Race

Nothing can close the window of mass disaffection opened by the revolt in Ferguson. The unending tide of criticisms leveled against the insurrectional movement, the pacifiers in the left-wing and “community” organizations, the National Guard and the resurgent fascist grassroots have given a staccato structure to the rebellions, but have so far failed to stamp them out completely. No falsehood can reverse the intoxicating effects of the truth.

No one can doubt the absolute strategic clarity of the insurgents on September 20th, who broke with the insane delusions millions hold onto which deprive them of basic fighting skills in light of racist police executions. In a beautiful and creative development on a common tactic from the last two years of revolt, they rushed onto I-85, looted the contents of stalled semi-trucks and burned them in the middle of the interstate.

SEPTEMBER 21  – DAY 2

By Dave Zirin
The Nation
September 2, 2016

Last night, joined by his teammate Eric Reid, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in continuation of his protest against police violence.

His effort to shine a light on our broken system was met with boos from the San Diego crowd at a game that had been long advertised as “military appreciation night.” The fans registered their disapproval despite the fact that Kaepernick’s protest has nothing to do with the military.

by Brentin Mock
CityLab

17-year-old Lew Blank was fiddling around with the Weldon Cooper Center’s Racial Dot Map when he discovered something disturbing about Wisconsin, where he lives: More than half of the African-American neighborhoods in the state are actually jails. Not only that, but the rest of the black neighborhoods across the state are either apartment complexes, Section 8 housing, or homeless shelters—the lone exception being a working-middle class section of Milwaukee.

by Carl Suddler
The Conversation

Two years ago, on August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African-American teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Two years have passed since the recent high school graduate was denied the opportunity to begin his next stage of life: college.

Brown was often described as a “gentle giant.” His leisure activities were hardly different from most in his age group – hanging out with friends, listening to music and playing video games. The night before he was shot, he posted to Facebook, “Everything happen for a reason.” Certainly, Michael Brown did not foresee what was going to happen the next day. But for too many black and brown youths, run-ins with law enforcement are too familiar and, coincidentally, predictable.

By Bob
First of May Anarchist Alliance Detroit Collective

“We can’t reform white supremacy; we must destroy it. It is time to face this. We can fight for reforms. We can fight for justice. But we will not end the police murders of Black people and other innocent people until we end and destroy the system of white supremacy, until we end the system built on the wealth created by genocide, murder and slavery, and until we bring down the USA and the capitalist system, once and for all.”

Baton Rouge and St. Paul now are added to the list of cities where Black men are executed by the police for the “crime” of being Black men. The list of men and women and children of color murdered by the police across this country is long and growing longer. The cops, primarily white cops, who carry out these executions are, in most cases, not indicted or ever charged with a crime. Those who are charged, in most cases, are acquitted or convicted only of a minor violation.

Media Matters

Fox News supports the right to protest, unless, it seems, the protesters are students of color shining a spotlight on incidents of racial injustice.

Protests against racial discrimination on college campuses across the country are garnering national media attention with students criticizing administration responses to incidents at University of Missouri, Yale, U.C.L.A, University of Oklahoma and other institutions.

By Jesse Pfein
Slingshot
Issue #118: Spring 2015

“The task for white subjects would be to stay implicated in what they critique, but in turning towards their role and responsibility in these histories of racism, as histories of this present, to turn away from themselves, and towards others.” –Sara Ahmed (Declarations of Whiteness: The Non-Performativity of Anti-Racism)

by R.L. Stephens II
Orchestrated Pulse
August 14, 2015

On Tuesday, April 28th, I visited West Baltimore for the first time. Pockets of riots had broken out in Baltimore the night before. By the following morning, the government had declared a state of emergency, and everything was shut down, including schools. 84 percent of the city’s school children received free or subsidized lunch; they were bound to go hungry without those meals. When a local church called for volunteers to help provide lunches to Baltimore’s youth, I didn’t hesitate to answer.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

Aug. 12, 2015

“The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.” (Frederick Douglass)

Sunday, Aug. 9 marked one year since Police Officer Darren Wilson murdered Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. There was a rally to honor the occasion in Brooklyn. I planned to attend the rally, I really did (not that my presence would’ve mattered even a tiny bit) but I ended up skipping it.

Why, you may wonder? Well, it could be the spate of usual suspects (often in matching shirts) hawking newspapers, sniffing out fresh recruits, and seeking new ways to co-opt.

It could be the inevitable sound of white activists drowning out the voices of PoC as they unselfconsciously chant slogans like “hands up, don’t shoot” and “I can’t breathe.”

Chris Crass has a guide for fellow white anti-racism activists who are overwhelmed by recent stories about racist violence.

1. Take a moment to appreciate the fact that you are devastated by brutal racist injustice and that while your heart is broken, another alternative is that your heart has been hardened by the scarring of internalized white supremacy that has divested you from loving your own full humanity and the humanity of others.

Your devastation is the result of your heart being alive and refusing the socialized indifference, amnesia, and straightjacketing of your consciousness that post-Civil Rights movement white racialization aims for. Your internal capacity to be devastated by this murderous racist system is a source of power that serves you well and is what can help you be part of bringing this system down.