Trump rally on Juneteenth in Tulsa called 'slap in the face'

ELLEN KNICKMEYER and JONATHAN LEMIRE,
Associated Press•June 11, 2020

JUNE 1, 1921, THE TULSA WHITE RACE WAR

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Black community and political leaders are calling on President Donald Trump to at least change the date of an Oklahoma rally kick-starting his return to public campaigning, saying that holding the event on Juneteenth, the day that marks the end of slavery in America, is a “slap in the face.”

Trump campaign officials discussed in advance the possible reaction to the Juneteenth date, but there are no plans to change it despite fierce blowback.

California Sen. Kamala Harris and Tulsa civic officials were among the black leaders who said it was offensive for Trump to pick that day — June 19 — and that place — Tulsa, an Oklahoma city that in 1921 was the site of a fiery and orchestrated white-on-black attack.

“This isn’t just a wink to white supremacists — he’s throwing them a welcome home party,” Harris, a leading contender to be Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate, tweeted of Trump’s rally plans.

“To choose the date, to come to Tulsa, is totally disrespectful and a slap in the face to even happen,” said Sherry Gamble Smith, president of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce, an organization named after the prosperous black community that white Oklahomans burned down in the 1921 attack.

At a minimum, Gamble Smith said, the campaign should "change it to Saturday the 20th, if they’re going to have it.”

Trump announced the rally plan Wednesday afternoon. It comes as his harsh law-and-order stance appears to fall increasingly out of sync with a growing concern over police abuse of African Americans after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Trump campaign officials defended the rally.

“As the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth,” said Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to the Trump campaign. “President Trump has built a record of success for Black Americans, including unprecedented low unemployment prior to the global pandemic, all-time high funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and criminal justice reform.”

The Trump campaign was aware in advance that the date for the president’s return to rallies was Juneteenth, according to two campaign officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.

When the date was discussed, it was noted that Biden had held a fundraiser a year ago on Juneteenth. Although choosing June 19 was not meant to be incendiary, some blowback was expected, the officials said. But the campaign was caught off guard by the intensity, particularly when some linked the selection to the 1921 massacre.

Scheduling the highly anticipated comeback rally in Oklahoma, a state Trump won easily in 2016, raised eyebrows.

The campaign picked Tulsa's BOK Center, with a listed seat capacity of 19,199. The arena's Facebook page shows organizers calling off shows there by country singer Alan Jackson and other performers into mid-July, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

Arena marketing director Meghan Blood said Thursday that she didn't know yet about any plans for social distancing or other coronavirus precautions for Trump's rally, which would be one of the larger public gatherings in the U.S. at this stage of the outbreak.

Campaign officials said safety decisions would be made in coordination with local authorities. A disclaimer on the ticket registration website said attendees voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold the campaign liable for any illness.

The campaign officials said the Trump campaign picked Oklahoma because arrangements could be made quickly, for a variety of reasons: Oklahoma has a Republican, Trump-friendly governor; the state is not seeing huge numbers of coronavirus cases; and the arena was “turn-key” and could easily be opened for the rally. Moreover, the rally will be held up the turnpike from a district held by Rep. Kendra Horn, one of the Democrats the GOP feels is vulnerable this fall.

Campaign officials also wanted to hold the rally where they could all but guarantee a big crowd despite coronavirus concerns, according to the officials. Oklahoma is one of the most Republican states in the nation and Trump has not held a rally there as president, so it will likely deliver an enthusiastic audience eager to see him, the officials believed.

Tulsa, an oil center along the Arkansas River, has had its own marches, viral videos and troublesome police actions during this month's unrest.

On Tuesday, Tulsa police released video and said they were investigating officers who handcuffed and arrested two black teenagers for jaywalking. Video of the June 4 incident showed officers pinned one of the two unidentified teens stomach-down on the ground.

“Get off me! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” one teen shouts in the police video.

“You can breathe just fine,” the officer replies.

On Monday, a Tulsa police major played down police shootings of African Americans nationally by telling a radio show that statistically, “we’re shooting African Americans about 24% less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed.”

And on Wednesday, the same day Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum welcomed news of Trump’s rally pick as evidence of the city’s progress against COVID-19, Bynum apologized for remarks about a 2016 police killing of a black man. Bynum had said the killing was “more about the really insidious nature of drug utilization than it is about race.”

Nationally, as research brings to light more about the 1921 massacre, Tulsa increasingly is associated with the rampage in which white Tulsans razed a thriving black business community, killing as many as 300 people. Long dismissed by generations of white Tulsans as a race “riot," the May 31-June 1 events were marked this year by community memorials.

Oklahoma's black Democratic Party chairwoman also condemned Trump's rally plan. "A day set aside to commemorate the freedom of enslaved people must not be marred by the words or actions of a racist president,” Alicia Andrews said.

Community groups had earlier canceled a main Tulsa Juneteenth celebration because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some black Tulsans said they planned to turn out for public protests of Trump on that day. “There's definitely going to be demonstrating,” Gamble Smith said.

___

Lemire reported from New York City. Associated Press writer Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=TULSA

Trump stirs anger with plans for Juneteenth rally in Tulsa, site of huge massacre of African Americans

Trump stirs anger with plans for Juneteenth rally in Tulsa, site of huge massacre of African Americans


Courtney Subramanian, USA TODAY•June 11, 2020

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s decision to hold his first rally in three months in Tulsa, the location of one of the worst massacres of African Americans in U.S. history, has triggered controversy as he wrestles with criticism over his handling of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism.

Trump plans to visit Oklahoma on June 19 for the first of several big campaign events. It will be his first rally since an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 2. The trip comes after weeks of protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was pinned to the ground for nearly nine minutes under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer.

