Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

Screenshot/The Libertarian Marine

Melissa Kiser (top right) and Kristina Furi of Black Lives Matter in Cortland, N.Y., were guests on Matthew McIntyres podcast The Libertarian Marine on June 22.

CORTLAND, N.Y. As the Black Lives Matter movement here looks to turn its public support into political momentum, local libertarians are making a late push to align themselves with the movement that nationally was sparked by youth activism.

The Libertarian Party in Cortland County or the group of people trying to form it has been slow to publicize its support for Black Lives Matter. At the center of this is state Assembly candidate Matthew McIntyre, who has actively reached out to the leaders of Black Lives Matter organizers in Cortland. He sees systemic police brutality against Black residents as a product of government overreach, the free market as an avenue for leveling the playing field and recent Black Lives Matters protests cut from the same cloth as Reopen New York protests, which Libertarians supported.

Many libertarians, including McIntyre, advocate for the decriminalization of nonviolent, victimless drug offenses and an end to the war on drugs. They also call for less government regulation on business, particularly business licensing.

Black Lives Matter organizers here are concerned about whether the libertarian support will be genuine in the long term, after the spotlight on protests and police reforms dims. Melissa Kiser and Steve Williams, two organizers of Black Lives Matter in Cortland, have spent the past few weeks educating themselves on libertarianism, how their views align and if a partnership will result in what Williams calls piggyback protesting when movements and organizations use momentum from Black Lives Matter to advance their own agendas.

Its a concern that national leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have about the Democratic Party. Some organizers, such as in Tampa, Fla., have soured on the Democratic alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement. Theyre weary of Democratic politicians using outrage from their movement as a political tool.

But in Cortland, for the newly forming Libertarian Party, it boils down to the same question Kiser and Williams ask when politicians reach out as election season approaches: Where was the support before the police killing of George Floyd?

[Theres] a fear of hijacking the movement, Williams said on June 16. Like I said, I cant speak too intelligently to libertarian affairs, but knowing how they define themselves, and being to the protests Ive been to, its the fear of the movement being hijacked.

But Kiser and Williams are lending their ear to McIntyre for now, in part because Americas two-party system leaves few people excited about the two presidential candidates, they said.

I want to see what your five-year plan is for minorities and I want to see what your five-month plan is for Black Lives Matter, Kiser said of politicians aligning themselves with Black Lives Matter. I want to see it and I want to see you start doing it. Thats what I need. I dont need any more overtures, I dont want you to put up signs on your lawn, posting stuff on your website.

In Cortland County, 800 of the 48,300 residents are Black and 898 are biracial or multiracial. Kiser and Williams have previously described a need for more Black teachers and counselors in schools, more Black legislators in city and county government and police reform that includes accountability and transparency in Cortlands police department. So far, both the city of Cortland and Cortland County, which are separate entities, have made their use-of-force policy public, and the city council agreed to paint Black Lives Matter on a downtown street. The largest police reforms in Cortland County stem from Albany.

The Libertarian support for Black Lives Matter mirrors the partys statewide and national platform. Larry Sharpe, the Libertarian candidate for New York governor in 2018, has advocated for breaking police departments into different sectors that serve more concentrated needs, including mental health.

We generally agree on the activism part, Sharpe said of Black Lives Matter. Not the political part. He meant that Black Lives Matter is often linked to candidates who are Democrats, not Libertarians. Jo Jorgenson, the Libertarian presidential nominee, recently tweeted, I am the Libertarian candidate. #BlackLivesMatter, and I am committed to governance that reflects that.

McIntyre equates the Black Lives Matter movement with the Reopen New York rally because both problems, he said, were rooted in government overreach.

These are very very big issues, these are very very powerful groups, he said in a separate interview. And their message is exactly the same thing: smaller government and less overreach and more liberty. But theyre seen as different because of the narratives that have been spun.

Kiser and Williams have said Black Lives Matter and Reopen New York are completely different.

There are stances that Kiser is non-negotiable on, making the 80/20 rule which McIntyre has described as agreement on 80% of a politicians views equating to political alignment problematic for her. She also is concerned that this is the first time the Libertarian Party had reached out to Black Lives Matter.

But Kiser said while the stakes are high in this presidential election, she is interested in working with McIntyre. She has not endorsed him.

I think I would love to work with Matthew and see where things continue to go, she said.

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Cortland Black Lives Matter Cautiously Considers Support From Local Libertarians - Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

To understand the power of a movement that began in 2013, we have to jump back nearly 400 years and grasp onto perhaps the same struggle the Black community fought then; the idea that all people should be treated fairly in the eyes of the law and in every institution.

