for May 10.

"We've got one extremely hot issue right now and that's at Parkade," Gooch said.

The consultant's fine-tuned phase 2 options also are expected at the May 10 school board meeting, with a vote planned June 9. The plan is for phase 2 to be effective with the start of the 2022-23 school year.

More: Morgan Neale named new principal at West Boulevard Elementary School

The Black Lives Matter movement was the topic of the school board's equity training session. Board members and top administrators were asked to write their thoughts about what first comes to their mind when they hear or see the phrase Black Lives Matter; their ideas about last summer's Black Lives Matter protests;and their earliest, impactful interaction with police.

"Initially I felt deep sadness over the needless loss of life, and as a mom I think about how I would feel if it were my child," said board President Helen Wade about the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

It's also a big issue to tackle, she said.

"How do you foster healing when there's such a divide?" Wade said.

They next watched a 15-minute video of the history of the movement and were asked to share one word about how it made them feel. Some also later explained why they used the word they did.

The words "hurt,""depressed," "uncomfortable," "angry," "numb" and "outraged" were some mentioned.

Board member David Seamon, who is Black, used the word "depressed."

"I had a really hard time this summer," Seamon said, adding that he sought counseling for it.

More: Yearwood chosen as next Columbia Public Schools superintendent

He's a public elected official, but he said when in stores, he doesn't pick up anything small unless he intends to buy it, because he's afraid of being accused of stealing something.

"It's humiliating," Seamon said.

The short video included several instances, one after another, of Black people being killed by white police and others, Wade said.

"There is an urgency to this," she said.

The school board is sending a strong message to the public in hiring a Black superintendent in Brian Yearwood, said board member Della Streaty-Wilhoit, who is Black.Yearwood grew up in Trinidad and Tobago. He will be the district's second Black superintendent when he starts July 1.

"All eyes are on us" because of the choice, she said.

Stiepleman said he hopes the school board continues to work toward equity after he leaves. He's retiring at the end of June.

"The hurt is institutionalized and has existed for hundreds of years," Stiepleman said.

It's the most important work the school board can do, he said.

"This work is so meaningful and I truly hope it continues to be the work of this board," Stiepleman said.

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1719

Go here to read the rest:

Graduations, boundaries, Black Lives Matter at forefront of Columbia Board of Education meeting - Columbia Daily Tribune

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published.

Nine months after racial justice protests swept across New York City and videos showed police punching, kicking and trapping demonstrators, the city agency responsible for investigating abuses has revealed the number of officers who have so far faced serious disciplinary charges.

Two.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board released the figures on Tuesday after ProPublica reported that the CCRB was declining to disclose how much progress it had made on protest cases. The new numbers show about 60% of the agencys 297 protest-related cases are still open.

CCRB investigations can take a long time, about eight months on average. Its investigations into the summer protests have been slowed in particular by a lack of NYPD cooperation, as ProPublica detailed last week, and agency staffers have been discouraged from confronting the NYPD. After our reporting prompted pointed criticism from a City Council member and others, CCRB officials promised at a public board meeting last week to release figures as soon as possible.

So far, the agency has only been able to fully investigate 37 cases. About 75 cases were closed before a full investigation could be completed. Sometimes civilians did not follow up or decided to withdraw their complaints to pursue lawsuits.

The relatively few completed investigations have resulted in 14 complaints being substantiated so far. In 12 cases, the CCRB has recommended relatively minor punishment, which is to be decided by the officers commanders. In the other two, the CCRB has moved for departmental disciplinary trials.

The CCRB said in an emailed statement on Wednesday that one of the two cases involved an officer who appeared to flash a white power sign, and the other concerned an officer who allegedly hit a protester with a baton.

The chair of the CCRB, Rev. Frederick Davie, also acknowledged at a City Council hearing on Tuesday that investigators have faced a challenge around access to information from the Police Department.

As ProPublicas story last week noted, CCRB staffers emailed superiors that the NYPD repeatedly said it had no body-worn camera footage of an incident, only to have investigators later discover that there was, in fact, footage. In response to questions, the NYPD said in a statement last week, We have spoken with senior executives at the CCRB who state they do not have any complaints about footage.

