News
Black Man Killed By Police in Minnesota
“I can’t breathe.”
The words of 46-year-old George Floyd as he lay on the street in Minneapolis after he was arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit bill are eerily reminiscent of the police killing of Eric Garner in New York.
Monday, just as it happened on Staten Island in 2014, cellphone cameras by witnesses recorded the event where a policeman knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes as Floyd pleaded for his life.
Onlookers urged the police to stop, including one nurse who warned that Floyd was close to dying. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Unlike the Garner case that took five years before the policeman who killed him in a chokehold was removed from the New York Police Dept., Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo immediately fired Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made the announcement Tuesday.
The grief-stricken family believes the firing of the police is a good start. What they really want is for them to be charged with murder and Frey agrees that Chauvin should face charges.
“They could have tased him, maced him,” said Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd. “Instead, they put their knee in his neck and just sat on him and didn’t care at all.”
Floyd’s cousin, Tera Brown, also weighed in on the arresting officers’ actions, saying, “We want to see them charged with murder and we want them to be convicted. They need to pay for what they did.”
While Floyd’s family has retained lawyer Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights lawyer who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Ahmaud Arbery, the people of Minneapolis took to the streets to protest, marching to the police station.
Hundreds were out Tuesday carrying signs and protesting peacefully in the area where Floyd, who had worked as a security guard, was arrested.
But riot police tear-gassed and shot protesters with rubber bullets after the rally shifted to surround a nearby police station. Windows were broken and some police cars were vandalized.
On Wednesday, protesters returned to the area to continue showing their outrage.
State and federal agencies are investigating Floyd’s death and Frey has asked the County attorney to consider filing charges against Chauvin.
“We are not talking about a split-second decision that was made incorrectly,” Frey said. “There’s somewhere around 300 seconds in those five minutes, every one of which the officer could have turned back … and removed his knee from George Floyd’s neck.”
Yahoo News, USA Today, CNN and NewsOne contributed to this report. (Previously published May 28, 2020)
Activism
S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System
Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.
By Carla Thomas
San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).
Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.
“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”
According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.
“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”
Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.
SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.
Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.
Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.
Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.
Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.
“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.
This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
Activism
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