"Ultimately when our responses become human responses as opposed to racial responses, that is when were going to change as a society. - Dr. Finnie Coleman, UNM Associate Professor

The University of New Mexico Associate Professor Finnie Coleman said the Black Lives Matter movement mirrors similar ambitions of the NAACP in the 1920s, when the association led the Black civil rights struggle in fighting injustices that included voting rights, racial violence, discrimination in employment and segregated public facilities. He said its also no different than the Black Panther Party movement that began in 1966.

We are quick to forget what we are told in this country, Coleman said. The idea that we should have to ask certain groups for permission to exercise our rights that the Constitution already guarantees us; thats a huge disconnect and I think its one of the reasons why we have a difficult time talking about race.

In fact, Coleman explained Black Lives Matter doesnt want to be given anything. Instead, he said, what Black people want is to be able to leave their homes, to peacefully assemble and address government without fearing for their lives.

In 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot as he walked home from a convenience store. George Zimmerman, who was patrolling the townhouse community in Sanford, Florida, pulled the trigger. Zimmerman later claimed to have shot the teenager in self-defense during a physical altercation. It took weeks before Zimmerman was eventually arrested and charged with Martins murder. Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 in response to Zimmermans acquittal.

Trevier Gonzalez

The global organization says its mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives. Black Lives Matters three founders,Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, say the project is now a member-led global network that includes more than 40 chapters.

In a really important way, the Black Lives Matter movement circles us back to the beating of Rodney King in March 1991 and the riots that followed the acquittal of the four police officers in April 1992, Coleman said. I reference Rodney King because it has to do with surveillance and the ability of average citizens to produce evidence for the public record. Its not so much that we have an epidemic of police brutality; cell phones and social media now allow the average person witnessing a tragedy to capture it and upload it in real-time.

Coleman explained there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement. He said the struggle is for not only the Black community, but for all people to be treated fairly.

In every institution, whether its religious, academic, governmental, economic, all aspects of American life, the want is to be treated equally, he said. I think theres a huge mistake and a conceit by people who find themselves in the dominant culture, who imagine that the Black Lives Matter movement is asking them for something. What the movement is asking is to stop doing certain things. Stop preventing me from exercising my rights. Im not asking you to give me my rights; Im asking you to stop preventing me from exercising my rights.

In recent weeks, protests and riots have erupted around the globe after the murder of George Floyd. The 46-year-olds death while in police custody in Minneapolis has re-ignited a nationwide movement against police killings of Black Americans. Coleman said as people around the world watched details surrounding Floyds murder unfold, individuals in the dominant culture were quick to offer the wrong type of response.

Trevier Gonzalez

The dominant culture is quick to say, Thats a horrible thing thats happened to you guys. How can we help you? Coleman said. But when I see that video, my response is a human response, not a racial response my response was not an us versus them response. I felt the same way every other human being should have felt when they saw what happened to George Floyd. It did not matter to me who was under the officers knee; in this case, it just so happened to be a Black man. That incident made me as angry as I could be not solely because George Floyd was Black, but because no person should ever be senselessly brutalized and murdered by an officer of the law.

According to Coleman, the Black communitys taut relationship with law enforcement stems from the historical development of law enforcement in America; law enforcement's roots in the policing of a slaved South.

From the very beginning, police have had a relationship with the Black community that has been primarily focused upon surveillance, he said. When they were enforcing the law, for much of our countrys history, they were enforcing laws that were differential where race was concerned; where it was against the law for Black people to drink from that fountain, get an education, be in a certain part of town after 5 p.m. Historically, police had a very different relationship with Black people than they have had with other groups in this country. For most white people, their first instinct is to believe that the police are here to protect them and their property, but for many Black people, their first instinct is that the police are there to protect someone else from them they are there to make sure that you do not break the law not to protect you from lawbreakers.

A majority of recent protests have centered around police brutality. Photos from around the U.S. show protesters staged outside police precincts, holding signs that read, defund the police. Coleman said he believes there is no one meaning for this term.

For some people defunding means, abolish police. For others it means, lets have a look at the amount of money cities and states pour into police departments and see if we might not redistribute those resources in ways that make more sense, he said.

Some of the protests have led to riots and violence.

