The Million Man March and the Future of the Movement

IMG_2023The United States has an undeniable amount of work to do in order to tackle the racial injustices and inequalities the country still faces. The Million Man March played its part in that by encouraging people from all across the country to gather on the National Mall on October 10th 2015. Though the Nation of Islam and its current leader, Minister Farrakhan are considered controversial to some, the message of the March was clear; “Justice or Else!” The March marked the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March which highlighted how little had changed for racial equality and how much more needs to be done. The event had a handful of passionate speakers representing the Native American Indian, Latino, Arab, Mexican and African American communities.

The turnout of the march however, accurately reflected the issue at large. The majority of those who attended the March came from communities directly affected by the injustices and racial disparities, but where was everyone else? Just a few blocks down from the movement was the annual Taste of DC where it saw a turnout of around 50,000 people. One gathering consisted of those interested in meandering around food stalls and drink stands, tasting the best of what DC has to offer, while the other gathered demanding justice and equal protection under the law. The point here is not to guilt-trip those who were unable to attend the March but more to highlight priorities. Change will not happen if people do not look beyond their own circumstances, Black Lives Matter encourages just that. The reality lays in the idea that if the United States government and protective services of any kind truly valued all lives to the same degree, there would not be so many African American and other minority groups beaten by police, incarcerated for trivial matters and discriminated against on a daily basis. Change will come from people tacking racial injustices as human rights issues that affect everyone. August 2014, PEW Research Center released data that showed almost 60% of the White population believed that the Nation had done enough for racial equality, which dropped to 40% in 2015.

 

Percentage of American’s who say the Nation has done enough for racial equality.

Fig. 1 PEW Research Center 2015

2014 2015 % Change
White 57% 40% 17
Black 17% 8% 9
Hispanic 43% 21% 22

 

This chart conveys that as of 2015, 92% of the African American population believe that the country has a lot more to work on in order to achieve racial equality. It is clear that the change in opinion seen in the chart occurred as a result of not only more injustices arising but also more coverage. Black Lives Matter started in July 2013 but gained even more momentum and public awareness in 2014 after the murder of two unarmed black men, Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City. As quoted by the Million Man March 2015, Dr Martin Luther King said

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable … Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”.

Everyone has a role to play in the movement of racial equality and justice for all. The March may be over but this is “not a moment, but a movement” (#blacklivesmatter). There are many ways to get involved with campaigns for justice mentioned at the Million Man March.

The following are some of the demands set out by the Million Man March with information on how you can get involved.

 

We want an immediate end to police brutality and mob attacks.

Get involved with:

  • Black Lives Matter

http://blacklivesmatter.com/

  • The National Police Accountability Project

NPAP Justice

Phone (212) 630-9939

  • American Civil liberties Union

https://www.aclu.org/fighting-police-abuse-community-action-manual

  • Stolen Lives Project

http://stolenlives.org/

We want Justice for the Native American Indians.

Get involved with:

  • National Indian Justice Center

http://www.nijc.org/

  • Unitarian Universalist Association: Justice for Native People

http://www.uua.org/multiculturalism/history/uua/nativeamerican/117131.shtml

  •  National Criminal Justice Reference Service

https://www.ncjrs.gov/justiceinindiancountry/

We want Justice for the Mexican and Latinos.

Get involved with:

  • Latino Justice

http://latinojustice.org/

  • Hispanics in Philanthropy

https://www.hiponline.org/about/about-hip

We want Justice for Women.

Get involved with:

  • Planned Parenthood

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/

  • American Civil Liberties Union

Women’s Rights

  •  Women for Women International

http://www.womenforwomen.org/

  • Amnesty International: Women’s Rights

http://www.amnestyusa.org/

We want Justice for the Poor.

Get involved with:

  • Justice for the Poor: J4P

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTICE/EXTJUSFORPOOR/0,,menuPK:3282947~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:3282787,00.html

  • Street Sense

http://streetsense.org/

  • Feeding America

http://www.feedingamerica.org
tel: 800.771.2303

We want Justice for the Incarcerated.

Get involved with:

  • Insight Prison Project

http://www.insightprisonproject.org/a-restorative-justice-agency.html

 

On November 12th 2015, the Million Student March will take place in various locations around the country. The movement demands the following:

  • Tuition-Free Public College
  • Cancellation of All Student Debt
  • $15 Minimum Wage for All Campus Workers

Having access to free education for all is one big step to help fight racial injustices.

Find out more at http://studentmarch.org/

 

 

 

 

Does the District Need More Police Or More Resources?

Mayor Bowser has a plan to address D.C.’s rise in crime. It involves more police and greater police powers. Your experience with the police may suggest that this might not be the best way to go. Let the mayor and the city council know how you feel about this issue.  Tell your story on videotape at the below locations today and tomorrow!!!

Resources Not Reinforement

Senator Elizabeth Warren Gets to the Point

We don’t often post about national issues that don’t have a direct impact on District of Columbia residents, but this speech is too good to pass up.  Senator Warren breaks down structural racism in a way that the Black Lives Matter Movement would like to hear from Bernie Sanders.  As a progressive of color, I’m frustrated when white allies still think inequality is really just a class issue.  Warren blows past that argument, reminding us that historical racism was as much about the denial of economic opportunities as it was about violence.   She teaches history that we all should know but sure enough didn’t get in school.  Enjoy and pass on.

