Archive

Happy Black History Month! Black History Month was initiated by Dr. Carter G. Woodson as Negro History Week in 1926 and taken as an entire month by the Black Student Union at Kent State University in 1969. For Black Lives Matter Grassroots and BLMLA, Black History Month offers an opportunity for us to reflect on the powerful history of Black people and the principled struggles that have gotten us this far down freedom’s road. It serves as a reminder that “when we fight, we win,” and compels us to continue to do the righteous work necessary to get to full and complete freedom. This February, be inspired by following our “Black History Matters” daily political education installments on Instagram @blmgrassroots, and plug in to do the righteous work of Black liberation.

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Greetings BLMLA Family…

 

Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles Has Been Calling for Moore’s Dismissal Since the Los Police Department’s Murder of Albert Ramon Dorsey at a 24-Hour Fitness in Hollywood in 2018.

 

In 2023 alone at least 25 people were killed by LAPD on Chief Moore’s watch – more murders than the LAPD has ever committed since the start of the Black Lives Matter movement. Under Moore’s supervision, officers blew up an entire South LA neighborhood (and claimed the lives of two community elders), viciously brutalized Black Lives Matter protesters, garnered rampant harassment and corruption charges, and most recently launched an investigation into LA Mayor Karen Bass. 

 

On January 12th. Moore announced his departure, just 6 months in to his second term. We say he didn’t “retire,” he was fired by the people. 

 

As the mayor and police commission contemplate the next police chief following Moore’s departure, we’re encouraging Angelenos to challenge Mayor Bass to #ReimaginePublicSafety by investing more deeply in community resources. 

 

Make your voice heard by completing the People’s Budget survey at peoplesbudgetla.com/survey. 

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We are two weeks into the new year and BLMLA has already won two major victories. 1. #NoMoreMoore is now a reality. We’ve spent the last three years rallying, petitioning,

advocating, and protesting to get rid of LAPD’s murderous, corrupt police chief, Michel Moore. On Friday, the soon-to-be former chief was fired by the people! Just 6 months into his second 5-year term, Moore announced his “retirement.” Like former Chief Beck before him, Moore also claimed he needed to spend more time with his family. (Haley, his only “child,” is well into adulthood.) BLMLA has run two petitions - one to former mayor Garcetti and another to Mayor Bass and the LA Police Commission, made public comment at police commission meetings every single Tuesday, run a #NoMooreMondays weekly social media campaign, flyered communities, and pushed for more than 3 years. It is this critical work that has forced his resignation. We say good riddance!

In a second major victory, Andrew Lyons, the former sheriff’s deputy who murdered Black unarmed father of three #RyanTwyman in 2019, is now a convicted felon. Lyons is the first cop in Los Angeles County to get jail time for an “officer-involved shooting” in 22 years. Lyons was also decertified and can never be a cop or own a gun again. Our relentless marches, calls to action, court support, and community organizing was so worth it. We are blessed to stand with the Twyman family and have won an incredible step forward that contributes to accountability and real public safety. 

 

Our chant couldn’t ring truer - 

WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN!

Let’s keep fighting!

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On December 4, 2023, #NianiFinlayson, called 911 in an act of desperation after her daughter had been physically abused by her partner. Los Angeles County sheriffs entered her home and shot the 27-year-old Black mama to death within 4 seconds and in front of her 9-year-old daughter. Deputy Ty Shelton also killed 62-year-old Black father #MichaelThomas inside his own home in 2020. As we rage and mourn the theft of Black life, we must also take action. While justice would be Niani living her life, raising her two children, and growing into the beautiful human being she was becoming, justice in her name means the firing and prosecution of the cop who stole her life, comfort and support for her family, and the fundamental transformation of public safety systems. Go to linktr.ee/justice4nianifinlayson for concrete action steps.

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In 2023 LAPD killed three people in the first three days of the year. Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles has been fighting for justice, alongside the families, in the names of #KeenanAnderson and #TakarSmith. In November we won rare “out-of-policy” rulings in both cases. As we move into the new year, we are demanding the firings and prosecutions of the cops who stole their lives and working towards policy change that would bring non-police response to mental health crises…and would have saved Takar’s life, and remove police from traffic…which would have spared Keenan Anderson. We need you in this fight! Let’s make 2024 a year when Black fathers, like Takar and Keenan, get to live, raise their children, and thrive in this world. 

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Heri za Kwanzaa, BLMLA Family!

Happy first day of Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday celebrated from December 26th through January 1st. It was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga and the Us Organization. With roots in African harvest festivals, Kwanzaa means “first fruits” and is a celebration of the work that Black people have done throughout the year and the harvest that we reap. Anchored by the Nguzo Saba (7 principles), we reflect on one principle essential to Black liberation each day. 

On this day, we build first from the first principle - Umoja (unity). Tonight, Black people the world over will light the center black candle on the kinara (candleholder) and reflect on how to build togetherness within our community as an imperative for Black freedom.

