This is a DISTRICT ATTORNEY making very poor arguments on behalf of the defendants who followed and attacked Ahmaud Arbery before killing him. This is exactly how racism and bias has infiltrated our entire legal system. Please see this and please hold your classmates and colleagues responsible for their part in perpetuating racism and the degradation of our legal system.
On page three, “Arbery’s mental health records and prior convictions help explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man.”
The justice system ran for Maud today! But I wanted to share this from before just to remind everyone of just how ingrained systemic racism is in our legal system. We have an ethical and moral obligation to fight it every damn day. Please keep running.
I will never know how difficult and and traumatic it is to feel fear for my life based solely on the color of my skin. I grapple with my part in a system that allows the police (and citizens) to kill black people disproportionately, and it’s important to understand better how to dismantle the structures that perpetuate it. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are senseless, tragic deaths that follow in a long, innumerable line of state-sanctioned brutality against black people.
There are two principles that guide me in learning about racial justice: the first is do your research, learn, contextualize–try and unpack why you think the way you do, and why you consume the work you do. Seek out something you don’t know about, it’s ok to be embarrassed for past ignorance. You are not entitled to comfort on this journey. It should be upsetting. Injustice is upsetting. The second principle is related, and it has to do with who gets to tell stories–gatekeepers hoard knowledge because they view success as zero-sum. Justice, equity, kindness: these things are not zero-sum. The success of someone who is different from me doesn’t mean I cannot achieve along my own path. Power is a helluva drug. Think critically about why dominant narratives are that way.
I think a lot of people are rightfully questioning themselves: What should I say? What can I do? How can I help? Keep asking yourself. Open your purse, give what you can. Have uncomfortable conversations with your relatives, simply acknowledging a problem doesn’t solve it! Activists have been doing the slow and steady work to raise awareness for decades. You are starting this journey on third base thanks to their blood, sweat, and tears.
A self-generated reading list or action item won’t add much to the dialogue, but if you learn or discover something you hadn’t known about before, then that’s a good start. Here are a few resources I found valuable:
Obviously there’s so much more out there. I wanted to provide a useful and top-line set of resources, but I’d encourage you to find trustworthy voices online and look at what they share (a recommended few: @ClintSmithIII,@nhannahjones,@BrentNYT,@jelani9, my queen @dstfelix).
We should remember that the past, like the present, was contingent; that events that seem inevitable could have gone a different way; that those who lived through them were, like us, unable to see how things would unfold. We should be aware of the past — we should understand the processes that produced our world — but it shouldn’t be a substitute for thinking. We are not them, and now is not then.
Today is the 76th anniversary of D-Day. My grandfather landed on Normandy Beach, and I am beyond certain he would be supporting the protestors today. The struggle for freedom against fascism continues, but we have reason to hope. Here’s to a better, more just tomorrow, it’s on us–let’s keep up the work and don’t forget to VOTE.
Organizations and funds to donate to; I understand not everyone can donate, but if you can, please give at least $5 you can skip your Starbucks coffee for a day!
I wrote this poem last year in honor of Ahmaud Arbery. Today marks one year since he was chased down and shot by Gregory and Travis McMichael as he jogged in a Georgia neighborhood. Thank you for reading.
“Today I Drove the Speed Limit”
They lynched a Black man today in Georgia. And I drove the speed limit.
I hope that my light skin and my loose hair texture and my gender will spare me his fate.
But then I think of Korryn Gaines Sandra Bland Little Aiyana Jones. So today I drove the speed limit.
I thought of my little brother, not so little now, dressed in black and chains and spikes expressing himself the way he likes as he takes walks in the neighboring, whiter neighborhood. And I drove the speed limit.
Ahmaud jogging, daring to be Black and beautiful where, because they can’t legally chain us anymore, they resort to modern American tradition and lynch us.
I usually drive too fast and I usually don’t think first when I go walking and I usually stop to admire their flower beds but today I drove the speed limit.
And I hoped that they don’t lynch a Black woman in North Carolina.
One year after Ahmaud Arbery was killed, his mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, talks to NBC News’ Blayne Alexander about race relations, justice and her hope for the future.