"I know there are a lot of people who are critical of the violence in the protests that are happening all over the country, and while I dont condone the violence and property destruction, I do understand the energy behind those reactions and I dont necessarily condemn the people using whatever voice they see fit, Coleman said. 'If you dont hear me and Im telling you, I cant breathe, what do you expect me to do? If I break a window or burn down a building, will that get you to take your knee off my neck?'We have to be really careful about our outrage about the outrage.

Emma Hotz

Coleman said many of his sentiments he shares are the same he lectures in front of his students at UNM. Coleman, who served in the U.S. Army for 11 years, said he encourages his students to continue to have more sophisticated conversations about these topics. Only then, he said, will people start to see a change in society.

Our arrogance often prevents us from having these conversations, he said. Its imperative that we move beyond white supremacy, hegemonic masculinity, and racism that allow rogue policeman and neighborhood vigilantes to destroy black bodies in public spaces.

Coleman said hes optimistic about the future because he believes the beauty of this nation is shown in the very moment people begin to protest.

We must continue to progress to that place where America lives up to its ideals; ideals spelled out in the Constitution of the United States, Coleman said. When we get to the point where our responses arent conditioned by our position and our racial attitudes; ultimately when our responses become human responses as opposed to racial responses, that is when were going to change as a society.

Racism: An Educational Series (previous stories)Learning from the Past: A brief historical background

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Meaning behind the movement: Black Lives Matter - UNM Newsroom

As protests against racism and police violence swept across the country, drawing massive crowds into the streets amid a pandemic, public health officials worried about what the overall impact would be.

The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado:

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Would these protests which many health leaders said they support also turn out to be virus super-spreading events?

But a new study by a nationwide research team that includes a University of Colorado Denver professor has found something surprising: The protests may have slowed the overall spread of the coronavirus in cities with large demonstrations, including Denver.

We think that whats going on is its the people who are not going to protest are staying away, said Andrew Friedson, the CU-Denver professor who is one of the papers co-authors. The overall effect for the entire city is more social distancing because people are avoiding the protests.

Friedsons specialty is economics specifically the economics of health care. The field of COVID-19 research now contains a multitude of subspecialties, and it has often been economists leading the way in understanding how people are changing their behaviors in response to the pandemic.

MORE: Coloradans are moving around at nearly pre-pandemic levels. Will a second coronavirus wave follow?

As the protests built, Friedson said he and his colleagues took note of the rising concerns about virus spread. He said they also realized they had the ability to answer that question using official coronavirus case counts and the anonymous, aggregated cell phone data that has become the gold standard for tracking societal shifts in movement.

The team worked quickly and published their findings earlier this month as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Im someone who likes to get the answers out, Friedson said. There are a lot of people who say, Well I think it should happen or I think this should happen, and its nice to have some numbers to inform these decision-making processes.

The paper comes as officials in Colorado and other states are concerned about rising infections, especially among young people.

New infections among young people have contributed significantly to Colorados uptick in cases in recent days a rise that reversed a weeks-long trend of falling case numbers and has put Colorado back onto the list of potential coronavirus problem spots. Meanwhile, the number of new infections among older Coloradans has dropped.

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With the July 4 holiday approaching, Gov. Jared Polis and county health officials have pleaded with people to be responsible and avoid large gatherings.

We dont have the direct causation of this uptick, Polis told reporters last week, noting that there is evidence that some young people who are part of an outbreak in Boulder had attended protests while other outbreaks are tied to social gatherings. And we hope this is a trend that is reversed in our state.

On Monday, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said that, while the state has now seen rising numbers of new cases for two consecutive weeks, we have not seen any clear association between the protests and an increase in cases.

The spokesman, Ian Dickson, said the uptick in infections may be partly due to some Coloradans changing their behavior especially socializing in larger groups, sometimes without proper distancing or mask wearing.

Friedson said his paper doesnt try to figure out whether the protests spread the virus among the people at the protest. Instead, he said the research took the bigger-picture view: What did the protests mean for overall transmission of the virus within the entire community?

The study looked at 315 American cities with populations of more than 100,000 and found that 281 of those cities saw protests. The remaining 34 cities that did not see protests which, at the time, included Aurora were used as a control group against which to measure the impact of the protests.

The researchers found that protests correlated with a net increase in overall stay-at-home behavior in cities where they occurred and the increase was larger in cities that saw more sustained protests or reports of violence.

Friedson said he and his colleagues were a bit surprised at first. The protests in many cities, including Denver, were massive, drawing tens of thousands of people out to march. But they occurred in cities with hundreds of thousands to millions of residents.

We started thinking about it a little more and we thought, Oh my gosh were capturing everybody else, he said.

