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03 May 2015
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DAYVON LOVE: WHITE SUPREMACY PUTS BLACK FIGURES IN “INSTITUTIONAL POSITIONS”

Sticky Post By On May 3, 2015 With 1 Comment


Dayvon Love co-founder of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle and member of the Baltimore United Coalition stated “Baltimore just shows the sophistication of white supremacy, and how it operates” on Saturday’s “Melissa Harris-Perry” on MSNBC.

Love said, “I think people reduce racism to individual white folks in leadership, black people who are succumbed to white folks, and I think Baltimore just shows the sophistication of white supremacy, and how it operates, how it takes black figures, put[s] them in institutional position,s to give the veneer of justice, when really the same institutional arrangement exists.”

Earlier, he argued, “I think there’s an important distinction to be made between our Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and our city State’s Attorney Marilyn J Mosby. Many people, I think, would say that our mayor is someone who has capitulated to the corporate structure of the Democratic Party, and many of the corporate interests in this city. And I think, as we see, what happens in our society writ-large is that oftentimes individual black people are put in positions of power or leadership in white-controlled, dominating institutions, which brings more black people into those institutional arrangements, which undermines our ability to develop a kind of communal, independent black institution-building as the basis of our work.”

Love also said that after the announcement of the charges brought against six officers in Freddie Gray’s death, “you saw black people out in the streets, celebrating, hugging each other. We actually went out there giving away food, and giving away pamphlets that had information about how to deal with law enforcement, just talking about the work that we’re doing, and getting people’s information. So, it was just such a beautiful scene, and to me, what was an amazing contrast, was contrasting that with the level of militarization around it. So, while you have all these black folks that are embracing each other, loving each other, affirming each other, in the presence of that, it almost seems like, you know, the institution of civil society doesn’t want us to do that, given all the military presence around.”

02 May 2015
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Dr. Greg Carr Details The History Of Abuse & Resistance In Baltimore & America

Sticky Post By On May 2, 2015

Dr. Greg Carr, Chair of the Afro-American Studies Department at Howard University, joined guest host Ray Baker to discuss the historical significance and share some much-needed perspective on the Baltimore Uprising on NewsOne Now.

Carr explained the situation in Baltimore is unique in that it is happening in real-time, but “in the larger sense historically, it’s not unique at all. It’s pretty much business as usual.”

“Violence by the state against the oppressed is consistent with the police doing what they do — they protect property first and foremost and in terms of anti-Black violence, that too is not new.”

When asked about the role violence and poverty has played in the narrative coming out of Baltimore, Dr. Carr said, “All poor people have is their dignity.”

“In the case of Baltimore, when you touch somebody’s dignity, all they have left — they can identify what you value. This country values property.”

Later in the segment, Carr says, “The history of this country is violence and often you don’t make a lot of progress by pleading for your humanity, you make progress by toughing the thing people hold dear, saying, ‘there is going to be a price to pay if we do not make progress.’”

Carr defined violence and the use of violence in different ways to make it clear that a group of people are serious about making progress.

“There is a weapon that we have used, we saw it used in Montgomery in 1954 and ’55. We saw it used since then — the boycott. Some people might call the boycott economic violence. John Crawford right here on the National Mall at a march after his son was killed in a Wal-Mart said ‘I’m not buying anything at a Wal-Mart anymore.’”

That might be considered an act of economic violence — you have not destroyed any property — you in fact told them ‘keep that property.’ That has been arguably the most effective tool that Black people have had.”

Dr. Carr continued posing the following hypothetical proposition to those demanding change and those withholding change, “Perhaps we should withdraw our monetary support, our economic support for certain ventures until changes are made.”

Near the end of Baker and Carr’s conversation, the Chair of Afro-American Studies at Howard University made a very profound statement referencing the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag saying, “The history of this country teaches us that Black death matters more.”

“Once you cross that line of death, particularly with young women and young men, which we’ve seen this spate of violence — what you see is our community respond differently — we draw the line and say that’s it, we won’t take this anymore.”

Watch NewsOne Now guest host Ray Baker and Greg Carr discuss the Baltimore Uprising through a historical lens with Dr. Carr’s unique perspective of the events that have led the city of Baltimore and the nation to this point in time in history above.

