Archive

Today Emmett Till should be celebrating his 81st birthday. When white supremacists violently stole his life at 14-years-old, his mother Mamie Till courageously decided to have an open casket so the world could see what racism did to her baby boy. 67 years later and the family is still demanding justice for Emmett Till.

This summer, the Emmett Till foundation discovered an unserved arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant, the white woman who falsely accused Emmett Till of whistling at her. The same white supremacist force that killed Emmet Till, is the same white supremacist force that failed to arrest Carolyn Bryant in connection with his murder. White supremacy continues to fuel the modern state of policing and the state sanctioned violence our communities experience today.

Organizing is how we end white supremacy.

Organizing is how we abolish police.

Organizing is how we keep us safe.

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After a brief car chase during a traffic stop, police officers in Akron, Ohio fired 90 rounds at Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, hitting him more than 60 times. After riddling Jayland’s body with bullets, the officers then placed handcuffs on his wrists. As if even in death, Jayland’s Black life was still a threat to the state.

A week later, a white supremacist opened fire into a crowd of families enjoying their 4th of July parade in a Chicago suburb. He killed seven people and injured at least 46 others. When Illinois police confronted the shooter, attempted a traffic stop and then pursued the suspect in a chase, he was taken into custody without incident.

We’ve seen this time and time again. Our people are gunned down during traffic stops while white supremacist killers get to have their day in court. The paradox of treatment proves who law enforcement are willing to protect.

This year marks 9-years of the Black Lives Matter movement. We say Black Lives Matter because firing 90 rounds at an unarmed Black man is an evil atrocity that must be stopped. We must fight for a world without state-sanctioned violence on Black bodies. We must uproot white supremacy and plant the abolitionist seeds of healing.

LET’S COME TOGETHER AND ORGANIZE IN THE NAME OF #JAYLANDWALKER AND ALL OF THE LIVES STOLEN BY POLICE VIOLENCE. JOIN US AT THE MONTHLY BLMLA MEETING SUNDAY, JULY 10 AT 7PM, 3423 W. 43RD PLACE IN AFRICATOWN (LEIMERT PARK).

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The overturning of Roe v. Wade is not only horrendous in and of itself, but marks a dangerous stripping of rights that sets the stage for an all out attack on Black and marginalized people, especially those at the intersections. Last Friday’s Supreme Dobbs ruling ended 50 years of federal protection for abortions, and 13 states immediately banned abortions (with at least 13 more slated to follow). Black women and Black pregnant people, who already experience maternal mortality three-times that of non-Black women, will be disproportionately impacted. Making Black Lives Matter means supporting body autonomy, Black pregnant people, freedom of choice, and the overarching fight for reproductive justice.

Black Lives Matter Grassroots is committed to building the movement on the streets. As conservatives come for us guns blazing (quite literally) and liberals offer non-solutions like term limits for Supreme Court Justices, we know that real change comes through the power of the people.

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STAND WITH DR. MELINA ABDULLAH AND CONDEMN THE UNIVERSITY FOR THEIR BRUTALITY AGAINST THEIR OWN TENURED PROFESSOR. JOIN US AT A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY, WEDNESDAY MAY 4TH AT 2PM PT. CAL STATE LA UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION - 5154 STATE UNIVERSITY DR., LOS ANGELES, CA 90032.

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Last week Eric Garcetti revealed his 2022-2023 fiscal year budget proposal which, if approved by City Council, will give the Los Angeles Police Department $3.2 BILLION – an 8% increase from last year. During Eric Garcetti’s 8-year tenure as LA Mayor, he has increased the LAPD budget by 54%. Even though LAPD already gobbles more than half of Los Angeles’ general fund, Garcetti continues to prove his liberal white supremacy by stealing more of our tax dollars away from much-needed resources. Our communities not only need, but deserve, deep investments in housing, mental health, youth services, jobs, infrastructure, and more.