Trump put his large campaign rallies on hiatus for a few months while much of the country was locked down amid the coronavirus pandemic.

June 19, or Juneteenth, is also known as Emancipation Day and commemorates the date in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger traveled to Galveston, Texas, to inform residents that President Abraham Lincoln had freed the slaves and that slave owners had to comply with the Emancipation Proclamation.

This month, Tulsa marked a grim date – the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre in which a white mob ravaged a thriving African-American business community in the Greenwood District known as the "Black Wall Street." Estimates suggest as many as 300 people were killed, and scores of homes and businesses were destroyed.

Alicia Andrews, chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, said Trump was "thumbing his nose at the real issue of racial inequity."

"There's a man's words, and then there are his actions," she said. "Him coming here on that date, without making any outreach to the community, and saying it's for unity, it is a slap in the face."

Protesters walk from the Capitol to the White House during a march against police brutality and racism June 6. Demonstrations have been held across the USA after the death of George Floyd on May 25 while being arrested in Minneapolis.Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, tweeted Thursday that holding the rally in Tulsa was "overt racism from the highest office in the land."

Trump's campaign said the timing and location of the rally were deliberate, and his team views it as a chance to tout his "record of success for black Americans."

Trump faces rising criticism, including from Republicans, for his response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement – three words etched in yellow paint on a street outside the White House.

In the wake of Floyd's death and the outrage that followed, Trump has said little about racial inequality, focusing instead on restoring "law and order" in American streets and lambasting protesters as "thugs" and looters.

Members of Trump's own administration, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, distanced themselves from a decision to forcefully clear a park outside the White House of peaceful protesters so Trump could walk to nearby St. John's Church and hold up a Bible before television cameras. Milley said Thursday he had made a "mistake" in accompanying Trump on the walk

Mechelle Brown, program coordinator and tour guide for the Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, said the organization had not heard from the president or the Trump campaign about his planned visit and does not expect to.

"The community doesn't feel that Trump is genuinely interested in the history of the Greenwood district," Brown said, "and that his visit to Tulsa during Juneteenth, as we are commemorating the 99-year anniversary of the massacre, is insulting."

Brown said the black community in Tulsa was "incredibly anxious" about the rally.

"You have people who are proudly waving their Confederate flag against the backdrop of African Americans and others – white allies – who are continuing to protest George Floyd's death and police brutality," she said. "We just see the potential of there being a clash."

Senior Trump campaign adviser Katrina Pierson said in a statement that Trump's visit was entirely appropriate.

“As the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth, which is the anniversary of the last reading of the Emancipation Proclamation," she said. "President Trump has built a record of success for Black Americans, including unprecedented low unemployment prior to the global pandemic, all-time high funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and criminal justice reform."

A USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll released this week suggested the walk across Lafayette Square was a defining moment for the president. Nearly nine of 10 Americans heard about the incident in which police used smoke canisters, pepper spray and other irritants to clear peaceful protesters. Two-thirds of Americans, 63%, oppose the show of force, , and almost half, 44%, say they "strongly" oppose it.

The USA TODAY/Ipsos poll also found that 60% of Americans say they trust the Black Lives Matter movement to promote justice and equal treatment for people of all races – compared with 38% who say they trust Trump. Fifty-one percent say they trust presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

More: How police pushed aside protesters before Trump's controversial church photo

A Trump rally with rebel flags (a symbol of slavery and racism) in Tulsa, OK (the place of #TulsaMassacre) on Juneteenth (a day of emancipation recognition) is more than a slap in the face to African Americans; it is overt racism from the highest office in the land. #RejectRacism
— Congressman Al Green (@RepAlGreen) June 11, 2020

The president expressed vehement opposition to renaming military bases that bear the names of Confederate generals after top military officials suggested they were open to discussing changes. Trump argued that the bases are part of "a Great American heritage."

The Trump administration frequently touts its record for helping African Americans when confronted with questions about racial injustice but has offered little detail on plans to address systemic racism and police brutality. The White House said Trump is looking at several unspecified proposals on criminal justice while congressional Democrats are working to pass sweeping legislation to combat police brutality and racial bias. Sen. Tim Scott, the only African American Republican in the Senate, leads the GOP effort.

What is Juneteenth? We explain the holiday that commemorates the end of slavery

Trump's decision to revive his rallies comes nearly 100 days before some begin casting their ballots and is aimed at boosting his momentum as polls show him lagging against Biden, nationally and in battleground states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania.

"The Trump campaign wants to hit reset on the last few weeks," said Alex Conant, a GOP consultant who served as Marco Rubio’s communication director in 2016.

"Trump's actions during this tense time have endeared him with his base but turned off a lot of independent voters," Conant said.

Biden leads Trump in national polls by 8 percentage points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

USA TODAY Poll: Forceful clearing of Lafayette Square protest was defining moment for president and protests

The controversies over Trump's response to the Floyd protests echo the backlash he faced over his comments in 2017 about a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The rally was organized to protest the proposed removal of a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Trump refused to disavow white nationalists after a protester was killed, claiming there were fine people on "both sides."

The challenge for Trump in Tulsa will be his message and the audience before him at the downtown BOK Center, Conant said. His rallies tend to attract overwhelmingly white audiences, and Conant said even if the president offers a message of unity, the optics of the event could overshadow that.

"He can have a very broad and uniting message that's completely undone by optics surrounding the event," he said.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., welcomed Trump's visit.

