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Posts published in “Justice”

R.I.P. Rev. C.T. Vivian, 95, Civil Rights Movement Activist and MLK Adviser

Rev. C.T. Vivian receives 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama (photo: commons.wikipedia.org)

According to nytimes. com, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a civil rights organizer and adviser for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the struggle for racial justice a half-century ago, died at the age of 95 today at his home in Atlanta. Kira Vivian and Denise Morse, two of Vivian’s daughters, confirmed his passing.

C.T. Vivian was a Baptist minister and member of MLK’s inner circle of advisers, alongside the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy and other civil rights luminaries such as Julian Bond and Rev. Jesse Jackson.

To quote nytimes.com:

Vivian was the national director of some 85 local affiliate chapters of the S.C.L.C. from 1963 to 1966, directing protest activities and training in nonviolence as well as coordinating voter registration and community development projects.

In Selma and Birmingham, Ala.; St. Augustine, Fla.; Jackson, Miss.; and other segregated cities, Mr. Vivian led sit-ins at lunch counters, boycotts of businesses, and marches that continued for weeks or months, raising tensions that often led to mass arrests and harsh repression.

Televised scenes of marchers attacked by police officers and firefighters with cattle prods, snarling dogs, fire hoses and nightsticks shocked the national conscience, legitimized the civil rights movement and led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“Nonviolence is the only honorable way of dealing with social change, because if we are wrong, nobody gets hurt but us,” Mr. Vivian said in an address to civil rights workers, as recounted in “At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68” (2006), by Taylor Branch. “And if we are right, more people will participate in determining their own destinies than ever before.”

Cordy Tindell Vivian was born in Boonville, Mo., on July 30, 1924, the only child of Robert and Euzetta Tindell Vivian. His family moved to Macomb, Ill., when he was 6, and he later graduated from Macomb High School in 1942. He studied history at Western Illinois University in Macomb, but he dropped out and became a recreation worker in Peoria, Ill., where he joined his first protest, in 1947, helping to desegregate a cafeteria.

In 1945, Mr. Vivian married Jane Teague, who worked at a hardware store, and they had one daughter, Jo Anna Walker, who survives him. The couple separated amicably in the late 1940s and divorced later so that Mr. Vivian could marry Octavia Geans, in 1952. She was the author of “Coretta” (1970), the first biography of Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King. She died in 2011.

In addition to his daughters Kira, Denise and Jo Anna, Mr. Vivian is survived by another daughter, Anita Charisse Thornton; two sons, Mark Evans Vivian and Albert Louis Vivian; nine grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; 28 great-great-grandchildren; and two great-great-great-grandchildren. Another son, Cordy Jr., died in 2010.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/us/ct-vivian-dead.html

CBS Network Announces Plan to Commit 25% of Development Budget to BIPOC Creators and Projects

According to Variety.com, the CBS network has announced it will commit 25% of its script development budget to projects created or co-created by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) beginning with the 2021-2022 development season.

CBS also says it will target having a minimum of 40% BIPOC representation in their writers’ rooms  beginning in 2021-2022. The goal is to increase that number to 50% the following season. The network will also hire additional BIPOC writers on some of their series for the upcoming 2020-2021 season.

To quote from Variety.com:

“While steady progress has been made in recent years both in front of and behind the camera, change needs to happen faster, especially with creators and leadership roles on the shows,” said George Cheeks, president and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group.

“As a network with ambitions to be a unifier and an agent of change at this important time, these new initiatives will help accelerate efforts to broaden our storytelling and make CBS programming even more diverse and inclusive.”

News of the commitments comes as the entertainment industry, and the United States in general, continues to undergo a racial reckoning following massive civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

Under former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, the company had been frequently criticized for lagging behind competitors in terms of diversity and inclusion on both its broadcast network and in its executive ranks. Last year, former CBS executive Whitney Davis published a piece with Variety about the “white problem” at the company at large.

Read more: https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cbs-bipoc-development-writers-rooms-1234704857/

Nolan Davis, 8, Organizes Black Lives Matter March for Kids in Missouri

Children’s BLM protest organizer Nolan Davis (photo: Bailey Elizabeth Rogers)

“We are the children, the mighty mighty children. Here to tell you, Black lives matter!” hundreds of children chanted as they marched down sidewalks in Kirkwood, MO with their parents on Saturday, according to cnn.com.

Nolan Davis, 8, decided to organize the Black Lives Matter march for children in his hometown after attending a few other protests in the area with his mother Kristin Davis.