This is why the People’s Budget LA-coalition, led by Black Lives Matter-LA, convened. We know that we need to #DefundThePolice and invest in our communities. As a coalition we’ve gone through two budget cycles engaging Angelenos on what priorities matter the most to them, and discussed the budget process in a way that city officials failed to do. This year is the third year of the People’s Budget LA cycle and we need your voice! Complete and share the 2022-2023 People’s Budget LA survey and learn more information about the People’s Budget LA online.

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The People’s Budget-LA Candidate Forum, led by Black Lives Matter-LA, took place last Saturday in Africa Town and was an extraordinary display of people power with more than 20 candidates in attendance and close to 300 folks in the park. Those who were running FOR the community instead of FROM the community were there, including mayoral candidates: Gina Viola, Mel Wilson and Alex Gruenenfelder Smith; city attorney candidates: Faisal Gill, Hydee Feldstein Soto and Sherri Onica Valle Cole; city controller candidates: Kenneth Mejia and Stephanie Clements; and city council candidates: Al Corado (CD13), Hugo Soto-Martinez (CD13), Eunisses Hernandez (CD1), Erin Darling (rCD11), Bryant Odega (CD15), Jimmy Biblarz (CD5), Scott Epstein (CD5), Dulce Vasquez (CD9), and Kate Pynoos (CD13). Although it’s extremely disappointing that none of the so-called mayoral “frontrunner” candidates showed up, we are grateful to those who did, who signed our pledges to hold them accountable, and who demonstrated their allegiance to the people, not police.

Thank you to the People’s Budget-LA team that made it happen, and thank you to Dominique DiPrima of KBLA Talk 1580AM for moderating. You can watch the forum online at the link here: https://www.facebook.com/blmla/videos/5287023881316003.

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Campaign season is in full swing! At recent mayor debates, candidates have tried to one up each other in how much they would increase funding for police and their plans to criminalize homelessness through sweeps to “clean up the streets.” People’s Budget LA, a coalition led by Black Lives Matter-LA, will be hosting a candidate forum of our own to discuss how candidates will make #BlackLivesMatter if elected into office, what their budget priorities are, and why they do (or don’t) deserve our vote. Every single candidate running for any seat in the City of Los Angeles has been invited. Some have confirmed their attendance, others are already running from the community. This Saturday in Africa Town (Leimert Park Plaza) 4395 Leimert Blvd. Come out and join the community conversation and hear directly from candidates on where they stand on important issues.

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We are still walking on air from the beauty and joy experienced at yesterday’s #BlackWomenAreDivine “reclamation” in the name of #BreonnaTaylor. A million thanks to all the Black women who were present and to all the people who were not Black women who gave their gifts, time, and labor to make it happen. We especially appreciate the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, KBLA Talk 1580, Creating Justice, Frontline Wellness, and Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson for partnering with us to provide this day of healing and joy for Black women, girls, and femmes.

If you were unable to participate on Saturday (or if you were and need some more), come out TONIGHT AT 7PM for BLMLA’s Monthly Meeting at 3423 W. 43rd Place to debrief and contemplate next steps in honoring the divinity of Black womanhood, which requires the ending of state-sanctioned violence against Black people.

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This Wednesday will mark ONE WHOLE YEAR of Black Lives Matter’s #EndPoliceAssociations campaign. It is police associations that are behind harmful policies like no-knock warrants - which stole the lives of #AmirLocke and #BreonnaTaylor and qualified immunity - which shield the police responsible for #AndrewJosephIII’s death from accountability. It is police associations that bully and bribe elected officials and candidates for office as they “pilfer the public purse,” by demanding budget increases that take funds away from vital resources - like housing. Police associations are not unions, and they must be ousted from the House of Labor. They threaten the lives and work against the interests of working class people.

For a whole year now…every Wednesday at 4pm, #BlackLivesMatter and allies come together to take over the streets in front of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, summon the spirit of our most righteous Ancestors, stand with the families of those killed by police, and demand justice.

