http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/dooley-speaks-out-corruption-allegations-ferguson-time-office
Monday, December 22, 2014
Bob McCulloch: Interview on KTRS December 19, 2014
See also NYT story on this, confirming that Witness 40 was not at the scene, yet was still brought before the Grand Jury.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Tef Poe: How to Spot Violent Agitators at a Peaceful Protest
"Look for the people who are holding the weapons."
RFT: http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2014/12/tef_poe_protest_violence.php
RFT: http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2014/12/tef_poe_protest_violence.php
Thursday, December 18, 2014
MUSIC & MUSICIANS OF #Ferguson
Music and Musicians of #Ferguson... compiling
Lauryn Hill, Black Rage (with commentary by Daniel Jose Camacho, Curator Magazine)
Kendrick Lamar...Untitled, "...tell them we don't die, we multiply..."
Lauryn Hill, Black Rage (with commentary by Daniel Jose Camacho, Curator Magazine)
Black Rage is founded on two-thirds a personRapings and beatings and suffering that worsensBlack human packages tied up in stringsBlack Rage can come from all these kinds of things…Tef Poe (War Cry, "...racism is a conduit to white power...this ain't yo daddy's civil rights movement")
Tef Poe’s RFT Blog: “Hip-Hop is Failing Us” and “The Mike Brown Rebellion Has Begun”
Shaun King’s DailyKos History of Police Brutality Music List
Lil’ Boosie, Fuck the Police: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nof5tK6Mtqw
J Cole, Be Free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl4gG5MorBg
Kendrick Lamar...Untitled, "...tell them we don't die, we multiply..."
Reading Assata Shakur's autobiography, then comes Obama's Cuba thaw, and of course, this: struggle over her freedom
Notes on Assata Shakur, inspiration for many Ferguson activists, in exile in Cuba, NJ Feds want her back now that relations with Cuba may thaw...
Now, the #HandsOffAssata Campaign: http://www.assatashakur.com/. With background and info on FBI COINTELPRO history.
Assata's words, recited by activists after #Ferguson & #BlackLivesMatters actions:
2014128: Stephen Crockett, The Root NJ Authorities want Assata Shakur Back from Cuba to Finish Life Sentence
20141219 Shaun King, Daily Kos If Assata is a terrotist, then Timothy Loehman, Daniel Pantaleo, and Sean Williams are terrorists.
Now, the #HandsOffAssata Campaign: http://www.assatashakur.com/. With background and info on FBI COINTELPRO history.
Assata's words, recited by activists after #Ferguson & #BlackLivesMatters actions:
It is our duty to fight for our freedom.It is our duty to win.We must love each other and support each other.We have nothing to lose but our chains.
2014128: Stephen Crockett, The Root NJ Authorities want Assata Shakur Back from Cuba to Finish Life Sentence
20141219 Shaun King, Daily Kos If Assata is a terrotist, then Timothy Loehman, Daniel Pantaleo, and Sean Williams are terrorists.
Corporate Education Reform (Charters, TFA, High-Stakes Testing, Teacher Discipline, i.e. VAM) = Heading into collapse?
By Anthony Cody.
There is growing evidence that the corporate-sponsored education reform project is on its last legs. The crazy patchwork of half-assed solutions on offer for the past decade have one by one failed to deliver, and one by one they are falling. Can the edifice survive once its pillars of support have crumbled? Read the entire article
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
How many ways to express racism on social media?
Social media is said to be a new and 'revolutionary' movement tool. However it is also a vehicle for anti-movement 'reaction' of various kinds, much of it, in the context of Ferguson, comprised of deeply racist attacks. This is perhaps intensified by the anonymity of social media, though much of this more and less veiled racism is expressed publicly, and with attribution. These reactions reveal an often hidden (or at least hidden from certain publics) language and sentiment of racist ideology. How do we interpret and understand the worlds expressed here?
