Why Cities Burn

Why Cities Burn

The flood of disturbing images and information coming from Kenosha, Wisconsin seems never ending--and perhaps it is. Kenosha isn't the first American city to burn this summer because of police brutality and killer cops causing the deaths/maiming of persons of color, and it more than likely will not be the last. But why? Why do cities burn? Why have we as a society never come to terms with how the establishment's inherently wealthy, white male, capitalistic ways tend to destroy rather than build up the people? 

This week's blog lets the people answer that question for themselves in memes, articles and videos. Then we'll ponder "Why should cities burn?"  Is burning out old hatreds an effective way of ridding ourselves of this cancer of white supremacy? Finally, it considers what might be the only possible option left open to us, "We should let cities burn."

A seventeen-year-old  white youth seeped in a culture of gun worship, looking for a chance to use his weapon against those he was taught were the "enemy" instead of his fellow citizens, may have done us a big favor by exposing the corrupt underbelly of the status quo. Sure, many will want to go back to sleep once they've crowned their "Not-Trump" into power. They falsely believe that only Trump and his supporters could have created this dystopian nightmare that is called the United States of America in the year 2020, but the injustices of centuries and the policies of the last forty years belie their shallow assessment. 

No one who has taken political office in the last half century has any less blood on their hands. No one. Never doubt for one second that America is an equal opportunity bigot factory. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Elijah McCain and countless others, along with the paralyzing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, demonstrate our collective prejudice. 

Americans burned their cities even before 1776 to make their voices heard, and they will continue to do so until the phrase "with liberty and justice for all" is actually worth the paper it's printed on.

The spark that set Kenosha alight...

https://youtu.be/FymA6b03kZk

Why Cities Should Burn

The following video, Why Jacob Blake's family will have to fight for justice,  is quite revealing. In the same city where Jacob was shot seven times in the back, a cop killing of another young man in 2004, Michael Bell, demonstrates the lengths the Kenosha Police Department is willing to go to cover up their culpability. Michael's father has worked long and hard to seek justice for his son's murder and has much to share on this episode of The Real News Network's "Police Accountability Report." https://michaelbell.info

https://youtu.be/R_Q78RiPrwE

More about Kenosha and its history of racism:

Sheriff Beth is a special kind of racist, funded by a big budget and an extreme-right community, where soon-to-be vigilante killers like 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse are supported and cheered on. Consider what the sheriff said two years ago after a 16-year-old African American teen was in a car accident in Kenosha. The teen and several others in the car were ultimately charged with shoplifting:

“These people are a cancer on society. These five people need to go away. They are not an asset. I think what we need to do as a society and lawmakers — we need to come up with laws that at a certain threshold, these people just disappear. We build large warehouses and we have individual cells, and we put them in it. We don’t let them back out. We don’t let them carjack cars while we’re pumping gas at gas stations. We don’t let them do drive-by shootings anymore. If they don’t want to get a job, if they don’t want to be an asset to society, we remove them from society. We don’t let these people go out and have more children. We separate them. We put them in places. What we’re doing is we’re allowing our communities to be completely destroyed for our children and our grandchildren and the futures to come."  --Don't Expect Justice for Black People in Kenosha if Sheriff Beth Has His Way, https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/64862-rsn-dont-expect-justice-for-black-people-in-kenosha-if-sheriff-beth-has-his-way

Why would any kid want to go to another town with a mass-murdering weapon for other than the chance of shooting said weapon? This isn't a teen going to the pinball arcade with friends--this was a deliberate journey to enter a potentially dangerous situation. We have created a culture that worships death and inspires its young people to think killing is a worthwhile endeavor. Perhaps such an immoral society doesn't deserve to exist any longer?

We Should Let Cities Burn
(Because this is what it might take to make lasting change)

The above meme speaks for itself. Should these people even be considered "parents"? Should we allow cities of  "parents" such as these to continue to exist and raise more hate-filled youths?

