It’s more urgent now than ever to get in these streets and fight for justice. In order to radically transform the world and influence the change we want to see, we must continue applying pressure and centering our demands: #DefundThePolice, #EndPoliceAssociations and invest in the well-being of our communities. Let’s rejoice in the proverb “when we fight, we win” and make sure we act upon it!
Read MoreLet’s stay in these streets! As we work to end qualified immunity and special protections for police, we must also take down the police associations that are behind it all. Stay in these streets EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3PM AT 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations
Read MoreWhen #TrayvonMartin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted on July 13, 2013, the world erupted and our co-founder Alicia Garza penned a love letter to Black people, closing with the words “Black Lives Matter.” The words became a rallying cry for those with the vision and will to end state-sanctioned violence against Black people and build a world of freedom and justice. For eight years we have struggle and organized. We have won major victories, not the least of which is awakening people to the power we have to transform the world in which we live. There is so much more work to be done to topple systems of white supremacy and oppression. Today was recommit and step courageously into that sacred duty.
Let us all celebrate Black Lives Matter by hashtagging #BlackLivesMatter, donating to the movement, coming to the monthly general meeting this Sunday at 7pm, and joining us in the streets every Wednesday at 3pm to demand #EndPoliceAssociations at 1313 W.8th St. (across from the Los Angeles Police Protective League).
Read MoreWhile many assert that the #GeorgeFloyd moment is winding down, the need to protect Black life has never been more dire. On June 23, 2021, Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies murdered #FredHolden on the 605 freeway, concocted a far-fetched story to assassinate his character, and didn’t even bother to notify his family until a week later. Although Derek Chauvin is going to prison for the murder of Brother George, the police who killed #IsakAden, #AltonSterling, #BreonnaTaylor, #ChristopherDeAndreMitchell, #RyanTwyman, #RedelJones, and more than 1000 others each year, continue to walk free...often keeping their jobs, and sometimes receiving promotions.
The point...our work is nowhere near done. In the name of all of those stolen by police violence, let’s stay in these streets! EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3PM AT 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations
Read MoreAs many in this country prepare for fireworks and barbecue, donning red-white-and-blue, and hanging American flags, we are reminded of the words of our abolitionist Ancestor, Frederick Douglass, who asks, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Just two weeks out of Juneteenth celebrations, we know that Black folks were not free in 1776. We also know that even in 2021, the freedom that we vision for ourselves and our people has yet to be realized.
Read Moreistrict Attorney Jackie Lacey for more than three years, to imploring our folks to stand with George Gascón. We rarely stand alongside elected officials. However, DA Gascón has been steadfast in his advancement of the people’s progressive justice reforms - including forming a community-led panel to recommend the prosecution of officers who murder and abuse our people.
Read MoreAs Juneteenth approaches this coming Saturday, let’s uplift Black Freedom! Come out to the Youth Justice Coalition tonight at 7pm for our monthly general meeting for a discussion on the road ahead for Black Lives Matter. We’ll be joined by Dawn Modkins - Director of Chapter Development, Audrena Redmond - Director of Political Education, and our very own Sister Melina - Co-Director of BLM Grassroots. Learn more about Black Lives Matter’s group-centered approach and how Black Lives Matter - Grassroots will expand its role as the on-the-ground force of the Global Network.
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter is starting a new chapter! Our beloved visionary Patrisse Cullors has transitioned out as Executive Director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. Two brilliant and deeply-rooted interim senior executives - Makani Themba and Monifa Bandele - are stepping in to focus on resource-building for the Black freedom movement. Black Lives Matter - Grassroots will expand its role leading the on-the-ground work; we celebrate the group-centered approach to leadership that includes 7 courageous and committed BLM leaders from around the Network.
Read MoreBlack self-determination is white supremacy’s greatest fear.
It is why 100 years ago, white mobs massacred more than 300 residents and business owners of Tulsa’s Greenwood District – Black Wall Street. It is why racist institutions like Deutsche Bank won’t sell the Crenshaw Mall to Black community members through Downtown Crenshaw. It is why police terrorize our communities, and incarcerate and kill Black people at rates disproportionate to our population.
Black self-determination threatens the fundamental basis of white supremacy, and that is why we will never stop fighting for it. We will always persevere beyond the odds stacked against us, and use our radical imagination to build a new world where Black people are free.