Compiling examples of racism & racist use of social media. (Under construction, thoughts and examples)
1. Trolls. Twitter phenomenon -- a vocabulary of racism
2. Comments. (Post-Dispatch finally turned off commenting on its editorials because of the vitriol).
3. Photoshop/media manipulation (Imgur): http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/12/riverfront_times_photo_goes_viral_after_being_edited_to_seem_super_racist.php
4. Facebook (check the Police Association's publicly accessible comments page & the cop talk blog page).
5. Blogworld/extremist media world...
6. Racist movements, in and outside of the digital space (KKK, community expressions against the NAACP march, bar offering a Michael Brown drink special…)
Compiling examples of racism & racist use of social media. (Under construction, thoughts and examples)
1. Trolls. Twitter phenomenon -- a vocabulary of racism
2. Comments. (Post-Dispatch finally turned off commenting on its editorials because of the vitriol).
3. Photoshop/media manipulation (Imgur): http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/12/riverfront_times_photo_goes_viral_after_being_edited_to_seem_super_racist.php
4. Facebook (check the Police Association's publicly accessible comments page & the cop talk blog page).
5. Blogworld/extremist media world...
6. Racist movements, in and outside of the digital space (KKK, community expressions against the NAACP march, bar offering a Michael Brown drink special…)
Stanford CREDO Director: Free Market Doesn't Work in Education...
10th Period: UPDATED Stanford CREDO Director: Free Market Doesn...: This post has been updated to include Dr. Raymond's complete comment on the effect of markets in education. The quote was taken from the...
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
WITNESS 40: Waiting for more on this to come in: 'Witness 40': Exposing A Fraud In Ferguson | The Smoking Gun
Was Witness 40 even there? And, is Witness 40 (self-proclaimed bipolar racist), reliable? Did FBI throw out her testimony? What does the use of this witness as main defense of Darren Wilson suggest about the Grand Jury process and Bob McCulloch? Need some more answers on this.
'Witness 40': Exposing A Fraud In Ferguson | The Smoking Gun
and Shaun King (and Chris Hayes) on Witness 40: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/12/1351303/-Hannity-s-favorite-witness-for-Darren-Wilson-is-a-self-admitted-racist-with-severe-memory-loss
Riverfront Times on Witness 40, serial racist commenter, bipolar, history of false representations of knowledge about criminal cases, is this for real?
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/12/sandra_mcelroy_witness_40_in_ferguson_grand_jury.php
McCulloch confirms Witness 40 was not at the scene.
'Witness 40': Exposing A Fraud In Ferguson | The Smoking Gun
and Shaun King (and Chris Hayes) on Witness 40: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/12/1351303/-Hannity-s-favorite-witness-for-Darren-Wilson-is-a-self-admitted-racist-with-severe-memory-loss
Riverfront Times on Witness 40, serial racist commenter, bipolar, history of false representations of knowledge about criminal cases, is this for real?
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/12/sandra_mcelroy_witness_40_in_ferguson_grand_jury.php
McCulloch confirms Witness 40 was not at the scene.
How have the region's political and economic actors responded to Ferguson?
-- in progress, still compiling --
Military and Police Response
Amnesty for warrants
STL City Govt:
20141204: Civilian oversight bill reintroduced to STL Board of Alders
MO Attorney General
20151218: Missouri Sues 13 St Louis Suburbs Over Predatory Traffic Fines (NYT)
MO Governor
Ferguson Commission
Non-Profits
Churches *"Ferguson Forward" slogan also being used by a local church.
The Regional Business Council started the fund with a $10,000 donation in the hopes that others would join in and help. Thank you to the kind and generous people who have stepped up since that inaugural donation to show the Ferguson community our support. The Regional Business Council is a St. Louis business organization set up to improve the quality of life in the bi-state St. Louis region. North County Regional Development Association is the 501(c)(3) arm of North County Inc. an economic and community development organization serving the North St. Louis County community.