Pro-athletes boycott their play-off games and make moving statements about injustice against persons of color in the following video. If well-paid professional athletes of color are sharing their own stories of police harassment, then there's no way to deny the depth of our society's dysfunction. It's systemic.

https://youtu.be/gAjD8bMxl6M 

Why don't we talk about this? Why should a child have possession of a firearm? Why should a child be allowed in a situation that wasn't for children? Why should the color of his skin allow him to leave the scene of the crimes he committed? Why should the police only "protect and serve" him?

Related links:

https://truthout.org/articles/kenosha-police-chief-blames-murdered-protesters-for-their-own-deaths

 https://youtu.be/L3X1BG-IdLQ

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/26/jacob-blake-kenosha-police-protests/

https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/64819-aclu-demands-kenosha-officials-resign-following-the-shooting-of-jacob-blake  

https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/64820-white-supremacists-and-militias-have-infiltrated-police-across-us-report-says 

https://jacobinmag.com/2020/08/kyle-rittenhouse-qanon-donald-trump-the-right

https://www.insider.com/kenosha-race-relations-jacob-blake-police-kyle-rittenhouse-shootings-2020-8

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-kenosha-protests-riot-kitchen-20200829-6v4f7qmaizb33cai63z4zonulm-story.html

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/kenosha-militia-facebook-reported-455-times-moderators

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/victims-kenosha-jacob-blake-protest-202413691.html
 

From Facebook:

FROM A COMMENT: 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse-Lewis’ mom Wendy drove him and his AR-15 rifle from Antioch, IL to Kenosha WI to “defend” businesses that he does not own from riots.The underaged shooter in Kenosha has had several run ins with the law. If he were black he’d be called a thug.

He ended up shooting 3 people, 2 died and 1 lost his arm.

Since some people are always quick to pull up shooting victims prior criminal history in order to justify their ill fate, I thought I’d post the shooters instead.
2016 was a banner year for the 13 year old criminal. He was operating a firearm while intoxicated and charged with disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernal.

In 2018, he has a charge for disobeying officers.

White Supremacists would be quick to state that he’s a drug addict and a criminal if he was a POC. They would say he deserves everything that happened to him. Instead they’re calling him a “patriot” and started a GoFundMe account for his legal fees.

*** 

 From Color of Change:

Jacob Blake survived. That’s not what they intended.Call 1-844-262-5256 to demand justice now. 


Yesterday, Jacob Blake’s attorney confirmed that the young father of five survived and is now paralyzed from the waist down.¹ 

Jake surviving is nothing short of a miracle, but our fight for justice has just begun. The Kenosha police officer who tried to murder Jacob Blake in broad daylight has not been named or arrested for attempted murder. As far as we know, that racist, violent cop is still on the police force and out in the streets. 
And last night, just hours after Kenosha police thanked armed white vigilante militia members for coming out to a protest,² a militia member murdered two protesters and wounded one other while police looked the other way. The shooter was part of a network of white nationalist Facebook groups encouraging vigilante violence against protesters.³ 

Here’s what you can do right now to demand justice for Jacob Blake and the protesters in Kenosha: 

1. Make calls to demand the police officer is fired and arrested immediately. 

Call 1-844-262-5256 to tell Kenosha Mayor Antaramian, DA Michael Graveley, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul now:

“I'm demanding that you immediately fire and arrest the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. This officer attempted to murder a father in front of his children and is clearly unfit to hold a position as a police officer.”

2. Spread the word on social media. We can’t stop demanding justice for Jacob Blake and his family. 

Click here to tweet at Kenosha Mayor Antaramian, DA Michael Graveley, Kenosha Mayor John and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul now. 

Click here to share the petition on Facebook now.

3. Submit a short letter to the editor of your local newspaper to demand justice for Jake. 

Letters to the editor are one of the fastest, easiest, and most powerful ways to speak to a large audience about the things you care about. 