To quote cnn.com:

“Right after that, he asked me if he could have his own march so that he could let other people’s voices be heard,” his mother, Kristin Davis, told CNN.

So the two created a flyer for their “Children’s Black Lives Matter March” and shared it to Facebook, asking families to meet at Kirkwood Park.

“We thought that maybe 50 people would be there,” Nolan Davis said. “But there were like 700 people.”

Children of different races covered the sidewalks in chalk with phrases such as “Stop Racism” and “Be Kind to Everyone.” They marched with posters in their hands that read among other things “Black Children’s Futures Matter.”

Nolan Davis led the way with his poster that read, “Kids can make a change.”

Despite being a child in elementary school, Nolan Davis has already been taught the ways he needs to act differently in society compared to his White friends, such as playing with water guns only in the backyard “because you don’t want it to get mistaken for something else” or keeping the hood of his hoodie down, according to Kristin Davis.

As his White, adoptive mother, Kristin Davis acknowledged that she would never understand the fear that her Black son and daughter, five-year-old Caroline, would feel as they grow up. But she said she knew these talks were necessary to keep them safe.

“We’re preparing them for when they’re older and taller and bigger. When they’re not going to be perceived as cute little kids anymore,” she said.

Nolan Davis doesn’t like that there are different rules in society based on one’s skin color, which is why he organized the march.

He’s hoping he’ll inspire other children to use their voices and coe together to do the same.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Offers Free “Talking About Race” Web Portal

Portal Helps People Explore Issues Of Race, Racism And Racial Identity

At the end of May, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.

The online portal provides digital tools, online exercises, video instructions, scholarly articles and more than 100 multi-media resources tailored for educators, parents and caregivers—and individuals committed to racial equality.

A rash of racially charged incidents—from an altercation in Central Park to acts of police brutality resulting in the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks and the protests they provoked in cities around the country—prompted the Museum to move up the release date of Talking About Race. The portal is free and does not require registration or sign-up to use.

Since opening the museum, the number one question we are asked is how to talk about race, especially with children. We recognize how difficult it is to start that conversation. But in a nation still struggling with the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and white supremacy, we must have these tough conversations if we have any hope of turning the page and healing. This new portal is a step in that direction.

Spencer Crew, interim director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Research shows that many people feel they do not have the information needed to discuss race in a way that is candid, safe and respectful of other viewpoints and experiences.

“The portal offers a wealth of resources to inform and guide discussions—videos, role-playing exercises, targeted questions and more, said Crew.” “We hope that people will use this site to become more comfortable about engaging in honest dialogue and self-reflection.”

#AAMAM: From “Fight The Power” to “FTP” – Protest Songs for 2020 (LISTEN)

As Good Black News continues to celebrate African-American Music Appreciation Month, today we bring you a playlist reflecting our current times. In GBN contributor Marlon West‘s words:

“We are all in the midst of the largest demonstration for civil rights in history. People all over the globe have taken to the streets. 2020 has also brought new songs of protest by many artists including YG‘s “FTP,” Che Lingo‘s “My Block,” Tre Songz’ “2020 Riots: How Many Times” and others.

This playlist features those tracks, plus several hip-hop classics such as Kendrick Lamar‘s 2015 protest anthem “Alright,” Beyoncé’s “Formation,” Kendrick and Bey’s collaboration “Freedom,”  “U.N.I.T.Y.” by Queen Latifah, “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy alongside several civil rights anthems from the 1960s and 70s (Donny Hathaway‘s “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” Sam Cooke‘s “A Change is Gonna Come,” Marvin Gaye‘s “What’s Going On”).

Please enjoy. Stay safe and sane out there, you all.”

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:1TGI1JXpxz34lqIQEvcVAl”/]

(FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Title VII of Civil Rights Act Protects LGBTQ Workers

In an historic and majority 6-3 decision this morning, the United States Supreme Court ruled that workplace discrimination against LGBTQ workers is prohibited by federal law.

According to the New York Times, SCOTUS said the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

To quote nytimes.com:

“The vote was 6 to 3, with Justice Neil M. Gorsuch writing the majority opinion. He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

The case concerned Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex. The question for the justices was whether that last prohibition — discrimination “because of sex”— applies to many millions of gay and transgender workers.