 

01 May 2015
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BALTIMORE COMMUNITY GROUPS APPLAUD DECISION TO CHARGE OFFICERS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEATH OF FREDDIE GRAY

Sticky Post By On May 1, 2015

Baltimore United for Change, a broad coalition of community groups, has released the following statement in response to today’s announcement:

“Almost three weeks after Freddie Gray was illegally arrested, stuffed into a police van and taken for a deadly rough ride, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that her office will be indicting the six officers involved in his death. 

From the very beginning, one of our key demands has been the appropriate indictment of those responsible for the senseless and unwarranted death of Freddie Gray. Today, that demand was met. 

These indictments are only one step toward full restoration of justice for the Gray family and the Baltimore community. A trial is still pending. But, nothing will ever bring Freddie Gray back to his family and community. 

Additionally, conditions in Baltimore city for communities affected by the curfew, which has been selectively applied, are unacceptable. Many residents cannot access healthy food and have difficulty moving around the city. The overly militarized police tactics have done nothing to tamp down anger. It is our young community activists, faith leaders and concerned citizens who have kept our communities safe this week by working hand-in-hand with those taking the streets. 

We continue to demand the release of those who are being held without charge for protesting and the dismissal of outrageous bail amounts in certain cases. The State’s Attorney herself has acknowledged that public pressure was key to securing justice in the case. Baltimore should not sink to the new low of criminalizing protest.

Many have heard eloquent speeches from our regional leadership in the past few weeks. If they are actually committed to transforming our communities, there must be a serious commitment to strengthen our public education system, halt school closures, increase investment in Black communities through real jobs with a living wage and end the scourge of police violence once and for all. 

Baltimore United for Change will continue to fight for the rights of all of our city’s residents. We are encouraged by today’s news, but we must work to ensure there can never be another unjustified death at the hands of those we pay to protect and serve our communities. And it is our elected officials who must take decisive action to do just that.

 
 
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Baltimore United for Change is a broad coalition of groups seeking justice for Freddie Gray and an end to police violence. Members include: Baltimore Algebra Project, Baltimore BLOC, Casa De Maryland, City BLOC, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Tyrone West Coalition, Kinetics, Rev. Dr. Heber Brown and more

30 Apr 2015
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Why Baltimore’s protest movement is different than Ferguson’s

Sticky Post By On April 30, 2015
Pastor Gabriel Churn of West Baltimore's Union Temple Congregation leads his congregation in a prayer for peace in their neighborhood during a sunset prayer service on the sidewalk in front of their church near the scene of recent rioting over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray while in police custody in Baltimore, Maryland April 28, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg - RTX1AQKC
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The Baltimore riots have led to something previously unseen in the post-Ferguson civil rights movement: the almost immediate formation of an organized coalition of activists, with black churches at its foundation.

A new grassroots group called Baltimore United for Change has been formed as a result of the current strife in Baltimore. The coalition includes student groups, established nonprofits like Casa De Maryland and several local churches, which are serving as safe harbors during times of unrest. Jamye Wooten, one of the group’s lead organizers, also spent time working with faith communities in Ferguson Action.

“We see churches across the country coming together,” says Wooten. “The black church has an essential role to play in the empowerment of our communities.”

Many of the organizations from Baltimore’s new coalition have been working together on local issues for years, but when tensions rose last Sunday, new groups joined their network. Within days they had a new website and a framework for organized cooperation. This week they held community dialogues and launched a crowd funding campaign for the legal fees of arrested protesters, which has raised over $44,000 so far.

“We needed to centralize information, organize our efforts and foster long-term commitment,” says Wooten. The Baltimore coalition quickly built an online network for an interfaith, multi-racial movement to change the criminal justice system.

The group’s first goal is to change the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBoR), which gives police a 10-day window before they are compelled to speak when being investigated for misconduct.  “We are working to build capacity that goes beyond reaction,” says Wooten, “not jump from flash point to flash point, but to cooperate together for sustainable change.”

29 Apr 2015
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Sticky Post By On April 29, 2015

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