The paper also found that, with greater social distancing, COVID case growth slowed in cities with protests from what would be expected but not by a statistically significant amount. There may be other explanations for the trends, the studys authors note. Overall, though, they say the data show that any resurgence in coronavirus cases cant be pinned entirely on the protests.

Public speech and public health did not trade off against each other in this case, the authors wrote in the paper.

But Friedson said there is one last important thing to keep in mind about this study: Its not a green light for governments to fully reopen bars, concert venues and other places where people gather in large numbers. The key to the researchers conclusions is that the protests, while receiving lots of support, were ultimately things most people decided to avoid. Thats not true of many other large gatherings.

An outdoor wedding doesnt generate avoidance behavior; were measuring avoidance behavior, Friedson said. People dont say, Oh man, theres an outdoor wedding next door, we should stay home.

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Black Lives Matter protests may have slowed overall spread of coronavirus in Denver and other cities, new study finds - The Colorado Sun

Vice President Pence said he thinks the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement are pushing what he called a political agenda of the radical left when pressed in a recent interview about why he still refuses to say the phrase Black lives matter.

During an appearance on CBS News on Sunday, reporter John Dickerson asked the vice president why he refused to say the phrase as demonstrators have called on him to do.

All my life, I've been inspired by the example of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When I was in Congress, I traveled to his home church in Montgomery with Congressman John LewisJohn LewisCelebrities fundraise for Markey ahead of Massachusetts Senate primary Pence says leaders of Black Lives Matter movement have 'radical left' agenda New nonprofit aims to rename Edmund Pettus Bridge after John Lewis MORE. I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Pencestarted to say in response. I cherish the progress that we have made toward a more perfect union for African Americans throughout our history.

And I've aspired throughout my career to be a part of that ongoing work. It's really a heart issue for me, he continued. And as a pro-life American, I also believe that all life matters, born and unborn. But what I see in the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement is a political agenda of the radical left that would defund the police.

"Leave that out of it. Just the phrase," Dickerson cut in.

"That would tear down monuments, that would press a radical left agenda and support calls for the kind of violence that has beset the very communities that they say that they're advocating for, Pence continued.

"So you won't say Black lives matter? Dickerson went on to ask Pence.

John, I really believe that all lives matter. And that's where the heart of the American people lies, Pence responded.

The Hill has reached out to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, a nonprofit global organization formed by founders of the movement, for comment.

The group, which was formed after the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, has expanded to a network ofmore than 40 chapters in recent years and has continuouslyworked to combat police brutality and racism. Among some of the political actionsit has called for over the years to address police brutality aredefunding the police and redirectingthose funds to local communities,changing the police use-of-force standard,and ensuring more police accountability.

Pences interview on Sunday comes about a week after he refused to say the words during an interview with Philadelphia outlet 6ABC Action News. He instead said that all lives matter," a phrase that has been used, in many cases by non-Black people, in responseto Black lives matter.

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Pence says leaders of Black Lives Matter movement have 'radical left' agenda | TheHill - The Hill

LOS ANGELES It's been nearly three years, and the protests outside Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey's office are only getting bigger.

What started as several hundred people gathered outside the Hall of Justice has swelled into the thousands as demonstrators call for the ouster of Lacey, the first Black district attorney in the nation's most populous county, for failing to prosecute police officers who kill civilians.

"We've tried everything with her," said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-L.A. "We had a deep desire to have things be different."

Lacey, who is seeking a third term, fell shy during a March primary of getting enough votes to avoid a runoff in November. She will face off against former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascn, a longtime Los Angeles police commander who helped reshape the department following the Rampart corruption scandal of the late 1990s.

While Gascn is regarded as the reform candidate, Lacey is seen as the law-and-order pick. She has strong support from the law enforcement community, including the union representing Los Angeles police.

"Jackie Lacey is the only candidate we feel that will keep Los Angeles County safe while successfully being able to implement meaningful reform in the court system," said Dustin DeRollo, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Protective League. "We have serious concerns about her opponent."

DeRollo cited Lacey's reputation as a district attorney who stands up for victims of crime. But Abdullah said that consideration does not extend to victims of police brutality.

"That's the general approach to victims of police violence," she said. "When you're killed by police, you're not considered a victim."

Abdullah said she had high hopes when Lacey became district attorney in 2012. She was not only the first Black person to become the county's top prosecutor but also the first woman.

"We tried to engage her in friendly ways for two years," Abdullah said. "We thought we could move forward, but the murders kept piling up."