"I think if anyone's going to celebrate Juneteenth, they'd be Republicans because it happens to be a Republican president that declared emancipation," he said. "I do think the president should spend some time talking on racial issues. It's an appropriate day. I think it's an appropriate place to be able to talk about it."

Andrews, the chair of Oklahoma's Democratic Party, doesn't expect a unifying message.

"He refuses to have a meaningful conversation on racial inequality, and his visit on June 19th is worse than insensitive, it's mean-spirited," she said. "Whenever our nation has been at a crossroads, he has not spoken up for unity. He actually stokes the fire of disunity."

Contributing: Joel Shannon, Susan Page and Sarah Elbeshbishi

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump stirs controversy with Juneteenth campaign rally in Tulsa

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=TULSA

TRUMP IS MAKING RALLY ATTENDEES SIGN A WAVER SO IF THEY CATCH THE CORONAVIRUS AND DIE, IT'S ON THEM NOT HIM

Business Insider via Yahoo News· 

Trump previously had to cancel several other campaign rallies due to restrictions put in place to...

How racist is the UK compared to other European countries?

Will Taylor News Reporter Yahoo News UK 11 June 2020


An EU survey commissioned in November shows racist experiences compared between states. (SOPA Images/Sipa USA)


Anti-racism demonstrations have been held across the world in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Protesters marching under the banner of Black Lives Matter have been taking to the streets in the wake of the 46-year-old’s death.

Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck to pin him to the ground as he pleaded for air.

Protesters say that racism is not confined to the US and a survey released in November by the EU showed nearly one in three people of African descent in 12 member states had experienced racist harassment in the last five years.

The UK was still a part of the EU at the time and was therefore counted as a member state by the body behind the survey, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.

View photos

Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been held across the UK and drawn attention to racism in the country. (SOPA Images/Sipa USA)More

The survey, Being Black in the EU, found 21% of people of African descent in the UK reported racial harassment in the last five years, the second lowest in the dataset.

Meanwhile, 20% of people in Malta reported the same, the lowest in the set, compared to 63% in Finland, the highest amount.

Across the EU states looked at, just 14% of incidents of racist harassment were reported to police.

The responses were based on weighted results from 5,803 people described as being of African descent from 12 member states.

Read more: Black history lessons 'should be taught in all schools'

Some 5% of the respondents experienced racist violence across all the states, including assault by police officer, and by member state this ranged from 14% in Finland and 13% in Ireland and Austria to 3% in the UK and 2% in Portugal.

Among the member states, an average of 10% of people of African descent had been stopped by police in the last five years and also believed that was due to racial profiling.

Between countries, citizens of Malta and Ireland were less likely to report they were stopped due to racial profiling (5%), with 7% of respondents in the UK saying they had been stopped due to race.

This compares to Austria, where 37% of respondents said they were stopped because of racial profiling, and Italy, where 17% said the same.

Across the states, 39% of the respondents said they felt they had been racially discriminated against within the previous five years, and one in four had felt discriminated against in the 12 months prior to the survey.

The highest perceived rates within those 12 months were in Luxembourg (50%), Finland (45%) and Austria (42%). The lowest were found in the UK (15%) and Portugal (17%).

Just 16% who said they were racially discriminated against reported or made a complaint about the most recent incident.

Black Lives Matter demonstrations have taken place across Europe, including in Berlin. (AP)More

Countries where respondents were more likely to report an incident were Finland (30%), Ireland (27%) and Sweden (25%), with the lowest reporting rates in Austria (8%), Portugal and Italy (both 9%).

The survey also looked at what percentage of the respondents were living in “severely deprived housing” compared to the general population.

This was defined as a house that is considered overcrowded and had either a leaking roof, rotting walls or windows, no bath/shower and indoor toilet, or was considered too dark.

Read more: PM fails to condemn Trump's 'horrendous' response to anti-racism protests

The group average across member states showed 12% of respondents were living in that kind of house, while 84% believed their skin colour or physical appearance to have been the main reason behind their most recent incident of discrimination as they looked for housing.

Some 8% of respondents in the UK were living in a severely deprived house, compared to 2% of the population.

In every member state surveyed, people of African descent were more likely to live in a severely deprived house. In Malta, 29% were, compared to 1% of the general population, in Austria 22% were, compared to 4%, and in Portugal 21% were, compared to 5%.

Some of the findings for some member states in the housing survey were considered “statistically unreliable” due to a small number of respondents. The lowest reliable findings were in Ireland, where 6% lived compared to 1% and 7% in Germany compared to 2% of the general population.

Speaking about the protests, Boris Johnson has said he understands “the very strong and legitimate feelings of people in this country at the death of George Floyd and of course I agree that black lives matter” while Labour leader Keir Starmer has urged him to “turbocharge” the government’s response to racial inequality.

Protesters rally against Philippine 

anti-terrorism bill

AFP•June 12, 2020

Critics fear the anti-terrorism legislation could open the door to a crackdown on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's opponents (AFP Photo/Miggy Hilario)

Hundreds of protesters rallied in Manila Friday against anti-terrorism legislation that critics fear would give Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sweeping powers to stifle dissent.

The bill, which has been approved by Congress and is expected to be signed into law by Duterte, would create a council of presidential appointees that could order warrantless arrests of people it deems are terrorists.

It also allows for weeks of detention without charge.
Activists fear the legislation could open the door to a crackdown on Duterte's opponents.

"They (authorities) shouldn't fool us that this terror bill is for terrorists. It's for all of us," said Neri Colmenares, an activist and lawyer.

Groups such as the kidnap-for-ransom gang Abu Sayyaf would continue killing regardless of the legislation, Colmenares told protesters who had ignored police warnings they were breaching coronavirus restrictions.