#FergusonRebuild, #RebuildFerguson. Peter Kander, Missouri Sec'y of State, through promoted tweets, raising money to, well, the hashtag proclaims it. http://www.gofundme.com/fergrebuild "Secretary of State Jason Kander on December 11, 2014 announced that he partnered with the Regional Business Council and North County Incorporated to create #FergusonRebuild, an initiative that will provide non-governmental grants to businesses in Ferguson and the surrounding area in partnership with the Reinvest North County Fund."
Wash U
#WashUVoices: Wash U 'Voices'
WUMS/DBBS: See also: http://dbbs.wustl.edu/resources/Pages/Many-Identities-One-Community.aspx
Military and Police Response
Amnesty for warrants
STL City Govt:
20141204: Civilian oversight bill reintroduced to STL Board of Alders
MO Attorney General
20151218: Missouri Sues 13 St Louis Suburbs Over Predatory Traffic Fines (NYT)
MO Governor
Ferguson Commission
Corporations & Business
20140902 Centene plans claims center with up to 200 jobs in Ferguson area
20140918 Emerson pledges money for educ, job training 'Ferguson Forward'
20150112 Dave Spence starts Ferguson 1000 Jobs; takes group to Harvard
20140918 Emerson pledges money for educ, job training 'Ferguson Forward'
20150112 Dave Spence starts Ferguson 1000 Jobs; takes group to Harvard
Non-Profits
#HealSTL (Antonio French) "turning a moment into a movement"
Churches *"Ferguson Forward" slogan also being used by a local church.
@ILoveFerguson: "Supporting small businesses w/ immediate and long term relief in #Ferguson. Donate atbit.ly/ILOVEFERGUSON - 501(c)3 ILoveFerguson.com"
The Regional Business Council started the fund with a $10,000 donation in the hopes that others would join in and help. Thank you to the kind and generous people who have stepped up since that inaugural donation to show the Ferguson community our support. The Regional Business Council is a St. Louis business organization set up to improve the quality of life in the bi-state St. Louis region. North County Regional Development Association is the 501(c)(3) arm of North County Inc. an economic and community development organization serving the North St. Louis County community.
#FergusonRebuild, #RebuildFerguson. Peter Kander, Missouri Sec'y of State, through promoted tweets, raising money to, well, the hashtag proclaims it. http://www.gofundme.com/fergrebuild "Secretary of State Jason Kander on December 11, 2014 announced that he partnered with the Regional Business Council and North County Incorporated to create #FergusonRebuild, an initiative that will provide non-governmental grants to businesses in Ferguson and the surrounding area in partnership with the Reinvest North County Fund."
We were holding a press conference for #FergusonRebuild when a fundraiser broke out. http://t.co/HvArwOyZTO pic.twitter.com/e6uru0LGJL
— Jason Kander (@JasonKander) December 11, 2014
Wash U
#WashUVoices: Wash U 'Voices'
WUMS/DBBS: See also: http://dbbs.wustl.edu/resources/Pages/Many-Identities-One-Community.aspx
- The St. Louis Regional Business Council and North County Inc. together established a “Reinvest North County” fund to assist businesses and school children affected in the wake of the unrest. We have made an institutional donation on behalf of Washington University. Those interested in donating can visit Reinvest North County.
- We have provided counseling support to the Ferguson-Florissant School District to better equip their employees to address the needs of their students.
- The PB&Joy Food Drive in support of Ferguson and neighboring communities is helping to put food on the dinner tables of families affected by the protests in Ferguson.
In Other News: The battle over public school reform is tied up in the national political struggle over workers' pensions (and rights). Institutional Investor offers a look at the political field.
The 2014 Pension 40: The Battle Is On: Our ranking of the 40 most influential players in U.S. pensions highlights new names swept up in an intensifying political struggle.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Young Activists vs. the Establishment - Notes on NAN, NAACP March -- (Journey for Justice) - Nov 28 - Dec. 5, 2014 & Notes on Inter-generational tensions NAN/NAACP & Youth Activists
Notes
An inter-generational schism has emerged in the aftermath of Michael Brown's shooting (or so it is represented by most). Why? What is happening here? Implications for movements?
