Heri za Kwanzaa - Happy Kwanzaa! Sunday, December 26th marked the beginning of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa was founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga and the US Organization in 1966 as a seven day holiday that runs from December 26th through January 1st each year. It is based on African harvest festivals and is meant to be a celebration of the hard work that we have done all year and the fruit that our labor bears. During Kwanzaa we uplift the Nguzo Saba - seven principles - necessary for Black freedom. Each day we reflect on the principles: UMOJA (unity), KUJICHAGULIA (self-determination), UJIMA (collective work), UJAMAA (cooperative economics), NIA (purpose), KUUMBA (creativity) and IMANI (faith). Let this time be one of both reflection and action as we move forward to build a world of enduring peace, justice, freedom, and joy.
Kwanzaa also means a redoubling of our work and efforts…especially in light of the ramped up violence of LAPD…which continues to murder our people with impunity…including 14-year-old children in department store dressing rooms. #ValentinaOrellanaPeralta
LET’S STAY IN THESE STREETS TO #ENDPOLICEASSOCIATIONS EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 4PM, 1313 W. 8TH STREET IN LOS ANGELES.
Read More
Today as the jury continues to deliberate the verdict in the Kim Potter trial for the murder of #DaunteWright in Minnesota, let us remember that no matter the outcome, justice will not be delivered. Justice would be Daunte being home with his family for the holidays, raising his young child, and stepping into his fullest purpose.
While we can’t get justice for Daunte, we can get justice in his name, which requires accountability for his death by way of a guilty verdict. Kim Potter was not only a training officer, but the president of her police association, who conspired with murderous officers for decades to cover up other killings. Now she has summoned white-woman-tears and rallied the blue-code-of-protection in an attempt to cover for her own murderous act.
Read More
POLICE LIE! POLICE ARE CORRUPT! Policing is a fundamentally dishonest, brutal oppressive, and murderous system. Today, it was made public what we already know…Torrance police are racist. On the eve of the angelversary of #ChristopherDeAndreMitchell, the lies of the officers who murdered him – Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon – are being laid bare for the world to see. In Los Angeles, LAPD…including some high ranking officers…were part of what can only be described as an arms ring…where guns paid for with our tax dollars were stolen and sold back to dirty cops. Not to confine the corruption to the City, LAPD become a global embarrassment when Chief Moore and Assistant Chief Marino wrongfully arrested an innocent person in France, based on a false robbery accusation made by the assistant Chief’s wife. Police are lying in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota as the trial of Kimberly Potter, who murdered #DaunteWright gets underway, and in Chicago as they attempt to prosecute actor and activist Jussie Smollett. The list, unfortunately, goes on and at worst includes the targeted harassment, surveillance, brutalization and murder of Black people. Police lie. Policing is corrupt and the only solution is abolition. W
e got work to do!
Read More
#BlackXmas is not just about rejecting white supremacist capitalism, it also encourages people to support the Black organizations that support our communities. Consider organizations like Black Lives Matter-LA, fighting to end state-sanctioned violence and usher in a new world through abolition; organizations like Africa Town, that maintain safety and cultural richness in Leimert Park and organize the Sunday African Market & Drum Circle there; organizations like the Fernando Pullum Center that provides free performing arts classes for children; and the Jenesse Center that provides resources and housing for women and children who are surviving domestic violence. A robust list of visionary Black-led, Black-serving organizations in Los Angeles can be found here. Donating to these organizations in the names of your loved ones makes a tremendous gift. Instead of buying into the consumerist frenzy this holiday season, engage in the #BlackXmas principle #BuildBlack and make a difference with your dollars.
AND STAY IN THESE STREETS TO #ENDPOLICEASSOCIATIONS EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 4PM, 1313 W. 8TH STREET IN LOS ANGELES.
Read More
Black Lives Matter has been challenging people to “dream of a #BlackXmas,” to intentionally use our resources to: #BuildBlack (invest in Black-led, Black-serving organizations), #BuyBlack (spend exclusively with Black-owned businesses from Black Friday through New Year), and #BankBlack (move our money from white corporate banks to Black-owned ones). #BlackXmas challenges us to shake off the chains of consumerism and step fully into our own collective power, to build new traditions, and run an offense as well as a defense.