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Saturday, February 5th should have been Trayvon Martin’s 27th birthday. Instead of celebrating entering into a new chapter of young adulthood, his mother and family organized a peace walk to “let the nation know, that he had a right to walk in peace without being followed, pursued, profiled, chased, and murdered.”

Black Lives Matter chapters from around the country convened in Miami to join the family, and stand alongside them to uplift his name. It’s in his name, #BreonnaTaylor, #DijonKizzee, #SandraBland, #George Floyd, #AmirLocke, #MichelleShirley and all of the names of those stolen by police violence, that we unceasingly struggle for justice and fight for a world where #BlackLivesMatter.

We must stay in these streets and organize to #EndPoliceAssociations that shield and protect killer cops from accountability, and impede real structural change.

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Happy Black History Month, BLMLA Family!

As we vision and build Black futures, we are deeply committed to the African principle of Sankofa. We know we must embrace and honor the freedom fighters, struggles, and lessons learned from the past as we chart the course forward. Founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as Negro History Week, which emanated from the existing birthday celebrations of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln by Black communities on February 14th and February 12th respectively. A month-long remembrance was initiated by Black Student Union organizers at Kent State University in 1969, which began this now time-honored tradition. Not officially recognized by the U.S. government until 1976, Black History Month has, and continues to be, an expression of Black autonomy and a claim to our right of self-determination.

In this spirit, we are excited to continue our #BlackHistoryMatters campaign with Scholars 4 Black Lives again this year and deepen our political understanding of Black historical figures, events, and movements within the Black freedom tradition. Consistent with last year’s campaign, daily installments will be posted to the Black Lives Matter and Scholars 4 Black Lives Instagram pages and tagged with #BlackHistoryMatters. We hope that you will like, comment, and share widely as these brief tellings of Black history provide us the inspiration to struggle forward with renewed vigor and vision.

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Abolition is the way to true freedom…and it means the toppling of unjust system and the radical imagining of new ones. Abolition applies to all areas…from how our city budgets are invested (#BlockTheLAPDBudgetIncrease), to our commitment to transformative justice, to how we treat each other. The abolition of state-sanctioned oppression is the foundation for our movement. Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors; new book, An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World, is a guide for how to be an everyday abolitionist. It teaches us how to have courageous conversations that propel the abolitionist narrative and understanding forward, in addition to providing thoughtful lessons on the praxis of abolition. It’s a manual for the movement and an absolute must-read.

Grab a copy from a Black-owned bookstore! (Eso Won and Malik’s Books in Los Angeles and see verifiedblackowned.org for options.) And continue fighting for abolition by STAYING IN THESE STREETS TO #ENDPOLICEASSOCIATIONS EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 4PM, 1313 W. 8TH STREET IN LOS ANGELES.

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Every day in the struggle is Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His radical vision and ancestral spirit guides our fight to end state-sanctioned violence, economic oppression in our communities (#DefundThePolice), and true freedom for all Black people by way of abolition. Dr. King’s warning of the three evils: racism, capitalism, and materialism, continue to plague society today. This week in the Senate, the voting rights for which Dr. King struggled so fervently, are in jeopardy.

This week and every week, let us not just say Dr. King’s name or post a quote, let us engage fully in the beautiful struggle for justice and freedom.

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January 12th should have been #JalaniLovett’s 28th birthday, but on September 22, 2021, he was beaten to death by sheriff's deputies, believed to be part of the “3000 Boys” gang, inside Men’s Central Jail. While the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department tried to cover up Jalani’s murder, by calling it a drug overdose, autopsy photos clearly show that Jalani was beaten horribly.

Jalani is not the first Black man to be killed in such a manner. The circumstances of Jalani’s death and the cover-up attempt are almost identical to the murder of #JohnHorton in 2009…also at the hands of the 3000 Boys. And there are others…hundreds killed and thousands of lives destroyed by LASD gangs.

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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.

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