Read MoreTuesday, May 25th marks one year since the murder of #GeorgeFloyd cracked the world wide open. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin ground his knee into Brother George’s neck for 9-minutes-29-seconds, stealing his breath and his life. It launched a historic racial reckoning that galvanized millions of people around the world into the streets and uplifted the clarion calls of the Black Lives Matter movement: #DefundThePolice and #ReimaginePublicSafety.
Read MoreAs we uplift the demand to #DefundThePolice and #ReimaginePublicSafety, we must remember that we advocate for these demands on behalf of real people. #AnthonyMcClain was a father to three children, who loved to listen to R&B and encourage his children to focus on their education. He was a human being who would still be here if Pasadena police had not used a pretextual traffic stop as an excuse to steal his life.
Read More#DefundThePolice is a policy demand. It’s how we begin to tear down the systems that brutalize, terrorize and kill our people. It’s the first step to #ReimaginePublicSafety and invest in the well-being of our communities.
Mayor Eric Garcetti just submitted a budget proposal that INCREASES LAPD’s budget by 3%. Let City Council and the Mayor know that we want to #DefundThePolice and implement a People’s Budget. Complete and share the survey.
The Derek Chauvin verdict also compels us to stay in these streets! EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3PM AT 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations
Read MoreThe closing arguments in the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of #GeorgeFloyd concluded Monday afternoon and now the jury deliberates...deliberates on whether Chauvin’s knee on the neck of Brother George for 9-minutes-29-seconds, stealing his breath, and his life, caused his death, and whether or not that nearly 10-minute-long decision, over the pleas of Mr. Floyd, the cries of the community, the admonitions from medical personnel, and a basic sense of humanity, constitutes murder.
With the verdict expected to come as soon as Wednesday, we must stay ready and remember that there will be no justice in this case. Justice would mean George Floyd was alive. Keep a close eye on our social media for updates and actions. Let’s stay in these streets! EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3PM AT 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations
Read More#KennethRossJr and #GrecharioMack are Two beloved sons and fathers stolen by police. While the world watches the #DerekChauvinTrial in Minneapolis for the murder of #GeorgeFloyd, let us continue to uplift the memories of the George Floyds here in Los Angeles, wrongfully killed by state-sanctioned violence. It is in all of their honor that we struggle and make the demand to #DefundThePolice and #ReimaginePublicSafety.
Read MoreThe Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of #GeorgeFloyd continues into its second week. Whatever the outcome, it will not bring justice; justice would be that Mr. Floyd got to live out his years and that police didn’t traumatize our community. The criminal legal system rarely prosecutes killer cops that steal the lives of Black people. Even after when the 9-minute-29-second murder is aired for the entire world to see. Even when it sparked the largest global uprising in history. Even with watered-down charges. We are still holding our collective breaths...
Read MoreWhen former Minneaopolis police officer Derek Chauvin stole the life of #GeorgeFloyd, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, as George cried out “I can’t breathe.” 27 times and called for his mother, Chauvin was kneeling on the neck of every Black man and woman. Millions of people around the globe took to the streets after watching the video of the horrific killing. We chanted #BlackLivesMatter and rallied around the clarion call to #DefundThePolice.
Read MoreFive people were shot by LAPD over the course of just a few days last week...five. Two people were killed, two were wounded, one is unaccounted for.
Five shootings in one week is a high number but we also have to remember that these are real people who were killed. LAPD stole the lives of two people. What kind of department is Michel Moore claiming to lead when he’s enabling police to just kill people without any regard for human life?
This is why Chief Moore must go! His tenure as Chief has entrenched a culture of corruption, brutality, repression, and violence, that particularly impacts Black communities. We continue to demand that Mayor Eric Garcetti fire Chief Moore.
Read MoreLast week, the independent investigation of the Los Angeles Police Department’s response to the Summer 2020 protests in the name of #GeorgeFloyd and others killed by police was released. The 101-page report confirmed on-the-ground accounts, detailing horrific acts of brutality, abuse, and violence against protestors. The investigation pointed to the LAPD Chief Michel Moore as having “directly ordered” many of the atrocities- it is imperative that he be removed as Chief immediately. We demand that Mayor Eric Garcetti fire Chief Moore.
This Saturday also marks the one year since the murder of #BreonnaTaylor. In the midst of an unprecedented global health pandemic and economic fallout, the theft of #AhmaudArbery, Breonna, and George’s lives, cracked the world wide open and galvanized millions of people to engage in the struggle for justice against police and white-supremacist violence. The global protests summoned a reckoning demanding that we make Black Lives Matter in all aspects of life.
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