Protester Ana Celestial said she feared the bill would be the "death of democracy for all of us".

The legislation defines terrorism as intending to cause death or injury, damage government or private property or use weapons of mass destruction to "spread a message of fear" or intimidate the government.

The legislation defines terrorism as intending to cause death or injury, damage government or private property or use weapons of mass destruction to "spread a message of fear" or intimidate the government.

 Suspects could be held up to 24 days without charge in violation of a three-day limit in the Constitution, said rights group National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL).

The vague wording of the bill gives "almost absolute power to designate -- even wrongly, mistakenly or maliciously -- groups as 'terrorists'", NUPL said.

The United Nations' human rights office has also criticised the legislation, saying in a recent report that it "dilutes human rights safeguards".

But government officials say the alarm is overblown, citing provisions that exempt "advocacy, protest, dissent, stoppage of work... not intended to cause death or serious physical harm".

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said last week that "anybody who makes peaceful protests, they're not terrorists."

Authorities argue the Philippines needs additional powers to battle the multiple armed groups that regularly carry out attacks on police and civilians.

However, watchdogs note that on top of granting new powers to authorities, the legislation also strips away old safeguards.
The act would do away with penalties against law enforcement agents of up to $10,000 for every day a suspect was found to have been wrongfully detained, Human Rights Watch said.

Philippine activists protest anti-terror law despite threats

JIM GOMEZ and AARON FAVILA,
Associated Press•June 11, 2020

Philippine activists protest anti-terror law despite threats

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Hundreds of activists in the Philippine capital staged protests Friday against a proposed anti-terror law they say could be used to quash dissent, ignoring police threats that they could be arrested for violating coronavirus restrictions against large public gatherings.

The Anti-Terror Act, which Congress has sent to President Rodrigo Duterte to sign into law, allows the detention of suspects for up to 24 days without charge and empowers a government anti-terrorism council to designate suspects or groups as suspected terrorists who could then be subjected to arrests and surveillance.

Military officials have cited the continuing threat of terrorism, including from Abu Sayyaf militants, as reasons the law is needed.

Opponents say the legislation violates the constitution, which restricts detention beyond three days without specific charges, and could be misused to target government critics.

“They should not fool us into believing that this terror bill is for terrorists because it’s meant for all of us who are protesting and dissenting,” said Neri Colmenares, a former member of the House of Representatives who took part in a protest near the University of the Philippines despite police checkpoints set up to prevent massing on the sprawling campus.

The growing opposition to the legislation comes as the Philippine government already faces a chaotic mix of issues linked to the coronavirus pandemic, including a looming recession, record-high unemployment and widespread complaints over delays in the delivery of aid to millions of poor people.

At another protest about 300 workers wearing protective masks carried signs while traveling in a 50-car convoy from a democracy monument to the Commission on Human Rights.

“The government has mishandled everything from the pandemic to the economy,” labor leader Josua Mata said. “Now it’s using health restrictions as a flimsy cover to prevent the people from protesting.”

There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence at the protests, which were held as the Philippines marked its independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1898.

Opposition to the law has been mounting, with Catholic bishops saying the definition of terrorism under the legislation is so broad it could threaten legitimate dissent and civil liberties. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the largest group of lawyers in the country, and U.N. rights officials have also expressed concern along with nationalist groups and media watchdogs.

Once signed into law by Duterte, the legislation would replace a 2007 anti-terror law called the Human Security Act that has been rarely used, largely because law enforcers can be fined 500,000 pesos ($9,800) for each day they wrongfully detain a terrorism suspect.

Lawmakers removed such safeguards in the new legislation, which increases the number of days that suspects can be detained without warrants from three to 24.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and other security officials have played down fears the law could be misused, saying the legislation contains adequate penalties for abuse and won’t be used against government opponents.

The proposed legislation states that terrorism excludes “advocacy, protest, dissent, stoppage of work, industrial or mass action and other similar exercises of civil and political rights.”

Military officials back the law. AND THAT SAYS IT ALL

For years, government troops have been battling Abu Sayyaf militants who have been listed as terrorists by both the United States and the Philippines for ransom kidnappings, beheadings and bombings in the restive south.

In 2017, hundreds of militants affiliated with the Islamic State group laid siege to Marawi city in the south. Troops quelled the siege after five months in a massive offensive that left more than 1,000 people dead, mostly militants, and the mosque-studded city in ruins.

Black faith leaders mull next steps in wake of George Floyd's death

WHILE TRUMP IN VIOLATION OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT MEETS FOR GOVERNMENT BUSINESS; POLICE REFORM (SIC) AT A WHITE PROTESTANT MEGACHURCH IN DALLAS. WITH NO BLACK FOLKS ON HIS PANEL. NOR DID HE MENTION GEORGE FLOYD OR OTHER VICTIMS OF POLICE VIOLENCE.

LaCrai Mitchell, CBS News•June 12, 2020


After two weeks of protests, elected officials and community leaders are mulling solutions to the systemic racial injustices and issues of police brutality exposed by the death of George Floyd. CBS News spoke with black faith leaders about what people are demanding, what's different about this wave of demonstrations, and how to begin tackling the ongoing issues of racial inequity.

The final moments of Floyd's life, when a fired Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, were gruesome. For some, it was another painful reminder of the long, sad history of policing for black people in America.

"…[Policing in America was] designed to control the movements of black people and therefore it always treated black people differently," said Reverend Nelson Rivers, the pastor of Charity Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston. "There's never been a time really, that the police have ever treated black people like their lives matter."