Read More
Nevermind the naysayers…
#DefundThePolice is a righteous policy demand and a winning strategy! Just ask Councilmember-Elects Indira Sheumaker in Des Moines, Iowa, Richie Floyd in St. Petersberg, Florida, and Joanna Kelley in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. All of these movement folks won on platforms that sought to divest from harmful carceral systems and invest in community resources like housing, mental health resources, and youth programs.
Read More
There is so much to fight for and when we are constant and consistent in our struggle, we can win the world of our most radical imaginings. For months we have been fighting to get the #NoNewCops motion on to the City Council agenda, now let’s get it passed. We’ve been saying #AnthonyMcClain...let’s demand justice and accountability in his name. We've been standing for #ChristopherDeAndreMitchell...let's force the City of Torrance to take action. Let’s block the armament of park rangers and demand the passage of Representative Cori Bush’s People’s Response Act.
Read More
“America” was built on the stolen land of Indigenous people and the stolen labor and lives of our African Ancestors. As Black freedom fighters, we pay respect to the Indigenous people upon whose land we stand. We seek to not only acknowledge the theft of Indigenous land, but struggle arm-in-arm for reparations and justice.
Read More
The transition of our beloved Brother, comrade, and friend General Jeff leaves a gaping hole in our hearts. Jeff Page has been called the “Mayor of Skid Row,” and is known the world over as a stalwart freedom fighter, a Hip Hip legend, an unwavering voice of the people, and the embodiment of what it means to live life as a free Black man. Those of us who were fortunate enough to fight alongside him also know Jeff as one of the warmest, most loving human beings to ever grace this earth. He is a revolutionary in the truest sense...one who moves out of deep and unrelenting love for our people. Sharing space with General Jeff was equal parts strategy and joy, cussing and laughter, frustration and resolution...all bound together with smiles that emanated from soul space, set to the rhythm of good music.
We speak to the wind and the sun and every element of the universe that now carries General Jeff’s Spirit...We say thank you. Thank you for living your life as an offering to our people...a beautiful, big, joyous offering. We ask you to continue to be our warrior. We seek to honor you with our work. We offer our deepest love to General Jeff’s family and loved ones and thank them for sharing him with us.
Read More
On Thursday, Black Lives Matter received the prestigious Chatham House Centenary Diversity Champion Award. The Chatham House Prize is an annual award honored to a person or organization who has made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations, and is the British equivalent of the Presidential Medal of Honor. The award is in “recognition of the momentous work Black Lives Matter has done towards empowering black people and promoting a more inclusive approach to race in policy-making.”
Sister Melina Abdullah accepted the award last Thursday at the Chatham House in London, along with Thandiwe Abdullah of the BLM-Youth Vanguard, Tabatha Jones Jolivet of BLMLA, Angela Angel of the BLM Pac and Kayza Rose of BLM-UK. As Sister Melina spoke about how it’s great for the movement to be recognized on a global scale, she also uplifted the work that Britain has to do to address the police brutality in their own country. As abolitionists, it is our duty to challenge every government to go beyond the words Black Lives Matter and make sure their actions make Black Lives Matter. You can watch the ceremony and Melina’s acceptance speech here.
Read More
The recent harassment against our beloved Melina Abdullah is a clear example of why police don’t keep us safe and should be defunded. Our #DefundThePolice demand is the first step towards our main goal of ABOLISHING THE POLICE! Modern day policing is a descendent of slave-catching. But we are the descendents of revolutionaries and abolitionists. So in honor of our Ancestors who survived the Middle Passage, and survived generations of chattel slavery, in honor of our sacred duty to upend systems of terror, surveillance and control, we must organize for abolition!
Read More
Last Wednesday afternoon at the weekly Black Lives Matter #EndPoliceAssociations rally, Sister Melina Abdullah was alerted that LAPD was currently surrounding her home with SWAT gear and assault rifles. For the second time in 6 days, LAPD officers claimed to be responding to a fake 911 call.
This undoubtable harassment campaign against Sister Melina is an attempt to intimidate her...and us...out of the work. Our people are stronger than that! Neighbors continue to keep Sister Melina and her children safe. Organizers continue to keep each other safe. As Sister Melina said, “there are forces that are visible and invisible that are keeping us safe.” #WeKeepUsSafe
One way that you can help us stay safe is to hope in this work! We need you to join us in the streets and let LAPD and white supremacists know they aren’t going to scare any of us out of our sacred duty. There is power and safety in numbers. EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 4PM, 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations!