(--still compiling--)
NAACP Journey for Justice (Canfield Drive to Jefferson City, MO)
20141128: STL American: NAACP march starts tomorrow
http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_f95c08a8-7778-11e4-8941-c312233af829.html
20141210: STLA: Mother, daughter brave racist taunts...(pic, right).
20141211: STLA: NAACP completes Journey of Justice
20141212: STLA: NAACP in Justice for All march
Justice for All March (NAN) - Dec. 13, 2014
20141215: The Root: Sharpton responds to Criticism that his Movement [NAN, National Action Network] Excludes Younger Activists
An inter-generational schism has emerged in the aftermath of Michael Brown's shooting (or so it is represented by most). Why? What is happening here? Implications for movements?
(--still compiling--)
NAACP Journey for Justice (Canfield Drive to Jefferson City, MO)
20141128: STL American: NAACP march starts tomorrow
http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_f95c08a8-7778-11e4-8941-c312233af829.html
20141210: STLA: Mother, daughter brave racist taunts...(pic, right).
20141211: STLA: NAACP completes Journey of Justice
In Rosebud, McFadyen-Ketchum said they encountered “hardcore” racism. “I really didn’t realize that people were that racist,” he said.
20141211: StL Public Radio on Reaction to march in Rosebud, MO 20141212: STLA: NAACP in Justice for All march
Justice for All March (NAN) - Dec. 13, 2014
20141215: The Root: Sharpton responds to Criticism that his Movement [NAN, National Action Network] Excludes Younger Activists
“We came here knowing that our voices would be excluded from the program,” said Janessa Robinson, an organizer with D.C. Ferguson, the group of activists who rushed the stage. “We had to force them to give us a voice.”
Robinson dismissed the march as “an event and not a representation of the movement” and chided national civil rights leaders for refusing to acknowledge the activists who have largely been responsible for the near-daily protests taking place across the country in the wake of nonindictments by grand juries after the killings, by police, of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York City.
20141213 Another March on Washington?.... Steven W Thrasher (Guardian)
20141213 Another March on Washington?.... Steven W Thrasher (Guardian)
Insights on city politics, from STL American's Political EYE: The Ferguson Commissions that weren’t - St. Louis American: Political Eye
The Ferguson Commissions that weren’t - St. Louis American: Political Eye: Once there was a Ferguson crisis, there was going to be a Ferguson Commission. The first player to push for the idea was the office of Mayor F…
Despite discrepancies, Dorian Johnson consistent in accounts of Brown shooting - St. Louis American: Local News
STL American December 15, 2014
Notes
The quote from McCulloch seems a bit disingenuous. A case like this and one inadvertently omits the closest witness?
"It was brought to my attention that I omitted the FBI interview of Dorian Johnson. Upon review of the files, I discovered that I had inadvertently omitted a number of witness interviews and a few other documents which had been presented to the grand jury," he wrote. "It should be noted that the sworn testimony of these witnesses, including Johnson, was released on November 24, 2014."
Despite discrepancies, Dorian Johnson consistent in accounts of Brown shooting - St. Louis American: Local News: (CNN) -- Dorian Johnson, who was walking with Michael Brown before Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown in August, told remarkably similar…
Notes
The quote from McCulloch seems a bit disingenuous. A case like this and one inadvertently omits the closest witness?
"It was brought to my attention that I omitted the FBI interview of Dorian Johnson. Upon review of the files, I discovered that I had inadvertently omitted a number of witness interviews and a few other documents which had been presented to the grand jury," he wrote. "It should be noted that the sworn testimony of these witnesses, including Johnson, was released on November 24, 2014."
Despite discrepancies, Dorian Johnson consistent in accounts of Brown shooting - St. Louis American: Local News: (CNN) -- Dorian Johnson, who was walking with Michael Brown before Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown in August, told remarkably similar…
ATHLETES, ACTIVISM, RACISM, APOLOGY: The athlete as "accidental activist" (Zirin) & racialized politics of the "apology" in the US...something to sort out (Tamir Rice was a 12 year old boy, killed by Cleveland Police; John Crawford was executed in a Walmart. Both were unarmed..)