Join us in the streets on Wednesday for the second day of Kwanzaa - Kujichagulia (Self-Determination). Let’s vision and build a public safety system that doesn’t rely on police!

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Stand up to the white-supremacist capitalism that steals Black life and funds the genocide of the Palestinian people! Gather at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills for this unprecedented solidarity action organized by Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles, Latino and Muslim Unity, White People for Black Lives, and ally groups. Bring your family, friends, signs, noisemakers, singing voice, marching shoes, and true holiday spirit. All justice-loving people are welcome.

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Last night #GenocideJoe was confronted by more than 1500 protestors demanding that Biden stop funding the genocide of the Palestinian people with our tax dollars. Saturday, Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles will join Muslim and justice-loving community in Anaheim to #BoycottDisney and demand that corporations that support the Israel Defense Force be held accountable. 

And…we are also facing an LAPD that is on track to kill more people than it ever has before, all while receiving an even greater share of the City’s budget. 

To change things, WE MUST ORGANIZE! Join the #BlackXmas edition of the BLMLA monthly organizing meeting THIS SUNDAY AT 7PM at the Center for Black Power - 3423 W. 43rd Place. Soul food dinner by M’Dear’s! 

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As many prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded that thousands will be mourning an #EmptySeatAtTheTable…the tremendous loss of loved ones who were stolen by police and white-supremacist violence. As some gather around tables, sharing food, laughter, and loved ones, others are visited by a haunting loss.

Let’s also remember that this is by design in a nation built on the stolen land of Indigenous people, built by the stolen labor of our African Ancestors. Settler colonial forces and white-supremacist capitalism require a violent police state that steals life in order to maintain power.

This holiday season:

• Please pray and send your deepest love to those who are suffering. 

• Join Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles in these streets to #DoTheWork required to topple unjust systems. 

• #BlackOutBlackFriday and refuse to spend dollars with corporations that fund our oppression.

• Plug in with the #BlackXmas campaign to push back against white-supremacist capitalism.

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We know that most organizing is invisible work. It’s the visioning, strategizing, planning, thinking through, and developing plans of action. We need you to join the monthly organizing meeting tonight at 7PM at the Center for Black Power - 3423 W. 43rd Place, as we organize for cooperative economics…from Black Xmas to participatory budgeting. At tonight’s meeting:

• Help launch the #BlackXmas campaign which runs from November 24, 2023 (Black Friday) through January 1, 2024 (New Year’s Day), where we #BuildBlack, #BuyBlack, and #BankBlack. 

• Be among the first to take the 2023-2024 People’s Budget Survey with Drs. Tabatha Jones Jolivet and David Turner. Tell the City of Los Angeles what we need and want! 

• Plug in with all the BLMLA campaigns and efforts.

• Join in fellowship with organizers committed to Black liberation...great food and produce bags to take home.

We look forward to organizing together tonight and in these streets all week long!

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As we fight for housing justice in Los Angeles, work to #StopCopCity in Atlanta, and #FreePalestine, we must remember that all our fights are connected. The Israel Defense Forces conduct trainings with LAPD and plan to use Atlanta’s Cop City as a training ground. What we are experiencing…the displacement of (mostly Black) poor people, militarized police forces that gobble up entire forests, and genocides around the world is the work settler colonial powers. It is the work of white-supremacist-capitalism. And…as abolitionists…we must fight on all fronts. 

Each day may we rise and do work for justice. Do work to #FreeTheLand!

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As we continue to chant and work towards #FreePalestine, genocides in the DRC and Sudan are being exposed, killings of Black people by police continue - including a 13 year-old boy in Washington, DC yesterday, and systems continue to erode Black power. We must not close our eyes or seek a comfortable place in oppression. Instead, we must summon the power and guidance of our Creator and the mightiest of Ancestors, and #DoTheWork that freedom requires.

Last week we celebrated the life and Spirit of Comrade Jitu Sadiki - co-founder of Black August. Just weeks before we memorialized Dr. Mutulu Shakur, our visionary Black power leader who initiated the praxis of healing justice. Today, we will lay to rest the body of Ruchell “Cinque” Magee, the longest held political prisoner in the United States.  Comrade Ruchell took the name Cinque, after the courageous liberator who commandeered the slave ship, the Amistad, bringing freedom to hundreds. Our “Cinque” asked to be buried with a Black Lives Matter pin because he sees us as a continuation of the generations-long struggle for Black freedom. Let’s earn that honor by living and working for our people with all that we have. Long live our freedom fighters! Long live Ruchell “Cinque” Magee!

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As we navigate a world of complications, where racists like Kevin de León run for reelection, where the thieves that stole #BlackLivesMatter’s funds, platforms and good name sue the righteous organizers in Black Lives Matter Grassroots for legal fees, and where oppressed people in Palestine are deemed aggressors for daring to invoke self-determination and self-defense, it is clear that we must ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE! Join the BLMLA Monthly Organizing Meeting on Sunday, October 8th at 7PM at the Center for Black Power - 3423 W. 43rd Place in AfricaTown (Leimert Park). And double-down on resistance by taking justice actions right now!