Click here to submit a brief letter calling on Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, District Attorney Michael Graveley, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to fire and arrest the cop who attempted to murder Jacob Blake. We’ll provide all the talking points you need, and send the letter to local papers in Toledo instantly. 

4. Sign the petition to demand Facebook take responsibility for helping white nationalists and armed militias coordinated violence against protesters in Kenosha.  

Last night at the protests in Kenosha, a white nationalist armed with an assault rifle shot and killed two protesters and wounded another after coordinating with other white nationalists and armed militias on Facebook. 

Sadly, this isn’t the first time white nationalist groups have mobilized on the platform. Facebook promised to ban hate groups after it was used to organize 2018’s “Unite the Right” rally. And just last week, they promised to ban far-right militias as threats increased, but white nationalists were still able to use Facebook to organize to harm protesters last night. Facebook must stop hate group activity on the platform immediately, and prevent any further organized violence. 
Sign the petition now.    

We are sick and tired of police officers terrorizing Black communities and murdering us with impunity. 

We can’t let what happened to Jacob Blake happen again. That means fighting to hold killer cops accountable, investing in our communities, and dismantling the systems that put Black lives in danger. And we will not rest until we have won justice for Jake, his family, and Black people everywhere who are just trying to breathe. 

Community members in Wisconsin are already taking to the streets to demand justice. They are being met with more violence from police and vigilante white militias.⁴ Organizers need our help, and we will not let them fight alone. 

Stay in the fight with us: Start making calls at 1-844-262-5256, send tweets, submit a letter to the editor to demand justice for Jacob Blake, and sign the petition to demand Facebook stop helping armed militias attack protesters.
We can’t sit on the sidelines in this critical moment in the fight for Black lives. 

Until justice is real,
-- Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References:
1. Attorney Ben Crump: Jacob Blake not likely to walk again after police shooting. FOX 5 Atlanta. 25 August 2020.
2. Cops thanked militia members minutes before deadly Wisconsin shooting. New York Post. 26 August 2020.
3. 17-year-old arrested in killing of 2 people in Kenosha. Associated Press. 26 August 2020.
4. Arrest in Overnight Shooting During Unrest in Kenosha, Wis. The New York Times. 26 August 2020.

***

Just days after the Kenosha police department shot Jake Blake seven times in the back, a white supremacist vigilante came into town to murder two anti-racist protesters. The officer still has his job and police let the racist murderer walk away. Kenosha police chief Daniel Miskinis has blood on his hands. He must be fired ASAP. Sign the petition.

Kyle Rittenhouse, a vocal white supremacist and Trump supporter, who was obsessed with guns and dreamed of being a cop, traveled across state lines with an AR-15 style rifle strapped across his body. For hours, he stalked and harrassed anti-racist protesters while “protecting”  property that wasn’t even his. His hate-filled night ended by him murdering two protesters and leaving one badly injured. His last victim will likely lose his arm. 

And how did Kenosha police officers and the national guard respond to him? They let him walk away. And just before the shooting as he harassed protesters, they gave him water, and thanked him for protecting them.

The police chief Daniel Miskinis even blamed the protesters for being murdered by a vigilante. When a reporter asked him about the murders of two protesters, Miskinis’ vile words speak for themselves: “Had persons not been out involved in violation of [the curfew], perhaps the situation that unfolded would not have happened.”

Chief Miskinis words are disgusting and indicative of the department he runs. Not only does he oversee the department that attempted to murder Jake Blake, but he’s ordered his officers to teargas protesters and let a racist murderer walk free.

Mayor John Antaramian and the Kenosha City Council must fire him immediately. 

Demand police chief Daniel Miskinis be fired now!