The CCRBs statement Wednesday also said investigators have had difficulty identifying officers due to the Police Department not keeping track of where officers were deployed and due to officers wearing protective gear with incorrect shield numbers.

As New York City Moves to Address Racialized Policing of Sex Work, Advocates and Lawyers Say Its Not Enough

The release of information about the protest cases comes as the city and the NYPD face increasing pressure to change the discipline process for officers. On Tuesday, state legislators introduced a bill to strip the NYPD commissioner of final authority over discipline. The move follows a New York City Council resolution in January calling for the legislature to act.

As ProPublica has detailed, commissioners have often used their discretion to overturn not only the CCRBs recommendations for punishments but also rulings by NYPD hearing officers and even guilty pleas agreed to by police officers.

Allegations of misconduct by officers can also be investigated by the NYPDs Internal Affairs Bureau, and the department has said that investigations of some protest encounters have been referred for disciplinary action. The department did not respond to a request this week for comment about the status of any discipline stemming from protest cases.

Mollie Simon contributed reporting.

Excerpt from:

Only Two NYPD Officers Face Serious Discipline From a Watchdogs Investigations Into Abuse of Black Lives Matter Protesters - ProPublica

A day care owner in Virginia says her sign, which has a Black Lives Matter message on it, has been vandalized three times.

Kisha Roberts-Barnes of Brilliant Beginnings Learning Center in Virginia Beach told 13 News Now, a local ABC affiliate, the sign destruction only began after a BLM symbol was added to it.

On the sign, which was last torn down on Monday, a little cartoon girl is depicted wearing a T-shirt with the message "#BLM."

Roberts-Barnes said the sign was torn down and footprints could be seen on it. She also claimed that the sign has been destroyed two other times since January. In one instance, a photograph shows the sign ripped into pieces.

EXCLUSIVE: CIGNA'S CRITICAL RACE THEORY TRAINING: DON'T SAY 'BROWN BAG LUNCH' AND BE MINDFUL OF 'RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGE'

The business owner said she was inspired to add the graphic after one of the children in her program came to the facility wearing a BLM T-shirt.

"She came with the shirt, and I thought it was commendable," she told the local news station in an interview published on Friday. "And it was the same time I was putting the sign together, and I decided to put her on the sign with the BLM shirt. I honestly didnt even expect anyone to see it."

"I thought it was beautiful, so I put it on our signs," she added. "But apparently, they dont think it was so beautiful."

Roberts-Barnes said she has spent $700 so far replacing the signs and plans to set up extra surveillance cameras. She has even contacted the Virginia Beach Police Department, according to the report.

"Were going to replace our sign, and we are going to continue to replace our sign," she said. "We are very proud of what it represents."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Virginia Beach Police Department for comment.

The owner also told the outlet that, a few years ago, someone wrote racial epithets on the day care's van.

"Diversity is a big deal for us," she said. "We dont describe our children based on the color of their skin, where they live, or what they do. We provide quality care for all children regardless of their race, and it's sad that the people who destroyed our sign, maybe they didnt go to a quality care center when they were little."

Continue reading here:

Day care owner says sign with Black Lives Matter message vandalized three times - Washington Examiner

Yasmin Rashid acted largely as a peacekeeper between the two sides.

ITHACA, NY -- Tensions were high on March 14 as Back the Blue supporters were met with a large group of counter-protesters at Bernie Milton Pavilion. Back the Blue supporters had announced earlier in the week that they had planned to protest the Reimagining Public Safety proposal that recommends replacing Ithaca Police Department with the Community Solutions and Public Safety Department. However, the Ithaca Police Benevolent Association put out a statement on March 11 thanking people for their support, but urging against the rally.

Black Lives Matters protesters raise their fists in solidarity.

We also feel like this rally may detract from our message of collaboration with the police reform and the steps weve made with Common Council and the Mayor, the statement said. We are not trying to suppress your first amendment rights but we ask that you take the time to voice your opinion to Common Council and the County Legislature by email or public meetings.

A Back the Blue protester burns a Black Lives Matter flag.

Regardless, a group of about 20 supporters, led by Rocco Lucente and Zack Winn, showed up anyway. After speeches about how dangerous they think the city of Ithaca has become, the group moved to the center of the Commons, where they faced off against counter-protesters. For the most part, the groups exchanged chants and all remained peaceful.