20141215: Shaun King: In demanding apologies, police unions show white supremacy is a core value (Daily Kos)
20141215 Travis Waldron (Think Progress) Cleveland Police demand apology.... 20141215 All in w Chris Hayes (MSNBC) Police Union Chief calls killing of 12-year-old justified; and emotional, thoughtful reflections by Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins "justice means that the innocent should be found innocent...those who do wrong should get their due punishment, ultimately it means fair treatment...a call for justice shouldn't warrant an apology." 20141216 Dave Zirin (The Nation) Movements, athletes, "accidental activist"  |
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins wears a shirt calling attention to the police shooting of Tamir Rice before an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, in Cleveland.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO
|
Neither John Crawford or Tamir Rice broke 1 LAW when they were killed within 2 seconds by OHIO police & they want the @Browns to apologize?
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) December 15, 2014
No. Stop it. Cleveland Police: You don't get to ask for an apology for a shirt. You get to offer one for #TamirRice and #TaneshaAnderson
— No Justice No Peace (@drumbeats4peace) December 15, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Charter schools in St. Louis team up to boost special education : News
Charter schools in St. Louis team up to boost special education : News
Notes
Does not seem to be a sustainable model (depends on fund-raising, philanthropy).
Are pro-charter stories being pushed on the media by corporate interests in the face of growing evidence that charters are part of the problem, not part of the solution?
Notes
Does not seem to be a sustainable model (depends on fund-raising, philanthropy).
Are pro-charter stories being pushed on the media by corporate interests in the face of growing evidence that charters are part of the problem, not part of the solution?
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Monday, December 8, 2014
Assignment 8: Public events, representation and experience. More anger, action at Ferguson Commission meeting : News
Assignment 8: Compare this representation of the second Ferguson Meeting (Dec. 8, 2014), with various twitter feeds from/regarding the same meeting. Would be better if one were also present at the meeting itself, to triangulate. Even better with interviews and engagements with participants.
Notes, Dec. 8, 2014. 11:26 PM Having been reading Tweets on the Ferguson Commission's second meeting this evening, I then check the article posted to the Post-Dispatch site. The article is unobjectionable (til further review). However, absent, on first glance, from the Post-Dispatch report: On Twitter we see a different story: The PTSD spoken of by those who reacted viscerally, emotionally, and with outrage to Chief Dotson's attempt to establish a single narrative of events. People also reacted to heavy police presence, itself a trigger for those already traumatized by police action. Finally, there was a sense of indignation that Chief Dotson would speak in a way that sought to justify police actions, including the killing of Vonderitt Myers, while Vonderitt's parents were present, and the meeting itself was being held close to the site where Vonderitt was killed.
How does a public event get represented? How does it get experienced? What does this say about the state tactic of creating a "commission" as a path to supposed solutions?
More anger, action at Ferguson Commission meeting : News
Addendum, 12:15 AM. And, here's reporter David Hunn's own earlier tweet, left, from the meeting (with a response), that gets at some of the things that don't make it to the newspaper article itself:
Addendum, Dec. 9, 2014, 12:43 PM. Consider St Louis Public Radio's report (J Rosenbaum) on the event, with some audio of Chief Dotson's remarks and audience feedback.
Addendum, Dec. 11, 2014. 9:50 AM. Here is the Ferguson Commission's own description of the meeting.
Notes, Dec. 8, 2014. 11:26 PM Having been reading Tweets on the Ferguson Commission's second meeting this evening, I then check the article posted to the Post-Dispatch site. The article is unobjectionable (til further review). However, absent, on first glance, from the Post-Dispatch report: On Twitter we see a different story: The PTSD spoken of by those who reacted viscerally, emotionally, and with outrage to Chief Dotson's attempt to establish a single narrative of events. People also reacted to heavy police presence, itself a trigger for those already traumatized by police action. Finally, there was a sense of indignation that Chief Dotson would speak in a way that sought to justify police actions, including the killing of Vonderitt Myers, while Vonderitt's parents were present, and the meeting itself was being held close to the site where Vonderitt was killed.
