Implications for Civil Rights and Criminal Justice in the Nation’s Capital, July 2013

This report grows out of increasing concern that broader aspects of our local and national criminal justice systems — even beyond questions relating to drug policies — reflect significant racial disparities that raise important questions of public policy and civil rights concerns.

Key findings arising from the our analysis of the data, which should give D.C. residents and policymakers cause for concern, include:
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More than eight out of 10 arrests in our city were of African Americans. MPD reported a total of 142,191 adult arrests from 2009 through 2011. While there are about as many African Americans aged 18 or older (47.6%) as there are adult whites (42%) living in this city, eight out of 10 adults a rrested for a crime in on are African American. In 2010, there were 40,353 arrests of adult African American Washingtonians, which is equivalent to 17 percent of the total number of adult African American D.C. residents.1

Moreover, there were 31,874 arrests that year of adult African American men, which is equivalent to more than 30 percent of the adult male African American population. The 4,866 arrests of white
residents is equivalent to 2 percent of the white D.C. residents aged 18 or older.

Two of the City Councilmembers who voted against the Large Retailer Accountabiliy Act (LRAA)are Tommy Wells and Muriel Bowser. Now they are being targetted in posters on lamp posts all over DC. There are still plenty of lamp posts for Wal-Mart's flunkies, and probably plenty of posters to put on them

On the 30th of June, hundreds gathered in Dupont Circle for a screening of "Collateral Murder," the video Bradley Manning was convicted of "espionage" for releasing to Wikileaks. After the screening and a few speakers, everyone marched on the White House to demand that Bradley Manning be released instead of being sentenced to prison.

Video highlights of the Bradley Manning verdict protest
Speaker condemns naming counterinsurgency helicopters for oppressed Native people

On Friday, July 19, John Kerry announced the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks.The next day, the LA director of the Zionist Organization of America, Steven Goldberg, posted an announcement of a talk on "Why Israel and the Jewish People Need Another Kahane Now".

Last Sunday at noon, undocumented youth organizers from across California were holding a peaceful demonstration at the San Ysidro border. Among the group were youth, small children, and elderly men and women. Suddenly and without warning, San Diego Police, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and private security officers reacted violently against the protesters. They lunged forward, ramming the crowd with movable iron fencing. Officers also attacked a group of six individuals who were engaged in a peaceful sit-in: violently pushing, pulling, and dragging them across the ground. One officer started drilling his knuckles into the temple of 28-year-old demonstrator Jonathan Briebriesca (a long-time immigration activist who was part of the sit-in), inflicting intense pain on him as he lay on the ground.

On the 27th of July, the last leg of the "Walk for our Grandchildren" marched from St Stephen's Church through Malcolm X Park to the White House.

Video highlights of the march

On the 26th of July, antiwar activists and supporters of Bradley Manning descended on DC's Ft McNair, operational base of Maj General Jefferey General Buchanan. He is the convening authority of Bradley Manning's court martial.

Iraqi Citizen speaks at the gates of Ft McNair
Scenes from the rally and marches between the gates
Collateral Murder - Wikileaks - Iraq Video