The decision, covering two cases, was the court’s first on L.G.B.T. rights since the retirement in 2018 of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinions in all four of the court’s major gay rights decisions.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/gay-transgender-workers-supreme-court.html

HBO Documentary “True Justice” on Bryan Stevenson and Equal Justice Initiative Free to Watch Online (VIDEO)

Last week, Warner Bros. made Just Mercy, the 2019 feature film about attorney Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx free to view online all June.

HBO has done the same: True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality, which recently won a 2020 Peabody Award, is available for free online.

True Justice profiles Stevenson and his work at EJI seeking justice for the incarcerated poor and death row inmates in Alabama and the South, offers a searing indictment of the court system, and helps viewers see how the U.S. Supreme Court is historically and directly accountable for sustaining racial violence, white supremacy, and the exploitation of black people through the trajectory of decisions that leads from enslavement to lynching to the death penalty.

The documentary follows 30 years of EJI’s work on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned. Told primarily in his own words, True Justice shares Bryan Stevenson’s experience with a criminal justice system that “treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.”

You can watch it on eji.org, YouTube or below:

(paid link)

Three Other Officers Charged With Aiding and Abetting Murder of George Floyd

According to nytimes.com and The Washington Post, the other three officers present while Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by holding his knee on his neck for close to nine minutes have been charged in the case for aiding and abetting murder.

Chauvin’s charges have also been increased from third to second-degree murder.

To quote nytimes.com:

The three former officers, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting murder, court records show.

The fourth officer, Chauvin, 44, who was arrested last week, faces an increased charge of second-degree murder.

All four officers were quickly fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after video of the encounter emerged. Officers arrested Mr. Floyd on the evening of May 25 after a store employee called the police, saying that someone had used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes.

Read more: nytimes.com

Protest Options: A List of Links to Petitions, Donations, Resources and Education

Protest is powerful – so much so, it is listed as a right in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. But when marching is not an option, there are other ways to keep fighting for justice.

Good Black News offers sincere thanks to Jessie Davis and The Members of the UC San Diego Student Sustainability Collective (@sscucsd on Instagram & Facebook) for letting us share the relevant links and resources they have compiled:

SIGN PETITIONS

JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD: 

http://chng.it/Rtpbxv2CdK 

CHARGE THE MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICERS: 

https://www.change.org/p/change-org-the-minneapolis-police-officers-to-be-charged-for-murder-after-killing-innocent-black-man

JUSTICE FOR BREONNA TAYLOR: 

https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor/psf/promote_or_share?recruiter= (includes option to donate)

#JUSTICEFORBRE: 

https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforbre-breonna-taylor-officers-fired?source=coc_main_website (includes the option to film a 30 second video) 

FIGHT FOR BREONNA:

https://justiceforbreonna.org/

#RUNWITHMAUD:

 https://www.runwithmaud.com/ (includes option to call)

JUSTICE FOR AHMAUD ARBERY:

 https://www.change.org/p/liberty-county-distric-attorney-justice-for-ahmaud-arbery 

JUSTICE FOR TONY MCDADE: 

https://www.change.org/p/black-lives-matter-activists-justice-for-tony-mcdade

HANDS UP ACT PETITION:

https://www.change.org/p/us-senate-hands-up-act

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE INTERNATIONALLY: 

Postal codes: 

90015 – Los Angeles, California

10001 – New York City, New York

75001 – Dallas, Texas

TEXT:

TEXT JUSTICE TO 668366

TEXT FLOYD TO 55156

TEXT RESIST TO 50409

TEXT ENOUGH TO 55156

DONATE

AFFECTED FAMILIES

GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL FUND: 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

DONATION TO AHMAUD ARBERY’S FAMILY:

 https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud

JUSTICE FOR BREONNA TAYLOR: 

https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor/psf/promote_or_share?recruiter= (petition includes option to donate)

BAIL FUNDS

LOUISVILLE COMMUNITY BAIL FUND

https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/louisville-community-bail-fund

NATIONAL BAIL FUND NETWORK:

bit.ly/localbailfunds (find any protesting city & contribute to their bail funds)

Cities to consider:

Atlanta, Georgia

Chicago, Illinois

Columbus, Ohio

Denver, Colorado

New York City, New York

Check the news for updates for MANY other cities where your donations can help.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ANTI-RACISM IN POLICING
https://www.lawyeredu.org/justice-resources/

BLACK VISIONS COLLECTIVE, MINNESOTA: 

https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/ (includes option to donate)

RECLAIM THE BLOCK DONATION: 

https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2?fbclid=IwAR1mozFqHICrjSN7tPDAkjJAwnxdkw8VbVVI6xygTPscsvzC-lQfhEaey0U