Read More
Dr. Melina Abdullah’s home was targeted again for a second “swatting”, less than 24 hours after a lawsuit against the LAPD for the first “swatting” was announced. Since the second swatting she has received threatening text messages and phone calls to her personal phone, along with emails and phone calls to her workplace. It is clear that she is being targeted as a Black Lives Matter organizer.
The targeting of Black radical organizers is nothing new. The movement remains strong when we move together, when we truly “love and protect one another.”
WE KEEP US SAFE.
In the words of our own Sister Melina, “We will not be moved. We will double down on our efforts to stop police violence, make #BlackLivesMatter, and build a world where we can all live and walk freely.” Read her full statement here.
Read More
You may have seen the horrific images of Haitian immigrants who are looking for food, water, and refuge, being brutally beaten with whips by U.S. Border Patrol on horseback. We must stand up! TODAY (Tuesday) at noon, Black Lives Matter will stand with Black Alliance for Just Immigration and other ally organizations in front of the Department of Homeland Security - 300 N. Los Angeles Street. Stand with us! You can come late, but COME!
The right-wing attempt to steal the governorship through a recall election has failed! Voters turned out in large numbers last Tuesday to reject the recall and reject Larry Elder’s candidacy. Now that our votes ensured Gavin Newsom will remain the governor, he needs to return the favor by immediately signing two bills into law: SB2, the Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Bill and AB118, the Crises Act.
And now that we’ve voted, we must organize to continue blocking any further disruptions to our movement. We must stop the Larry Elders of the world from ever being close to power. The fight for justice continues…
Read More
The California recall election is a right-wing attempt to seize power and control of the state. The same forces that fueled and funded the terrible presidency of Donald Trump are the ones behind this recall attempt. The recall process itself is anti-Democratic, anti-Black, anti-Labor, and anti-any progressive policy. Larry Elder – who is almost assured the governorship if the recall passes – is a “Black face on white supremacy,” who outrageously floated the notion that descendants of slave owners are due reparations for their loss of “property,” not Black people whose Ancestors were actually enslaved.
If you believe in women’s rights, minimum wage, public education, public health, reparations, police accountability, and that Black Lives Matter, we urge you to VOTE NO ON THE RECALL BY SEPTEMBER 14TH.
Read More
This week, as we honor the labor movement that provides working-class people with protections, fair wages, and decision-making power, join us for a Labor Day edition of our weekly #EndPoliceAssociations rally TODAY, Wednesday, September 8, at 3pm 1313 W. 8th St. If you’re a union member, come out in solidarity and wear your union attire! And ALL WORKING PEOPLE, their families, and community are encouraged to join. Let’s raise our voices and our fists against the police associations that protect killer cops and demand they be removed from the House of Labor!
And stay in the streets with us EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3PM AT 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations!
Read More
District Attorney George Gascón is keeping his word on progressive justice reform by prosecuting corrupt cops. First, his office announced charges against two former Torrance police officers for painting a swastika in an impounded vehicle. Then, he filed charges against two LA County Sheriffs out of the East LA station for an assault and cover up. On Friday, he charged a Torrance police officer with assault for shooting a man while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Alright, DA Gascón...Keep the charges coming! Next up...PROSECUTE KILLER COPS!
Read More
STUDY. FAST. TRAIN. FIGHT. Engage with the four pillars of Black August tonight at Chuco’s Justice Center for our monthly general meeting. This special conversation will be led by comrades Jitu Sadiki and Harold Welton from Black August Resistance Coalition/Black August - Los Angeles.
Read More
This week brings the angelversaries of #MichaelBrownJr, whose murder by Ferguson police on August 9, 2014 sparked a massive uprising and grew Black Lives Matter into a national movement; #MitriceRichardson, whose body was found August 9, 2010 after LA Sheriff deputies sent her out onto a dark Malibu highway in the middle of the night with no phone, no money and no transportation; #JesseRomero, who was just 14-years-old when he was murdered by LAPD officer Eden Medina; #EzellFord, who was shot and killed on August 11, 2014 by LAPD officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas; #AnthonyVargas, murdered by members of the Banditos - an LA County Sheriffs gang on August 14, 2019; and #AnthonyMcClain - shot in the back on August 15, 2020 by Pasadena police officer Edwin Dumaguindin. Their souls cry out and demand that we struggle in their names and organize to transform this world into one where our people can grow and thrive.
Read More