“When I laid Ahmaud to rest last February, a part of me left also.”
Taking a side trip for a minute to acknowledge what’s happening in the US.. The way people of color are treated in this country is heinous. I feel ashamed of my demographic and the oppression we’ve created and continue to cultivate. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd are just the latest examples of the racism that is thriving in this country. They deserved better. We need to do better.
If you feel the same way, there are things you can do to help. You can donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund or George Floyd’s GoFundMe. If you can’t donate you can call Minnesota’s governor and attorney general, asking for justice for his death.
Black Lives Matter by Farrah Fawcett Via Flickr: “We need LEADERS NOT in love with MONEY BUT in love with JUSTICE. NOT in love with PUBLICITY but IN LOVE with HUMANITY.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Artwork of MLK by Rick Frausto (rickfrausto.com/products/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-drawing). What Black Lives Matter Means (and Why It’s Problematic to Say “All Lives Matter”) Saying that black lives matter doesn’t mean that other lives do not. BY LIZZ SCHUMER Jun 4, 2020 What Does Black Lives Matter Mean? Black Lives Matter is an anthem, a slogan, a hashtag, and a straightforward statement of fact. While it is not a new movement, the message is central to the nationwide protests happening right now. BLM speaks out against the police brutality and systemic racism that caused the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and Breonna Taylor, as well as the thousands of violent incidents that happen to Black people that aren’t recorded, aren’t reported or aren’t afforded the outrage they deserve. At its most basic level, it calls for a shift in the statistics that Black people are twice as likely to be killed by a police officer while unarmed, compared to a white individual. According to a 2015 study, African Americans died at the hands of police at a rate of 7.2 per million, while whites were killed at a rate of 2.9 per million. Read the full ARTICLE: www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32745051/what-black-lives-… Nichelle Nichols was counseled by Martin Luther King Jr., not to quit Star Trek when she disclosed to him that she was contemplating leaving. www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Reflect… Nichelle Nichols as Uhura ushered in Star Trek from Desilu Studios that began the enormous Star Trek Chain of creator Gene Rodenberry. Nichelle is repainted and restyled by Noel Cruz of ncruz.comformyfarrah.com. Manicured french tip hands by Pure Icon Paris www.ebay.com/usr/pure-icon-paris. For more about Nichelle Nichols visit her web site www.uhura.com/ and on IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm0629667/. Photo/Graphic Layout & web sites 1sixth.co,1sixthworld.com,ncruz.com&myfarrah.combywww.stevemckinnis.com.
At NAR, we have always tried to provide a safe space for you, our readers, as a daily respite from the stress that many of you encounter. Like you, we are all experiencing fear, anger, and frustration at what is happening in the world. However, there are days where we feel we can not be silent.
The nature of the stories we tell — and the values we stand for — revolve around one thing: justice. This means fighting racism, bigotry, hate, discrimination, violence, and inequality. By telling these stories, even in a light-hearted manner, we are showing how widespread the attacks on these values are, and this has never been more obvious.
The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others are a direct affront to our values. For the black community, it is sadly just the most recent chapter in the longstanding racial injustices they have endured.
The entire NAR team is heartbroken over the senseless loss of life and shares in the outrage being expressed across the world.
We will continue to emphasize stories that promote diversity, inclusion, and justice, now and forever, or at least for as long as it takes for these injustices to be a thing of the past.
Like so many have done in our stories, if you see racial injustice (or injustice of any kind), call it out. Spread the word far and wide that this is a real threat to our society, and that change is not achieved through silence. This is how we fight for a future that lives up to these values and ideals, so we never have to read a story about racism and injustice again.
After years of posting stories like this one,this one,this one, and this one that imply that Black people are oversensitive whiners making it all up and mocking the Black Lives Matter movement numerous times through their storiesandtitles, NotAlwaysRight has decided to jump on the bandwagon and offer this totally heartfelt and sincere message (/sarcasm) protesting anti Blackness while naturally ignoring their own role in perpetuating white supremacy and racial injustice.