How does a public event get represented? How does it get experienced? What does this say about the state tactic of creating a "commission" as a path to supposed solutions?
More anger, action at Ferguson Commission meeting : NewsAddendum, 12:15 AM. And, here's reporter David Hunn's own earlier tweet, left, from the meeting (with a response), that gets at some of the things that don't make it to the newspaper article itself:
Addendum, Dec. 9, 2014, 12:43 PM. Consider St Louis Public Radio's report (J Rosenbaum) on the event, with some audio of Chief Dotson's remarks and audience feedback.
Addendum, Dec. 11, 2014. 9:50 AM. Here is the Ferguson Commission's own description of the meeting.
Chicago: Police Using Iraq/Afghan US Military Music-as-Intimidation Strategies on American Citizens?
You cannot make this stuff up. File under militarization? Or, are there historical precedents here in the USA?
Full story here: http://chicagoist.com/2014/12/08/cpd_squad_car_blasts_sweet_home_ala.php
For reference:
US Miitary used AC/DC in neighborhood operations in Iraq. From Boots on the Ground, (Clint Wills, ed), p. 277 (left).
US Military Interrogators also blast AC/DC, Eminem, Metallica to 'break' prisoners in interrogation sessions at Guantanamo and elsewhere. And music fused with combat missions, "Top 10 Songs for Combat."
Not The Onion: "Chicago Police Squad Car Blasts 'Sweet Home Alabama' At West Side #BlackLivesMatter Protest" http://t.co/uFQN2rSOni
— Jason Guthartz (@restructures) December 8, 2014
Full story here: http://chicagoist.com/2014/12/08/cpd_squad_car_blasts_sweet_home_ala.php
For reference:
US Miitary used AC/DC in neighborhood operations in Iraq. From Boots on the Ground, (Clint Wills, ed), p. 277 (left).US Military Interrogators also blast AC/DC, Eminem, Metallica to 'break' prisoners in interrogation sessions at Guantanamo and elsewhere. And music fused with combat missions, "Top 10 Songs for Combat."
Tactics, strategies, and symbolism: Fans' group burns Rams gear -- interpret & discuss
Group Burns Rams Gear, Boycotts Team Over Players' Hands Up Gesture
Steph Lecci - STL Public Radio
 |
Paul Eaton of Piedmont burns a Rams sweatshirt during an event calling for a boycott of the team on Sunday in Imperial.
Credit Stephanie Lecci
|
WUSTL alum Danielle Hayes reflects on race, racism and (high-school) student mobilizing in Cleveland, OH
"Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public." Dr. Cornell West
The Seniors and I have been tackling the origins of race and racism in Humanities. Last week, we spent two days in rigorous seminars in which we discussed Jim Crow Laws, the lack of Indictment for Officer Wilson, the shooting of Tamir Rice, James Baldwin's "Letter to my Nephew" and the Principles of Nonviolent Resistance. I drove home on Tuesday, feeling spent and simultaneously aware that I get to "go home" in a way that our students of color do not. As I was driving home on the Shoreway, police lights caught my eyes up ahead, and as I came out from underneath an underpass, I saw a mass of people move onto the highway.
I met eyes with a protestor who waved to me in invitation. I jumped out of the car, grateful for the opportunity to stand in solidarity, and joined in the powerful song of so many voices chanting "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, No Peace" or perhaps "Know Justice, Know Peace." We walked East along the Shoreway among dozens of stopped cars while other people began to block traffic heading in the opposite direction.
Just when I thought my heart could not swell up any more, I heard a familiar voice say "Ms.Hayes!" I turned around just in time to receive hugs from two of our seniors, Dion and Corey.
Students.