After being largely drowned out by the counter-protesters, the Back the Blue supporters headed back to the pavilion, where Winn took the stage and gave long-winded and increasingly angry rants aimed at the counter-protesters, including transphobic insults aimed at one counter-protester in particular. He also said that the counter-protesters were fat, smelled bad and accused them of being communists.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Back the Blue supporters doused an antifa flag and Chinese flag in lighter fluid and then set them ablaze.

There were two incidents where things turned physical. The first was when Winn and other Back the Blue organizers grabbed a Black Lives Matter flag, doused it in lighter fluid and set it on fire. Counter-protesters tried to grab the flag away from Winn before it was set on fire, but Winn caught up and a brief physical altercation ensued.

Later on, counter-protester Massia White-Saunders rushed the stage in anger, but Ithaca police officers were able to calm the situation quickly. After that incident, Winn took the microphone again to share that out of respect for the police officers wishes, they would be wrapping their event up shortly. However, he continued to rant angrily and attempt to antagonize counter-protesters, who often drowned him out with their chants. Winn also played a recording of IPD Sgt. Loretta Tomberellis comments to Common Council from a recent meeting in which she talked about how devalued she felt by the police reform proposal.

The Back the Blue supporters numbers slowly dwindled throughout the afternoon, before finally vacating the Commons after about three hours.

A Back the Blue protester with bear spray is confronted by an Ithaca police officer.

Follow this link:

Back the Blue, Black Lives Matter protesters go toe-to-toe on the Commons - ithaca.com

I

ts hard to write anything truly original in the wake of Sarah Everards death. The shiver of recognition. The suppressed memories which came flooding back. Mine was a black cab driver. I was in my early twenties and drunk. He told me I was coming back to his for some fun. I remember realising I couldnt run as I was wearing really stupid high heels. I started sobbing and begged him to let me out. He eventually did and I was grateful. Gratefulto a strange man for terrifying me to death, then having the decency not to hurt me. I even thanked him. And told him to keep the change.

Not all men goes the hashtag. True. But some men. And quite a lot of them. And every woman has her own story. Sarahs death has sparked an important harrowing national conversation. But we will only honour her memory by facing up to some uncomfortable truths about violence against women and girls.

Its never just a one-off. Its a spectrum of behaviour which includes harassment, stalking, flashing, kerb crawling, rape and domestic violence. Sarah was a pretty, white professional woman. There are so many others who are missing from black and Asian communities who we know nothing about, like Blessing Olusegun, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry. Its hard enough for white affluent women to come forward and report crimes like rape or domestic violence and be taken seriously, but its even worse for women from minority ethnic communities. Many feel shame, fear ostracisation, many have language barriers and are scared that they will be reported to the Home Office as an illegal immigrant rather than be treated as a victim of crime.

Sadly, there is deep distrust of the police and criminal justice system if you are black or Asian. But after the events of the last week, that lack of confidence is now widely shared by white women too. Many young women I spoke to who were at Clapham Common on Saturday night dont want the police to be involved in the reporting of sexual assault at all. They want an agency or specially trained charity which will understand them as a victim and have some compassion, not accuse them of being drunk or ask to trawl through their phone.

We are all horrified at plummeting rape prosecutions, yet the system is rigged against women from the crime scene to the courtroom. As someone who specialised in womens issues as a government adviser 14 years ago, I feel utterly depressed the clock has gone back. But we have to look for a glimmer of hope and for me that is the activism of the women who went to Clapham Common and the action of women in parliament. We need our female politicians from across all parties to work together. Last nights controversial policing bill will now go to the Lords who on a cross-party basis have greatly improved the Domestic Abuse Bill. This has got to be a moment where something changes. What is the point of having record numbers of female legislators if they cant, or wont, make life better for women and girls in the country on the most basic of needs safety.

But what about men? Well of course, they should change their behaviour, but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. Women cant rely on men alone for change. We cannot be passive and play nice. We have to be noisy, demanding and a nuisance. This terrible moment has to be as important as Me Too or Black Lives Matter because it embodies both.

Follow this link:

This terrible moment has to be as important as Me Too or Black Lives Matter: it embodies both - Evening Standard