Looters and vandals have at times distracted from what protesters want: a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system and policing. But United Church of Christ Associate General Minister Traci Blackmon argues that the violence is actually the "rage and weariness" of people who have been suppressed for too long.

"Change in this country has never come without the confrontation of power sources…and that confrontation has always been met with violence," Blackmon told CBS News. "How do you respond to a state-sanctioned murder that is being shared all over the world...what is the appropriate response to that level of violence?"

"Dr. [Martin Luther King, Jr.] was arguably the most nonviolent preacher the country's ever produced…and they still blew his brains out," said Pastor Michael McBride of The Way Church in California. "So nonviolence does not mean compliance, it does not mean the absence of tension. It's the presence of justice."

A recent CBS News poll found that 57% of Americans think police officers generally treat white people better than black people. Nearly half disapprove of President Trump's response to the protests and events in Minneapolis.

Blackmon said the "color of protest" is changing in response to attempts by the Trump administration to "draw lines of demarcation" among Americans by race and politics.

"It is not just black people who are screaming that black lives matter," said Blackmon. "It's black people, white people, professionals, law enforcement officers, international partners because this current leadership has taken us to the brink of disaster."

Sustainable reform

Faith leaders also have some ideas about how to fix the country's broken criminal justice system. They advocate creating civilian review boards that have enforcement power to hold police officers accountable, increasing police sensitivity training, conducting routine racial bias audits of police departments, and changing the police Bill of Rights so that police officers can be held accountable immediately for abuse or misconduct.

As "defund the police" becomes a rallying cry and political divide, some are calling for state and local governments to re-allocate their budgets to invest more into minority communities. While critics argue that more money should be invested into police departments because "you get what you pay for," Blackmon says you also "get what you pay for" when you don't invest in rooting out racial inequity in every aspect of society.

"If you don't pay for adequate housing, and you don't pay for education, and you don't pay so that people can have a living wage, you get what you pay for."

Protesting amid a pandemic

Calls for racial equality have slammed headlong into a public health crisis that has also illuminated racial inequities in health care. Pew Research data shows that in eight states, the percentage of coronavirus deaths among black people is at least twice as high as the black share of the population in those states.

Dr. Marybeth Sexton, an assistant professor of infectious disease at Emory University, says higher rates of COVID-19 cases in minority communities can likely be attributed to factors including housing conditions, health care access, and trust in the health care system. And if there's a surge in COVID-19 cases related to protests, she points out, it could affect already vulnerable communities at disproportionate rates.

"You have people who are out protesting systemic racism, who are potentially at higher risk for COVID—and for complications of COVID—for a multitude of reasons, but some of which are also caused by the legacy of systemic racism," said Sexton.

Everything that's involved in protesting can spread the virus, she pointed out. Crowds with different COVID exposures gathering in small spaces are not going to be social distancing. Shouting and singing disperse viral particles. Sexton suggests protesters bring their own food, water and hand sanitizer and pack extra masks because once a mask is wet — from sweat or any other liquid — it becomes ineffective.

Dr. Daniel Fagbuyi, a former Obama administration health adviser, said it's important to provide testing for protesters to track and trace COVID-19 cases. He also added that as protests began, people were already anxious to leave their homes after months of quarantine. But combatting racial injustice provides a strong enough reason for people to continue to gather, even amid the pandemic.

"Communities that have been marginalized—where there are inequities—felt regardless of what other threats there are, they were willing to make that sacrifice," said Fagbuyi. "This is something bigger."

Kaepernick deserves apology, job - Jenkins

ETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / GRANT HALVERSON

Colin Kaepernick (right) kneels during his protests in 2016. Players and activists are calling for him to be given the chance to rebuild his NFL career

New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins called on the NFL to apologise to Colin Kaepernick on Tuesday, saying recent expressions of contrition would be meaningless while the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback remained isolated from the sport.

Jenkins, one of the founding members of the NFL's Players Coalition, which works to reform the US criminal justice and education systems, said the NFL had still yet to properly address Kaepernick's case.

Kaepernick was the first NFL player to begin protesting in 2016, refusing to stand for the US national anthem as a way of drawing attention to racial injustice and police brutality.

The 49ers star was subsequently released by the team in early 2017 and has not played in the NFL since, later alleging he had been blackballed by the league.

In a stunning U-turn On Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league had botched its handling of player protests and vowed to support peaceful protests in future, although he did not mention Kaepernick.

Jenkins said on Tuesday the failure to acknowledge Kaepernick by name, and the fact that the 32-year-old remained unemployed, were marks against the NFL.

"I still don't think [the NFL has] gotten it right," Jenkins told CBS's "This Morning" program.

"Until they apologise, specifically, to Colin Kaepernick, or assign him to a team, I don't think that they will end up on the right side of history.

"At the end of the day, (the NFL have) listened to their players, they've donated money, they've created an Inspire Change platform; they've tried to do things up to this point.

- 'His protest is heard' -

"But it's been one player in particular that they have ignored and not acknowledged, and that's Colin Kaepernick.

"That's the only thing people want to hear. If it's not going to correct that or acknowledge that, then everything else doesn't need to be said."

Jenkins comments were backed by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan who told a conference call on Tuesday that Kaepernick should be given a chance to win a spot back on an NFL roster.

"As far as Colin being back in the league, I think he should have every opportunity to," Ryan said.

"His protest is being heard at this point. It might have taken too long, but I think he should have every opportunity to have a job and to have a spot in this league."

Kaepernick was also name-checked on Tuesday at the Houston funeral of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis on May 25 sparked the protests against systemic racism and police brutality that have swept across the United States in the weeks since.

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton said in a eulogy that Kaepernick deserved the opportunity to resurrect his career.