After Jake Blake was shot seven times in the back in front of his three small children, Chief Miskinis went on record blaming Jake for getting shot. The police even handcuffed Jake to his hospital bed as he fought for his life -- disgrace!³

Miskinis repeatedly attempts to smear victims of his police department and the white vigilantes who carry out their anti-Black agenda. We know what this game play is and we’ve seen it before. A police officer brutalizes or murders someone, so the police department goes on a smear campaign against the victim to clear any wrongdoing. But we won’t stand for it. 

Sign the petition: Tell Kenosha to fire police chief Daniel Maskinis for blaming Jake Blake for getting shot.

These violent acts of racism are emboldened by people in positions of power like Chief Maskinis. By excusing Kyle’s behavior, Miskinis is opening the door for this very act to happen once again. And Black people, and those fighting for justice, will once again be the victims.

We don’t look to police chiefs to be beacons of justice, because they represent an inherently unjust institution. We must hold them accountable for the danger they put our communities in. And as long as Chief Miskinis continues to allow blatant white supremacy to take Black lives and our anti-racist allies, Black Kenoshans are not safe while he’s in a position of power.
Fight with us. 

Until justice is real,
--Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:
1. "Teenager Kyle Rittenhouse arrested, charged for Kenosha shootings" Aljazeer.
2. "Kenosha Police Chief Blames Protesters for Their Own Deaths, Defends Vigilante Groups" Slate.
3. "Jacob Blake handcuffed to hospital bed, father says" Chicago Sun-Times.

***

A white nationalist just murdered two protesters demanding justice for Jacob Blake in Kenosha.

While demanding justice for Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man who police recently shot in the back 7 times, paralyzing him from the waist down, an emboldened white nationalist militia member opened fire on protestors, shooting and killing two of them, and wounding a third.¹ This white nationalist man was encouraged and emboldened to carry out such violence through a network of Facebook groups in which white nationalists openly discussed how they planned to violently harm protesters, with no intervention from Facebook until after the protesters were killed.² Even worse, Facebook knew about the group and their calls to violence before the shooting happened and chose not to act.³

Sadly, this isn’t the first time white nationalist groups have mobilized on the platform to carry out real-world violence. Facebook promised to ban hate groups after it was used to organize 2018’s deadly “Unite the Right” riot. And just last week, they promised to ban far-right militias as threats increased, but white nationalists were still able to use Facebook to organize to harm protesters last night. 

We cannot allow this to continue. Tell Facebook to stop fueling white nationalist hate groups. 

Color Of Change has spent five years now trying to get Facebook to combat hate on the platform, and while we’ve won important changes to limit the impact of online hate, Facebook still refuses to fully reckon with the ways their company elevates white nationalists and other hate groups. Facebook, for example, automatically recommends hate group pages and content to those who use the platform, indoctrinating people in white nationalist ideologies. In some cases, Facebook will even automatically create pages for new hate groups.⁴ 

Facebook must IMMEDIATELY ban white nationalist hate groups from organizing on their platform. 

Black people are facing undue suppression, harassment, and hate on Facebook. We can’t afford for Facebook to keep radicalizing white nationalists, who, through their interactions on Facebook, are driving real-world violence against protesters. White nationalist violence against us must end, and it’s Facebook’s job to step in and stop it. 

Tell Facebook to stop fueling white nationalist organizing, once and for all.

Until justice is real,
—Jade, Arisha, Rashad, Johnny, Amanda, Marie, Evan, Imani, Eesha, Gabrielle, Samantha, Jennette, Ciera, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

---

References:

1. “17-year-old charged with homicide after fatal shooting during Kenosha protests, authorities say,” The Washington Post, August 26, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261616?t=9&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
2. Lauren Hough, Twitter, August 25, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261617?t=11&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
3. "Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha shooting," The Verge, August 26, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261626?t=13&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
4. “White Supremacist Groups Are Thriving on Facebook,” Tech Transparency Project, May 21, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261618?t=15&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha

Astroturfing

 

Astroturfing

by Coast Watcher

Armed protest against the American government is nothing new. America’s Founding Fathers made the right to free speech the First Amendment for a reason. They held that it’s more important than the right to bear arms, which is only mentioned in the second in regards to a “well-regulated militia.” So why is it that a number of right-wing groups feel they have the right to threaten the use of weapons to overturn any law they don’t agree with? Probably because they know their political viewpoint is so repugnant to the general public legitimate, democratic processes won’t work for them.