According to a Los Angeles Times report tracking officer-involved killings throughout the county, more than 880 people have died at the hands of law enforcement officers since 2000. In almost every case the district attorney's office found a shooting justified or decided not to bring charges, The Associated Press reported.

Lacey was raised in Crenshaw, a majority-Black neighborhood in South Los Angeles. Her mother worked in a garment factory and her father for the city's lot cleaning division.

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Lacey attended law school at the University of Southern California and joined an entertainment law firm before moving to the Santa Monica city attorney's office. She joined the district attorney's office in 1986 and rose to second-in-command under Steve Cooley, who served three terms as district attorney from 2000 to 2012.

During her time in office Lacey has assembled specialty teams to handle environmental cases, sex trafficking crimes and child and elder abuse. She also created a unit that reviews claims of innocence by people convicted of felonies.

One thing she hasn't done, opponents say, is protect people who suffer abuse or die at the hands of law enforcement officers.

"Just on the assumption that she's Black and she's a woman, I assumed that she'd care about issues that impact our community the most," said Los Angeles resident LaTangia Oliver, who attended a protest outside Lacey's office this month. "It's about just the charges not saying you'll be successful, but just bring up the charges."

Lacey first became a target for Black Lives Matter-L.A. in 2014 after the shooting death of Ezell Ford, 25, by Los Angeles police. Officials said Ford tackled an officer to the ground and reached for his gun. He was shot during the scuffle. Ford's loved ones said he suffered from a mental health disorder and was not committing a crime when he was stopped.

Ford's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit after Lacey's office declined to prosecute the officers involved because physical evidence corroborated their account that Ford posed "an immediate threat" to police.

Following Ford's death, Abdullah and other Black Lives Matter-L.A. organizers requested a meeting with Lacey. Abdullah said she left the meeting hopeful that the district attorney's office would continue looking into officer-involved shootings and that it would evaluate them fairly. But as more people died during police encounters, the relationship soured, Abdullah said.

Lacey has refused to meet with Black Live Matter-L.A. organizers over the years, Abdullah said, a claim the district attorney denies.

"Throughout my time as DA, I have always been more than willing to sit down and have an open dialogue with the Black Lives Matter Organization," Lacey said in an email. "As an African American woman, and lifelong Democrat I have consistently pursued criminal justice reform and I strongly feel that BLM can play a very meaningful role in this debate. Unfortunately, in recent times the organization has rejected my offers to have constructive conversations."

Despite her contentious relationship with organizers, Lacey has been endorsed by top lawmakers, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and several Los Angeles County supervisors.

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But many of the endorsements came in before protests erupted throughout the country after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody, and support for Lacey appears to be waning. U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who represents Burbank, withdrew his endorsement Saturday.

"This is a rare time in our nation's history," Schiff tweeted. "We have a responsibility to make profound changes to end systemic racism & reform criminal justice."

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appeared to walk back his support for Lacey this month, saying in an interview that aired on NBC Los Angeles that it may be time for a change. Garcetti's father, Gil Garcetti, was a two-term district attorney.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and co-author of a sweeping police reform bill, said Tuesday that it's past time for police officers to be held accountable when they brutalize civilians.

"For years our communities have watched, officer after officer, no charges be brought," she said during a criminal justice reform panel with Garcetti and other mayors. "That has led to the explosion that is happening in all of our cities now."

Lacey defended her record, saying in a statement that she is "proud" of "taking on systemic racism and reforming criminal justice, from bail reform to reducing juvenile cases by nearly 50 percent to increasing our office's focus on mental health treatment instead of incarceration."

Gascn, who immigrated to Los Angeles from Cuba as a teenager, picked up an endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who called him a "national leader in criminal justice reform and a powerful advocate for rethinking our approach to public safety and ending mass incarceration."

Gascn said Lacey's fractured relationship with communities of color has compromised the district attorney's office.

"When you break the social contract by looking the other way, you lose the moral authority," he said. "Then you see what you're seeing now, calls to defund the police and not wanting them in your community."

Black Lives Matter-L.A. doesn't endorse candidates, but Abdullah said recent interactions with Gascn were much more favorable than her contentious relationship with Lacey, whose husband pulled a gun on protesters in March.

It's the role of the people to hold elected officials responsible, Abdullah said. "It's not personal. It just is what it is."

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Why Black Lives Matter-L.A. is trying to take down the county's first Black DA - NBC News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ike Ijeh is an architect and critic

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