"It's nice to see some people change their mind. The head of the NFL said 'Yeah, maybe we was wrong. Football players, maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest,'" Sharpton said, referring to Goodell's statement.

"Well, don't apologise, give Colin Kaepernick his job back. Don't come with some empty apology. Take a man's livelihood, strip a man down of his talents, and four years later when the whole world is watching, all of a sudden you go and do a Facetime, talking about you're sorry?

"You're sorry? Then repay the damage you did to the career you stood down, because when Colin took a knee, he took it for the families in this building. And we don't want an apology, we want him repaired."


Al Sharpton to NFL at George Floyd's funeral: 'Don't apologize, give Colin Kaepernick a job back'
Jason Owens Yahoo Sports Jun 9, 2020, 2:48 PM

Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy for George Floyd at his funeral in Houston on Tuesday.

During his speech, he took the time to call out the NFL for its treatment of Colin Kaepernick.

Sharpton delivered a direct response to commissioner Roger Goodell’s mea culpa on Friday that the NFL was “wrong” to discourage players who peacefully protested police brutality and social injustice against black people.

Goodell’s statement arrived after a second week of daily protests nationwide and around the world in response to Floyd’s killing while in custody of the Minneapolis police. It also failed to mention Kaepernick, who lost his job as an NFL quarterback after leading the protest movement among players.


Rev. Al Sharpton called for action from the NFL during George Floyd's funeral. (Photo by Godofredo A. Vasquez/ AFP/Getty Images)More
‘Don’t come with some empty apology’

Sharpton didn’t call for Goodell to mention Kaepernick. He called for the NFL to give him his job back following a three-year absence from the league.

“It’s nice to see some people change their minds,” Sharpton said. “The head of the NFL said, ‘Yeah, maybe we was wrong. Football players — maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest.’ Well don’t apologize, give Colin Kaepernick a job back.”

The line drew a standing ovation from some in attendance at Houston Memorial Gardens.

“Don’t come with some empty apology, take a man’s livelihood,” Sharpton continued. “Strip a man down of his talents and four years later when the whole world is marching, all of the sudden you go and do a FaceTime talking about you sorry. Minimizing the value of our lives.

“You sorry, then repay the damage you did to the career you stood down. Because when Colin took a knee, he took it for the families in this building. And we don’t want an apology. We want him repaired.”

Sharpton made his statement shorty after introducing the families of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Botham Jean, Pamela Turner, Michael Brown and Ahmaud Arbery, all of whom were black people killed in acts of violence, most of them at the hands of police.

“Equal justice,” Sharpton continued. “Equal fairness. We’re not anti-anybody. We are trying to stop people from being anti-us.”
Kaepernick’s fall from NFL starter

Kaepernick last played in 2016 for the San Francisco 49ers. The four-year starter opted for free agency that offseason at 29 years old after six seasons in San Francisco that included a Super Bowl appearance.

During his final season with the 49ers, Kaepernick completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 2,241 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 12 appearances. He also rushed for 468 yards and two touchdowns on 6.8 yards per carry.

Since then, he hasn’t found work in the NFL as he became the center of a political firestorm helmed by President Donald Trump because of his social justice protests. Quarterbacks with considerably lesser skills and résumés regularly found work in the NFL as starters and backups.

Just last month, former NFL executive Joe Lockhart admitted that teams declined to sign Kaepernick because he was deemed “controversial,” not because of his football ability.

Meanwhile Kaepernick, 32, has repeated his desire to return to the NFL while touting his fitness and game readiness.

Goodell drew applause for his statement on player protests last week. But many, like Sharpton, are calling for action instead of words from the NFL. And that action looks like Kaepernick signing an NFL contract

Ohio State Seth Towns' proud path to the back of a police van

Jeff Eisenberg Yahoo Sports Jun. 10, 2020

Seth Towns continued to shout, "Say his name!" as Columbus police detained him. (Twitter)

On a Friday evening in late May, the mother of an Ohio State basketball player grabbed her purse and keys and headed into the night.

“I didn’t know where I was going,” she said, “but I knew I needed to find my child.”

Melissa Smitherman learned her son might be in danger minutes earlier when she received a disturbing phone call. A friend spotted Seth Towns among the protesters standing their ground against police orders during a Black Lives Matter rally in Columbus.

When Smitherman FaceTimed her son to check on him, an unfamiliar man answered her call. The man told Smitherman that Columbus police had just arrested Towns and taken him away, leaving only his phone behind.

For Smitherman, the uneasiness of the next few hours was the scariest experience of her life. She said she “didn’t know what was going to happen” to her son and she was "afraid of what I might find.”

Smitherman started her search for Towns by placing a handful of calls in hopes of discovering where detained protesters were being held. When that proved a dead end, Smitherman drove to the downtown Columbus police station to seek answers in person.

Barricaded streets did not deter Smitherman, nor did the presence of a horde of police officers standing guard in tactical gear. Eyes red and cheeks tear-stained, Smitherman pulled over her car and approached the nearest cop.

A Columbus police sergeant eventually directed Smitherman to a downtown firehouse a few blocks removed from the protests. When she arrived, Smitherman peered through a chain-link fence at the rear of the station and spied a sight no mother ever wants to see.

“My son was sitting with his hands behind his back and I could see that they were zip-tied,” Smitherman said. “My heart broke into a million pieces to see him like that.”

It may have stung Smitherman to see her son in handcuffs, but it didn’t surprise her that he would make such a sacrifice. In many ways, this day was a long time coming for a kid who has always prided himself on being a leader, daring to be different and standing up for what was right.
An uncommon student

There is hardly anything about Seth Towns that’s typical of a basketball player with dreams of making the NBA.