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Looks like #HotLaborSummer is extending into #HotLaborFall. As we congratulate SAG-AFTRA and WGA for winning good contracts for writers and actors, other workers are forming their own picket lines. Hotel and restaurant workers with Unite-HERE are still striking, as is UAW. City workers are still negotiating their contracts and are about to #FixLA. SEIU 2015 is pushing for fair conditions in nursing homes. Kaiser workers just launched the largest strike in the history of healthcare. And, 23,000 professors, counselors, librarians and coaches in the California State University system are #StrikeReady. You know who didn’t have to strike for raises? Cops. You know who’s busting up picket lines? Cops. You know who works for bosses, not other workers? You guessed it…Cops. 

This is why we must #EndPoliceAssociations and remove cops from the House of Labor. Join us every Wednesday at 4pm in these streets. 

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It’s time for LAPD Chief Michel Moore to go! Under his (mis)leadership LAPD officers have shot at least 27 people, and killed 17 people and a dog so far this year.  More than half of the victims are Black, many of them struggling with mental health conditions. This is the most people killed by  any law enforcement unit in the nation. And the killings are only a part of LAPD’s scandals and corruption, which seem to be exposed daily, even as they continue to gobble up half of the City’s general fund…nearly $4 billion annually. Let’s make it clear to Mayor Karen Bass and the LA Police Commission that the people say #FireChiefMoore!

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Monday August 21st is #BlackPowerDay…
The revolutionary energy is undeniable. May we summon the mighty spirits of our righteous warrior Ancestors, including: 

• #ToussaintLouverture - Haitian Revolution commenced August 21, 1791.

• #NatTurner - Nat Turner’s Rebellion began August 21, 1831.

• #JomoKenyatta - Freed from prison; Kenya’s 1st President, August 21, 1961.

• #GeorgeJackson - Uprising at San Quentin prison, August 21, 1971.

Each of these revolutionaries seized the power of this day. Let us also pledge our commitment to our people today and redouble our efforts to get free!
 

And may that Spirit of resistance carry us through the week as we challenge systems of oppression. We say: 

• NO to the murders of our people by LAPD - which has reached record numbers (20 shot and 14 killed so far this year)! 

• NO to double digit raises for police as real workers fight for livable wages. 

• NO to the massive training ground in Atlanta where police from all over the world will be trained as a militarized force for an all-out war on Black and poor people. #StopCopCity 

When we rise up and FIGHT, we win! Meet us in these streets for at least one action this week!

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Thank you to all who joined for our #BLMTurns10 People’s Justice Festival. Thousands poured into AfricaTown (Leimert Park) over the course of the day on Saturday, July 15, 2023, as we celebrated. More than 100 “justice families” – loved ones of those killed by police/white supremacy joined – including the mother of #TrayvonMartin, Ms. Sybrina Fulton, and from LA, the families of: #KeithBursey, #MelyCorado, #DijonKizzee, #DavidJosiahLawson, #GrecharioMack, #VanessaMarquez, #KendrickMcDade, #JamesMincey, #KennethRossJr, #RyanTwyman, #AnthonyVargas, and #SkyYoung. BLM chapters from across the country took part. There were seven activation spaces, focusing on healing justice, study & struggle, organizing, “the Black Fantastic” stage, solidarity, youth, and the “Black Brilliance” stage, featuring Dr. Cornel West, Chuck D, former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown, Queen Yonasda, Cat Brooks, Janaya “Future” Khan, our own Dr. Melina Abdullah, the Fernando Pullum Youth Band, and more. Four DJs, including: our own Pastor Cue (who even got on the mic for a minute!), Tynacity, Domina, and Mau. All beautifully hosted by Dominique DiPrima, Van Lathan, Porch’se Miller and Tavis Smiley. A children’s village, with free rides, vendors, art-making and so much more made it a celebration and recommitment worthy of the 10-year legacy of #BlackLivesMatter. 

There is so much we could say about the Festival…and the entire weekend, which also celebrated 75 years of our beloved Baba Akili – whose birthday is the same day as Black Lives Matter…Everyone who came, spoke, taught, facilitated, and performed did so for the love of the movement. We held each other in love and in faith…that we will get free. You can watch the livestream of the main stage here.

As we reflect on the beauty and power of the last 10 years, let’s use it as fuel to power us forward in the continued struggle for Black freedom.

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Yesterday, LAPD killed a young Black man named Michael (more to come), then concocted some far-fetched story to make him guilty for his own death. We are grateful to our rapid response team who immediately got out to Western and Florence to gather community accounts and offer support to the family. 

As many of you are aware, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick issued her ruling on BLM Global Network Foundation’s anti-SLAPP motion, which was not in favor of Black Lives Matter Grassroots. This is a setback, not a loss. As we continue to do the work necessary for Black liberation and prepare to celebrate ten years of Black Lives Matter, we will appeal this decision and implore the consultants who continue to hold on to the movement’s resources to release them. Please see our full statement here.

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