So it is with the recent protests outside—and inside—the State House in Lansing, Michigan. In April right-wing groups numbering around 3,000 coalesced in the city, causing a deliberate gridlock which prevented emergency vehicles from gaining access to a hospital. Some heavily-armed members of this protest forced their way into the building and were only prevented from surging into the chamber itself by a police cordon. The aim of the protest was to force Michigan Governor Whitmer to rescind her stay-at-home order, issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

“This arbitrary blanket spread of shutting down businesses, about putting all of these workers out of business, is just a disaster. It’s an economic disaster for Michigan,” coalition member Meshawn Maddock said in a statement reported by The Associated Press. “And people are sick and tired of it.”

This statement flies in the face of the polls which show 75% of the Michigan public support the measures imposed by Governor Whitmer.

The protests became an ongoing campaign under the banner “Michigan United for Liberty.” Fascist paraphernalia was clearly displayed. Death threats were made against the governor on social media. A Facebook event titled “Operation Gridlock” created by the Michigan Conservative Coalition and Freedom Fund called for people to drive around the Capitol building.

“Come prepared for a traffic jam in Lansing! We want gridlock. Do not park and walk—stay in your vehicles!”

Some commentators on social media compared Whitmer to Hitler. One protester showed up with a fishing rod, with the line tied in a noose around the neck of a Barbie doll. The governor issued a warning:

“I don't want to see people congregate period,” said the governor. "We know that contributes the spread. But, if people are going to come down and congregate, do it in a responsible way.”

She further warned that any weaponry brandished outside the State House would result in arrests being made. In the event the Michigan Legislature canceled its session scheduled for Friday to avoid the possibility of an armed confrontation.

Most of these “champions of freedom” did show some awareness of the need for social distancing, but more than a few failed to be considerate of their fellow citizens by wearing masks.

So-called President Trump has praised the protesters, calling them “very fine people.” He’s throwing his weight behind those (mainly Republican) governors who are pushing to reopen their states. But the American public isn’t buying it. A recent survey showed 63% of over 2,000 respondents were concerned that the economy would reopen too quickly and cause a lethal second wave of COVID-19.

A little history lesson

It’s not the first time the government has caved in under pressure from a noisy and well-armed minority. The 1990s saw a number of incidents—including the tragic Waco, Texas fire at the Branch Davidian complex which killed 83 people. The notorious Cliven Bundy incidents of 2014 saw federal law enforcement back away from direct confrontation with armed groups who blocked highways in Texas. Bundy had clashed with the Federal Bureau of Land Management over $1 million in unpaid grazing fees. After two weeks the government backed down. Any luster Bundy gained in the eyes of the public faded rapidly when he publicly made a number of derogatory and racist comments about African-Americans and then President Obama.

A similar situation arose in 2016 when self-styled militia, the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, staged a takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon. The siege lasted two months, one person was killed and twelve arrests made. The place was trashed, and no restitution made.

Astroturfing

So, what makes these apparently spontaneous protests so different from those which erupted in the 1990s? The answer is—they’re fake.

The notorious Tea Party protests of the first decade of this century inspired a method by which right-wing groups could wield a great deal of influence over a susceptible public and possibly swing public opinion their way. The so-called Freedom Works, the instrumental force behind the Tea Party, is said to be holding virtual town halls with GOP members of Congress and using these and social media events and hook-up facilities to activate thousands of supporters across the nation. Anyone who’s aware of the deviousness of Trump's Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, shouldn’t be surprised to learn the DeVos family foundation helped fund Facebook ads for the Michigan protests. Freedom Works is organized by right-wing pundit Stephen Moore—who just happens to manage the huge financial investments of Dick and Betsy DeVos.