The sweet-shooting 6-foot-7 forward has long been as accomplished a student as he is a basketball prospect.

At Northland High School in Columbus, Towns earned all-state honors twice in basketball yet maintained a GPA of above 4.0. He tutored older students, read voraciously and competed for the school’s nationally renowned math team.

Instead of accepting scholarship offers from the likes of Michigan or Ohio State, Towns opted to take a less common path. He selected Harvard out of high school, gambling that he could fulfill his basketball potential in the Ivy League while also receiving an unparalleled education.

“A lot of people in the basketball world were like, ‘Why would you go there?’ ” Towns recalled. “I told them, “It’s a chance to go to the best school in the world. Why wouldn’t I consider it?’ ”

At first, Towns dreamed of becoming a computer software engineer and developing apps for Google. Then a series of events altered his focus, taught him the power of his own voice and caused him to embrace the fight for racial equality.

The son of a black father and a blonde-haired, green-eyed mother, Towns grew up in a family that was pragmatic about racism. James Towns and Melissa Smitherman taught their son to cherish all humans regardless of race or ethnicity yet to never forget that some strangers will view him differently because of his skin color.

That message didn’t fully resonate with Towns until he took an African-American studies class for college credit his junior year of high school. No longer did Towns underestimate racial injustice in America after studying the high-profile deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and other unarmed black people during encounters with the police.

“It was late in my adolescence, I was starting to form my own thoughts and that was a very pivotal moment in history,” Towns said. “In many respects, it was an awakening for me.”

In December 2014, amidst a national reckoning on police brutality against minorities, Towns decided he wanted to play a role in fighting for meaningful change. He helped organize a protest that not only fostered discussion at his high school but also drew the national media’s attention.

Just before the end of one school day, Towns and his African-American studies classmates gathered in the school’s common area and laid down as though they were dead. Taped to each of their backs were pieces of paper with the words “I can’t breathe,” a slogan derived from Garner’s last words while in a police officer’s chokehold.

Northland High School ✊ #Respect #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/sPVHnbUGSx— Miceli Peña (@_MiceliRoyce) December 12, 2014

“Seth was the kind of student that made you want to be a better educator,” said Kevin Tooson, Northland’s African-American studies teacher at the time. “He was hungry for knowledge, he possessed the intellectual bandwidth to take it all in and if he thought something was wrong, he was willing to stand up and say something about it.”
Seth Towns’ inspiration

If Towns learned to speak his mind during high school, it was Harvard where he developed his voice. He forged relationships with the kind of people that most college basketball players don’t have on their contact list.

Harvard coach Tommy Amaker organizes a monthly breakfast in Cambridge that exposes his players to leaders from the sports world and beyond. Among the invited guests who Towns now counts as mentors: Best-selling author Mitch Albom, former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and civil rights activist Dr. Harry Edwards.

It also influenced Towns seeing other high-profile athletes use their clout to further important causes. Towns described himself as “monumentally inspired” after Colin Kaepernick came to Harvard in 2018 and spoke about why he was willing to jeopardize his football career to keep fighting for racial justice.

Perhaps Towns’ biggest source of motivation was a tragedy that reminded him how rare it is for an inner-city kid like himself to have the opportunity to mingle with luminaries or to get a world-class education. On Oct. 19, 2018, close friend and former high school teammate Jordan “Kizzzy” Kinchen died in a double shooting in Columbus.

Kinchen’s murder led Towns to focus on creating more opportunities for underprivileged African-American kids. He researched ways to improve test scores, to offer internships and to provide college opportunities where they didn’t previously exist.

“Seth wanted everyone to believe that if he could do it, they could too,” Smitherman said.

Towns had more time than he wanted to focus on making a difference away from basketball at Harvard because injuries limited his impact on the court.

The Ivy League’s 2017-18 player of the year suffered a right knee injury late in a loss to Penn in that season’s conference title game. Lingering pain in both knees sidelined Towns for both the past two seasons and forced him to undergo surgery last December.

That injury history didn’t keep marquee programs from pursuing Towns when he announced his intent to leave Harvard as a graduate transfer this spring. Towns chose hometown Ohio State over a long list of suitors that included Duke, Kansas, Virginia and Syracuse.

On May 28, the day he graduated from Harvard with a sociology degree, Towns celebrated at a rooftop bar in downtown Columbus. He remembers experiencing a twinge of regret when he peered down at the street below and saw a throng of demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd without him.

“It made me upset that I wasn’t part of that,” Towns said, “so I decided that the next day my voice was going to be heard.”

‘Say his name!’

The protest that ended with Towns in handcuffs began with him fighting back tears.

It was emotional for him to see his hometown come together to demand equal rights.

When Towns arrived, he joined dozens of protesters gathered in front of the Columbus police station calling for justice for Floyd. Once the crowd swelled to about 500, protesters marched up and down High and Broad streets while chanting Floyd’s name.

“Standing among them, I felt such deep solidarity and such deep pain from their voices,” Towns said. “It brought tears to my eyes hearing and feeling all that.”

The mood of the protest became more tense later that evening when police officers sought to clear the area. Columbus police allege that protesters were throwing bricks and rocks, setting off fireworks and breaking windows of downtown businesses.

Towns was among the protesters who chose to stand their ground despite verbal warnings. Police then began using their bikes or horses to push the crowd back by force.

Towns said he was standing with his arms around his throat screaming “I can’t breathe” when six police officers surrounded him and forced his hands behind his back. The Ohio State forward described the incident as “a surreal moment to say the least” and said the officers’ decision to detain him “seemed out of the blue.”