I was so honored to be marching alongside these young men, and to see them share their experience on Monday with their classmates. Dion later said, "I felt that we let the whole city know that we should not, and will not, let injustice continue. I feel like we made history that day, and I am so proud of Cleveland." Similar peaceful protests took place all over the country--in NYC, LA, Atlanta, Boston and other major cities and small towns.
May we be reminded by the words of Dr. Cornell West that our work--from the minutiae of our tone when speaking to an individual student to the massive task of transforming society--must spring from the same origin.
Ms. Danielle Hayes
Teacher | Humanities & Photography
Saint Martin de Porres High School
Cleveland, Ohio 44102
Teacher | Humanities & Photography
Saint Martin de Porres High School
Cleveland, Ohio 44102
Tactics, courage, women leading the way: Meet the BART-stopping woman behind “Black Lives Matter” (Grist)
Meet the BART-stopping woman behind “Black Lives Matter”
http://grist.org/politics/stopping-a-bart-train-in-michael-browns-name/
Picture is from, and see also: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/28/1348086/-Breaking-Black-Lives-Matter-Protesters-Shut-Down-BART-at-West-Oakland-Station#
From Heather Smith, Grist:
"Last Friday, I found myself trapped in a BART station in San Francisco, listening to an announcement that all train traffic into and out of Oakland was suspended due to “civil insurrection.” Because we live in the future, I was able to sit there, underground, and read about what was happening. About an hour earlier, a group of 14 people had walked into the West Oakland BART station, hung a banner over the side that read “Black Lives Matter” — the adopted slogan of those who condemned the recent decision of a grand jury to refuse to punish a police officer, Darren Wilson, for shooting an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo.
The protesters then walked into a BART car headed for San Francisco and locked themselves down to the safety rails inside with cables and bicycle u-locks. Then they locked themselves to each other, forming a human chain that extended out of the car and onto the platform. With the doors blocked, the train couldn’t leave the station. Their goal was to shut down BART for four and a half hours — the length of time that Michael Brown’s body lay in the street. … READ ON HERE."
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
This is a thing: Movement Spaces and Police Represssion, the MoKabe's Case. Show me what Democracy looks like - MoKaBe's gassing 11-24-14
MoKabe's coffeehouse, emerged as a center for organizers over days of struggle. The CopTalk blog and various others had already been attacking and threatening MoKaBe's. After the non-indictment, activists taking shelter there were gassed, some arrested, by police on November 24.
Video posted by @RebelutionaryZ (Original, uncut)
December 11, Riverfront Times story looking into the gas attack, police tactics, and Chief Dotson's responses. And, new video edited and released by activists (Video posted by @RebelutionaryZ), shows more:
Video posted by @RebelutionaryZ (Original, uncut)
December 11, Riverfront Times story looking into the gas attack, police tactics, and Chief Dotson's responses. And, new video edited and released by activists (Video posted by @RebelutionaryZ), shows more:
Monday, December 1, 2014
Tactics and Dramaturgy: The March and the 'Die-In' - From Wash U: December 1, 2014 (New York Times)
From the New York Times -- full story here: http://nyti.ms/1rPgi05
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Assignment #7: Analyze this. SLPOA calls for Rams players to be "disciplined" and to apologize for hands up gesture.
After some Rams players did this before the game on Sunday November 30, 2014:
The St Louis Police Officers Association made this statement:
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/11/30/stl-police-officers-association-condemns-rams-display/19721979/?hootPostID=56e4d621f410c5ee1ef0c0b0696f34f8
Some twitter activists considered the SLPOA language to be reflective of a plantation 'overseer's' mentality. Against the SLPOA's call for the NFL to punish these players, one commenter on the Deadspin story had this to say:
The St Louis Police Officers Association made this statement:
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/11/30/stl-police-officers-association-condemns-rams-display/19721979/?hootPostID=56e4d621f410c5ee1ef0c0b0696f34f8
Some twitter activists considered the SLPOA language to be reflective of a plantation 'overseer's' mentality. Against the SLPOA's call for the NFL to punish these players, one commenter on the Deadspin story had this to say:
The president of the SLPOA is Jeff Roorda, who inspires both strong support and vehement opposition in the rapidly polarizing field of St. Louis discourse on Ferguson. Shaun King explores some aspects of Roorda's political history here.