Other right-wing groups vocally opposing COVID-19 shutdown measures include Americans for Prosperity, an organization funded by Charles Koch, and the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Of course, what these various attempts to reopen America for the benefit of the super-rich really want is for ordinary citizens to join the protests. It makes the events seem more legitimate. In other words, ordinary folks being suckered into fake protests make them appear more organic.

The so-called Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 saw just how lethal a virus can be when introduced into our crowded modern world. The advent of rapid air-transport has increased that danger by an order of magnitude. People are aware of how dangerous COVID-19 is. They are aware that an infection can be contracted in the most innocent of circumstances. Right-wingers scoff at sensible people for being paranoid or over-sensitive. Darwin’s theory states that the most adaptable creatures are the ones which survive. It seems the right-wingers are not going to be among them. Only sense and self-isolation until the number of new cases of COVID-19 has fallen to zero for more than two weeks will see us through the worse. 

Please resist the rush to reopen America at gunpoint. Only the rich will benefit from it. There's no need to sacrifice your life or the lives of your loved ones to make a capitalist richer.

BIO: Coast Watcher continues to self-isolate and watch the situation unfold. His motto? Better safe than sorry! He invites you to join him in his quest to keep you alive. No thanks are necessary, but if you feel motivated, support progressive causes to make the world a more just and healthy place.

Eye Opening Articles:

Koch Brother Funding Attacks Against Shelter-in-Place Orders

https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/surviving-koch-brother-funding-attacks-against-shelter-in-place-orders-QhlRdnbuKk2naCZnGeA-6g

Anti-Lockdown Protests

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_anti-lockdown_protests#Michigan

Michigan Protest Operation Gridlock

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-protest-gretchen-whitmer-operation-gridlock-lansing/

Protestors Heading to Lansing Again

https://www.wxyz.com/news/coronavirus/protestors-heading-to-lansing-again-today-for-judgment-day-rally-against-stay-home-order

Six Other Times Armed Militia Groups Took On the Government

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/photos/2016/01/history-standoff-militia-government

Astroturf Protests An Ugly, Cynical New Strategy to Divide People

https://www.salon.com/2020/04/20/trump-and-the-astroturf-protests-an-ugly-cynical-new-strategy-to-divide-america/

Who's Behind the Reopen Protests

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/opinion/coronavirus-protests-astroturf.html

US Lockdown Protests May Have Spread Coronavirus Widely, Cellphone Data Suggests

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/18/lockdown-protests-spread-coronavirus-cellphone-data

How the Woodrow Wilson Influenza of 1918 and the TrumpVirus Pandemic of 2020 Brought Fascism to America

https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/62995-rsn-how-the-woodrow-wilson-influenza-of-1918-and-the-trumpvirus-pandemic-of-2020-brought-fascism-to-america

***

From Color of Change: 

Sleeping in your home -- yet another privilege Black people are not afforded.
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was in her home in Louisville, KY on March 13th when officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department barged in her home, exploded her door, fired off more than 20 bullets, and ultimately took Breonna’s life.¹ What should have been an average morning was turned into a tragedy by murderous cops.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought someone was burglarizing their home and fired his gun to defend himself. But in turn, the officers responded with a hail of bullets. And to make matters worse, Kenneth Walker is now being charged with attempted murder for firing his gun. The officers did not announce themselves when they entered their home -- Kenneth was simply defending his family to intruders who didn’t belong there.

The police were at the wrong house and they had no reason to be there in the first place. Breonna was not charged with a crime, there was no warrant, no warning, and no announcement that police were at her door that morning. And the person they actually were searching for had already been arrested more than 10 miles away.² Breonna was simply existing in her home and that was enough reason for cops to take her young Black life. 

Her murderers, officers Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove, still have their jobs and are on the force even more than two months after their illegal misconduct and murdering an unsuspecting person in their home. 