Mayor Bowser vs Black Lives Matter, Who Has the Better Plan?

On August 27, 2015, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly unveiled her plan to reduce violent crime in a press conference at the shuttered Malcolm X Elementary School in Ward 8.   The rate of homicides within the District has been on the rise.  To counter it, Mayor Bowser has proposed a series of initiatives with a focus on cracking down on crime and enhancing police authority.   Highlights of the speech can be found in the video shot and edited by Joshua Rose Schmidt below.

Her plan may sound reasonable to many who legitimately fear the rise in violent crime, but it did little to assuage those who have every reason to fear the police.   Bowser claims that her plan will make Black Lives Matter more than just a hashtag.  What the mayor fails to recognize is that Black Lives Matter is in fact a movement that recognizes that police misconduct and brutality are ongoing, systemic problems whose history begins long before the advent of the cell phone video.  Those within the movement believe that doubling down on techniques that have failed in the past will not solve the problem now.  Black Lives Matter activist and founder of the Stop Police Terror Project, Eugene Puryear has a plan that should be considered by the mayor and anyone who wants to see an end to murders committed by the police and murders committed by citizens.

Response to Bowser's Anti-Crime Plan Fact Sheet

Download a pdf of Stop Police Terror Project DC’s alternative plan here:  Response to Bowser’s Anti-Crime Plan Fact Sheet

For more information about the Black Lives Matter Movement in the District of Columbia check out the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/stoppoliceterrorprojectdc

https://www.facebook.com/BLACKLIVESMATTERDMV

http://blacklivesmatter.com/

The National Black United Front DC Chapter is also working on this issue and any number of organizations active within the communities most impacted by crime such as the Family and Friends of Incarcerated People and The Reentry Network for Returning Citizens.

D.C. Town Hall Forum on Policing Draws Mixed Response

Cross-Posted from the Washington Informer
Written by William J. Ford

Kwasi Seitu called the policing efforts of D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier bogus and racist.

Lezora Arter said families need to learn to monitor themselves, but also establish a positive relationship with police officers.

Both gave passionate pleas during a town hall meeting Tuesday night at Allen Chapel AME Church in Southeast on ways to improve policing, which at times grew contentious as the city grapples with a surge in violent crime.

At the forum, which drew nearly 100 people, some residents expressed frustration about Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to spend $15 million in response to a recent spate of homicides, particularly her goal to hire more police.

“We think this is completely the wrong thing to do. We want to see a surge of community, not police,” said local activist Eugene Puryear. “People need jobs. They need housing. They need mental health care. They need those things right now.”

The situation is a conundrum for the mayor as she deals with opposition from residents clamoring for her to stem the violence and those decrying the increasing police presence, all while the city homicide rate rises. As of Tuesday, there have been 109 homicides in 2015 — up from 74 at this time last year.

From Monday night through early Tuesday morning alone, eight people were shot in three separate incidents in the District, including Jarrell Hall, 28, who died from gunshot wounds inside a residence on Forrester Street SW.

Bowser posted a note Tuesday morning on Twitter that the police department has seized more than 1,100 illegal guns so far this year.

At Tuesday night’s forum, Mena Young-Harris of Temple Hills, Maryland, who attends Allen Chapel and has three grandchildren living in Southeast, agreed that more social services are needed, but not necessarily at the expense of police resources.

“Not all police are bad,” said Young-Harris, whose husband retired from the District’s police force. “My grandchildren will walk up to a police officer and say ‘hi.’ That’s what we are teaching them, to not be afraid of a police officer.”

But Seema Sadanandan, criminal justice director for the city’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter and one of the forum’s hosts, said the District’s disproportionate arrest rate is cause for concern.

“Despite dramatic changes in the African-American population here in D.C., more than 92 percent of [the city’s jail population] is African-American,” she said. “We have not moved … any major police reform in the District.”

Sadanandan cited a 2013 ACLU study of marijuana-related arrests in D.C., which the organization says highlights the racial disparity in the city.

According to the report, blacks were eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. In neighboring Prince George’s County, blacks were twice as likely arrested for the same offense.

Although slightly more than half of the city’s residents are black, 91 percent of all marijuana-related arrests were of blacks.

In terms of money, the District spent nearly $18 million to enforce marijuana possession laws, more than $6 million in judicial and legal costs and $2 million to incarcerate people convicted of marijuana-related violations — money that could otherwise be used for public health and safety, drug treatment programs and police-community relations, the report stated.

But at-large Councilwoman Elissa Silverman said the city can and should spend money on both policing and resources for residents.

“We should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. I don’t think it is an either/or proposition. We should have our uniformed officers on the street,” she said after the forum. “We do spend a fair amount of money on things like workforce development. I think the resources are there.”

Three more discussions on policing will take place this month in the District: “Black Women and Girls” from 6-9 p.m. Thursday at Florida Avenue Baptist, 623 Florida Ave. NW; “South Asian Arab and Muslim Forum” at Impact Hub, 419 7th St. NW, at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 15; and a town hall forum at First Baptist Church, 712 Randolph St. NW, at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 17.

Monica Hopkins-Maxwell, executive director of ACLU’s D.C. chapter, said more forums will be scheduled later this year.

“Our goal is to be present in all eight wards,” she said.