BLM DONATION: 

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.

https://www.naacpldf.org/

CONTACT REPRESENTATIVES

CONTACT MINNEAPOLIS REPRESENTATIVES EMAILS: 

citizeninfo@hennepin.us 

police@minneapolismn.gov 

minneapolis311@minneapolismn.gov 

policereview@minneapolismn.gov

MINNEAPOLIS SENATORS: 

https://www.senate.mn/members/

HOUSE MEMBERS:

https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/list

CONTACT KENTUCKY REPRESENTATIVES:

Louisville Police Dept Twitter: @lmpdky Instagram: @lmpd.ky

Louisville Mayor Twitter: @louisvillemayor Instagram: @mayorgregfisher

Kentucky Governor Twitter: @govandybeshear

Instagram: @govandybeshear

DOCUMENTARIES/FILMS/SHOWS/PODCASTS 

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016) 

Director: Raoul Peck

Brief synopsis: “ The film explores the history of racism in the United States through James Baldwin’s reminiscences of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcom X, and  Martin Luther King Jr. as well as his personal observations of American History ” 

Let the Fire Burn (2013) 

Director: Jason Osder

Brief synopsis:  “A film about the events leading up to and surrounding a 1985 stand-off between the black liberation group MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department.” 

When They See Us (2019) 

Director: Ava Duvernay

Brief synopsis: “It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park Jogger cae and explores the lives and families of the five male suspects who were falsely accused then prosecuted on charges related to the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City.” 

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015) 

Director: Stanley Nelson Jr. 

Brief synopsis: “The first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther Party, its significance to the broader American culture, its cultural and political awakening for black people, and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.” 

Ferguson: A report from occupied territory (2015) 

Director: Orlando de Guzman

Brief synopsis: “This film goes to the frontlines of the national dialogue regarding racial profiling and police brutality; a dialogue triggered by the killing of Michael Brown in August of 2014and offers invaluable insights from Ferguson residents for whom the burdens of discrimination and injustice are a daily fact of life.”

Do Not Resist (2016)  

Director: Craig Atkinson 

Brief synopsis: “Filmed over two years in 11 states, this film examines the increasingly disturbing realities of the rapid militarization of police forces in the United States.” 

13th (2016) 

Director: Ava Duvernay

Brief synopsis: “The film explores the “intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States” it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime.”

Black Power Mixtape

Director: Göran Olsson

Brief synopsis: “A documentary film that examines the evolution of the Black Power movement in American society from 1967 to 1975 as viewed through Swedish journalists and filmmakers.” 

What Matters

Podcast organized by BlackLivesMatter

https://blacklivesmatter.com/whatmatters/

Brief Synopsis: “What Matters combines documentary narrative with interviews to illuminate specific, timely issues, aiming to create safe dialogue to promote freedom, justice, and collective liberation.

What Matters is a salve and a safe place where we can connect, learn, think freely, and transform the world. New and upcoming episodes include interviews with Rep. Karen Bass, BLM South Bend, Donna Brazile, Dr. Cedric Dark, Jane Fonda, and Marc Lamont Hill.”

READING

The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X

Martin and Malcolm by James Baldwin 

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis

Assata Shakur’s Autobiography 

The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House by Audre Lorde 

No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear By Toni Morrison 

Why I Won’t Vote by W. E. B. DuBois

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Political Prisoners, Prisons, and Black Liberation by Angela Davis 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

GBN’s Month of Stevie: Stevie Wonder’s Protest Music (LISTEN)

Stevie Wonder takes a knee at Global Citizens Festival 2018 (photo: YouTube)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Good Black News has been honoring Stevie Wonder‘s 70th birthday with posts and playlists all month long (links below). On this last day of May and in light of this past week’s events, GBN finds it only fitting to close out our celebration with some of the most powerful, enduring, soul-stirring music Stevie’s ever created and offered to this world – his protest music.

From “Living For The City” to “Big Brother” to “Black Man” to “Love’s In Need of Love Today” to “Happy Birthday” to “Pastime Paradise” – even his early covers of “Blowin’ in The Wind” and “A Place In The Sun” – Stevie Wonder has always used his artistry to protest racism and injustice while striving for healing, equity, love and “Higher Ground.”

Thank you, Stevie Wonder for using your heart, mind and genius to speak for the voiceless and fight on behalf of the oppressed. May your music continue to help fortify us for the long journey ahead:

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:2FEKkFxEY84CAGGUWfv31b”/]