We’re joining Breonna’s mother in calling on Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and the Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas Wine to immediately fire the three officers and drop the charges against Kenneth Walker. 

#JusticeforBre: Demand the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor are fired and charges against Kenneth Walker are dropped.

Eight times. Breonna Taylor was shot eight times and her killers have faced no consequences.

Time and again, Black women face police harassment and violence at the hands of bloodthirsty racist cops who see no value in Black lives. Even after they took her life, they continued to criminalize her by referring to her as a “suspect” in the press. We know that Breonna was not a suspect and neither was Kenneth Walker. And even if they were “suspected” of a crime, this does not give officers permission to grossly enter someone’s home and murder them in cold blood. It is clear that they are charging Kenneth with attempted murder in an attempt to coverup the egregious misconduct at the hands of their officers. 

We will fight until we see justice and we need you to join us. Last year, Color Of Change members joined us to demand that the officers who brutalized Dyma Loving, a young Black woman in Miami, were fired from the force.³ After we brought attention to her case and the constant abuse of state-sponsored violence on Black women, the officers were ultimately charged for the assault and fired from the Miami-Dade Police Department. 

Just like Dyma’s family, Breonna’s family deserves some semblance of justice. Breonna was an EMT that lived her life on the frontlines as an essential worker, and when we need people like her the most during this pandemic, cops ended her life. We need to hold these officers accountable. Black people are not safe as long as these cops have jobs. 

These officers have got to go. Demand they be fired immediately and charges against Kenneth are dropped.

Until justice is real,
--Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Clarise, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:
1. "Who was Breonna Taylor? What to know about the Louisville EMT shot and killed by police" Courier Journal.
2. "Breonna Taylor died but she wasn't target of investigation. Police had 'no-knock' warrant, records show" USA Today.
3. "Police Officer Responsible For Assaulting Dyma Loving Formally Charge" Essence.

***

 ICE detention centers are on the verge of becoming coronavirus superspreaders. Hundreds of people have tested positive. There are reports of soap shortages. Social distancing is a pipe dream. 

Last week, two ICE guards died from COVID-19. In overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, it's only a matter of days before detention centers become graveyards. Detention centers aren't designed to keep people healthy -- they are designed to keep families apart. 

These people have loved ones waiting for them. They are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles. 
 
There's no way ICE can stop COVID-19 from spreading like wildfire in their jails -- which also puts surrounding communities at risk. It's urgent that the government release and reunite families immediately -- the alternative is potentially thousands of deaths inside detention centers and beyond.
 

Add your name right now, and DEMAND that ICE release and reunite families, before more people lose their loved ones.

ADD YOUR NAME

Detainees tell us they're forced to use toothpaste to wash their hands. One was threatened with solitary confinement for making a face mask. The cruelty is unspeakable, intentional, and will cost lives. 

It's not who we should be as a nation. We must double down on our values of compassion, care, and empathy. We should come together and stand shoulder-to-shoulder to confront this virus that threatens us all. 

But of the roughly 34,000 people in ICE custody, ICE is refusing to consider releasing the vast majority of families in detention. ICE has the life-or-death power to release detainees, and they're barely budging.
 
Now is not the time for ideology -- it's time for humanity. For compassion. For care. 
 
We need to raise insurmountable pressure, and force their hand. Please add your name today, and tell ICE to release and reunite families from detention -- before it's too late.

ADD YOUR NAME

Thanks for all you do,
Paola Luisi, Co-Director
Families Belong Together 

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Stronger than the People In Power? We will be if you support independent media!

It's hard to know whom you can trust nowadays. Mainstream media has one goal and one goal only: to make money off its viewers/readers/listeners. Independent media exists because indies simply want to share truth without the manipulation of corporate bias.

Support an indie publication today--give whatever you can spare to The Revolution Continues.  Every little bit helps. Thank you!

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