The Rams won the game that day, against the Oakland Raiders, 52-0.
The Rams won the game that day, against the Oakland Raiders, 52-0.
Public School Activism & Movements & the University Campus: The TFA Debate
Assignment #6: Analyzing strategy.
Social movement strategies: the (on-line) petition tied to a pledge for individual/institutional action (boycott/ban), circulated via Twitter.
A) Should university faculty take such positions? (whether you agree or not)
B) Where does this strategy fit into wider repertoires of contention?
C) What are the moral, empirical and ideological foundations (the knowledge claims) that sustain this strategy and this position?
https://www.change.org/p/university-faculty-ban-teach-for-america-recruiters-from-your-classrooms
Social movement strategies: the (on-line) petition tied to a pledge for individual/institutional action (boycott/ban), circulated via Twitter.
A) Should university faculty take such positions? (whether you agree or not)
B) Where does this strategy fit into wider repertoires of contention?
C) What are the moral, empirical and ideological foundations (the knowledge claims) that sustain this strategy and this position?
https://www.change.org/p/university-faculty-ban-teach-for-america-recruiters-from-your-classrooms
Analysis of twitter on Ferguson: a visualization
By Emma Pierson, on Quartz: http://qz.com/302616/see-how-red-tweeters-and-blue-tweeters-ignore-each-other-on-ferguson/.
And see the commentary at Fast Company: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3039123/infographic-of-the-day/visualizing-the-political-battle-over-ferguson-on-twitter
And see the commentary at Fast Company: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3039123/infographic-of-the-day/visualizing-the-political-battle-over-ferguson-on-twitter
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Assignment #5: Unpack white use of super-hero/cartoon character/wrestler metaphors & similes to describe blackness
#BlackLivesMatter Brown="demon"/"hulk hogan Rodney King="incredible hulk"/"Tasmanian Devil" Not a new playbook pic.twitter.com/wBPHP9Tyh1”
— LLS (@powwowasu) November 27, 2014
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Assignment #4: Dissect.
Protestors have left the area of Shaw & Klemm as SLMPD continues to protect the citizens of St. Louis #preservingpeace
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) November 26, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Assignment #3: Discuss.
Well done protesters on how you have conducted yourself on I44. Peaceful protest. Well done @slmpd protecting them on highway. #NonViolence
— Robbyn Wahby (@rgwahby) November 25, 2014
Assignment #2: Discuss.
Rioters continue to throw rocks and bottles at officers at W. Florissant & Solway. Officers are obligated to protect life and property.
— St. Louis County PD (@stlcountypd) November 25, 2014
Assignment #1: Discuss.
Our focus is to ensure the safety of the region, protection of property and protect the constitutional rights of citizens. #preservingpeace
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) November 25, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
On prominent Ferguson leaders
From Huffington Post, Nov. 21, 2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/21/ferguson-protesters-spokespeople_n_6193056.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/21/ferguson-protesters-spokespeople_n_6193056.html
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
COMMUNITY SUMMIT: MIKE BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION Nov. 1 8-4
All-Call for Education Equity!
Join us at the crossroads of Justice and Education to address racial inequality in Public Education.
Save this important date: Saturday, November 1, 2014,
8am-4pm at St. John's UCC Church, 4136 N. Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO.
Gamaliel St. Louis Metro and Metro-East
affiliates, MCU and UCM, with a coalition of partners will present their first
Education Equity Summit:
"Mike Brown vs. the Board of Education"
We need YOU there!
Be a part of constructive advocacy for Public
Education. We can do it - Together!
Registration is required. Call 314-367-3476<http://org2. salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?
key=-1&url_num=1&url=tel% 3A314-367-3476 >
or register on line
here<http://org2.salsalabs. com/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_
num=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly% 2F1vRbjcj