In a video that went viral on social media that night, Towns can be seen shouting, “Say his name!” while officers restrain him. “George Floyd!” a group of protesters yell back.

SAY HIS NAME pic.twitter.com/PikjTPTpMq— Seth 💤 (@seth_towns17) May 30, 2020

“I was standing up for what I believe in,” Towns said. “I wasn’t stopping whether I was being detained, arrested or beaten.”

A fellow protester who witnessed police take Towns confirmed that he did nothing to provoke them besides stand his ground.

“From what I saw, he was simply not moving from the road,” Eric Bailey said. “I'm not sure what he did that was different from what I had done that would make them detain him and not me. He had not acted aggressively. He had not thrown a bottle. He did not yell at the officers. He did nothing but exercise his first amendment [rights].”

Whatever the reason, Columbus police took Towns away by van and held him at the nearby firehouse with four other protesters arrested that night. There he remained until his mother spotted him through the chain-link fence a few hours later.
From Harvard graduation to the back of a police van

If Towns was surprised to find himself in police custody, he was just as shocked to have his mother arrive out of nowhere.

Smitherman even talked her way into the firehouse, where police allowed her to sit alongside her son while he was detained.

“I’ll tell you what crossed my mind when I was sitting there,” Smitherman said. “If I was a black mother, would I have been afforded that same opportunity? Would a black mother have been given the same opportunity to keep her child safe?”

Columbus police eventually released Towns without arresting him. Then his mother drove him home and he got a few hours sleep.

By the time Towns awoke the next morning, his story was everywhere. Media outlets across the country picked up the story of a basketball player who graduated from Harvard one day and was detained by the police the next.

Rather than hide from the story, Towns recognized that he “had a unique opportunity to have people listen.” Later that day, he filmed himself reading a powerful statement that made it clear he had no remorse for his detainment.

pic.twitter.com/gVvhMcdi4G— Seth 💤 (@seth_towns17) May 30, 2020

“In a span of just 24 hours, I walked across a Harvard virtual graduation stage to the back of a police van, both of which I am equally proud of,” he said.

Towns reiterated that sentiment during an interview on “SportsCenter” that evening. He pledged to continue to use his voice to speak out for “people who are unheard.”

On May 31, two days after his detainment, Towns returned to downtown Columbus to protest again, this time armed with a megaphone. Towns delivered a passionate speech, telling fellow protesters, “We are here, we are peaceful, we are loud and we will do this every day until we get what we demand.”

We will not be silenced https://t.co/MucIhTuYVa— Seth 💤 (@seth_towns17) June 1, 2020

The way Towns sees it, this is a historic moment that the Black Lives Matter movement must seize. Americans are more cognizant of the systemic racism that persists in this country and more open to embracing change.

“This has been the most educational two weeks of my entire life,” he said. “I’ve learned a ton about how the system works and what steps we need to take going forward.

“My biggest takeaway is that having a few things change with police reform wouldn’t be enough. Now is the time that ending institutional racism needs to be pushed to the forefront of our nation’s efforts. Liberty is what this nation is founded on and right now there is a group of people that is not experiencing the same liberty as others.

The Rush: Majority of Americans now support NFL players right to protest

Yahoo Sports VideosJun. 11, 2020, 10:32 p.m.

The NFL committed to donating $250 million dollars over ten years, to combat systemic racism and injustices faced by African Americans. A new Yahoo poll shows the percentage of Americans who believe it is appropriate for NFL players to kneel in protest during the National Anthem has gone up from 28% in 2016 to 52% today. We have footage of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the Bucs secret practices. LeBron James alongside Trae Young, Kevin Hart and other black athletes and celebrities formed “More than a Vote,” a non-profit, voter rights group that will focus on issues facing the black community. Unlike most people, the Denver Nuggets All-Star big man Nikola Jokic, has lost a considerable amount of weight during the quarantine. Lastly, a day after NASCAR finally banned the Confederate flag, driver Ray Ciccarelli, who has not led a single lap in a NASCAR race this year, announced he does not agree with the direction NASCAR is taking, and will not participate after the 2020 season is over. Hit the road Ray!

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/video/rush-majority-americans-now-support-043233032.html

Commonwealth Games: Athletes to be allowed to take a knee in protest, says Games chief

Reuters Jun. 12, 2020

THE CG ARE POST COLONIAL DEMOCRACIES

THE IOC IS THE VESTIGIAL ARISTOCRACY OF EUROPE 



FILE PHOTO: Athletes train in the Alexander Athletics Stadium after the announcement that it will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

(Reuters) - Athletes competing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England will be allowed to take a knee in support of worldwide anti-racism movements, competition organisers said.

Several major sports organisations have moved to allow protests at their events following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed athletes are still banned from protesting at the Olympic Games but Commonwealth Games organisers said they would respect people's rights to voice their opinions.

"The movement is challenging all institutions to really look introspectively at what we can do to be more fair, more free, have better equality. Sport is no different," Commonwealth Games chief executive David Grevemberg told reporters on Thursday.

"We are comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation and we need to embrace it. We maybe have more responsibility because of the shared history of the Commonwealth so we need to find solutions that don’t build walls but rather build bridges.”

Grevemberg said athlete protests have long been a part of the Commonwealth Games, citing the example of former Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman, who wrapped herself in the Aboriginal flag after winning the 200 and 400 metre races in the 1994 Games. Freeman went on to win the 400 metre race at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, afterwards draping herself in both the Aboriginal and Australian flags.

"The reason her moment was so powerful at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 was because of what she did in Victoria in 1994," Grevemberg added.


(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)