In the wake of Ferguson, how ordinary people can make a difference
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When you plug activism, street art and connection into your internal GPS system, where does it take you?
Taking over Hiawatha Avenue
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Thousands of protesters responding to the Ferguson, MO, grand jury decision gathered Tuesday night in south Minneapolis. But the local headline fodder was the story of the pedestrian protester struck and injured by a car at the intersection of Lake and Minnehaha. Continue Reading
VIDEO – Ferguson reaction in Minneapolis: Intense, peaceful, diverse crowd protests
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More than 300 solemn demonstrators rallied in front of a Minneapolis Police station on Tuesday to protest the refusal of a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the the killing of Michael Brown, a black teen. “Michael Brown! Michael Brown! Michael Brown!” chanted the crowd in unison. “Grand Jury — Phony Way To Clear Killer Cop” read one of the handmade signs. Continue Reading
More than wishful thinking
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We are all shopping and chopping and flying and driving and working and studying and praying and worrying and hopinghopinghoping for a better day tomorrow. Continue Reading
Hundreds block Lake and Minnehaha, non-indictment protest grows to thousands
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If the Storify story doesn’t appear, refresh your browser. [<a href=”//storify.com/tcdailyplanet/hundreds-block-lake-and-minnehaha-protest-lack-of” target=”_blank”>View the story “Hundreds block Lake and Minnehaha, protest lack of indictment” on Storify</a>] Continue Reading
Never give up: #Ferguson and the morning after
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What can any one person do in the face of #Ferguson and grief over a child’s death and despair over a country’s continuing racism and failure? What can any white person say, in the face of so much white failure, white racism, white guilt? Continue Reading
Ferguson: “Let’s make a difference”
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The freedom to enjoy human rights without discrimination is one of the most fundamental principles of human rights law. Every human being is equal in dignity and worth and has the right not to be discriminated against. Racism, which limits peoples’ access to rights based on their identity, attacks the very concept of human rights. Continue Reading
This Black Friday, direct some of that cash toward #Ferguson organizers
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With the release of a grand jury’s decision not to indict Mike Brown’s killer, many of us are feeling a lot of anger and sadness about the racist systems in place in our country. It warms my heart to see all the Black Lives Matter hashtags and Ferguson protest invites popping up on my Facebook newsfeed.Keep on posting and marching, but listen, there’s something we have to talk about:Money.Read more TC Daily Planet coverage of police misconduct issues.There’s a lot of it given away in the United States every year. Take it from someone who regularly looks at foundation tax returns. There’s a whole lot of money in the U.S. But, the vast majority of it is controlled by white people who are well served by the status quo. And those white people mostly transfer their wealth to cultural institutions that serve other privileged people like them, namely their alma maters.While there was a total of about $335 billion in private charitable giving in 2013, only a tiny percentage of that went towards social justice. It’s important to go to rallies and marches, and sign petitions and share information, but it’s equally important to open our wallets at the same time. Continue Reading
America did not learn from the Kerner Report, history repeats itself in Ferguson
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“The police are not merely a ‘spark’ factor. To some Negroes police have come to symbolize white power, white racism and white repression. And the fact is that many police do reflect and express these white attitudes. The atmosphere of hostility and cynicism is reinforced by a widespread belief among Negroes in the existence of police brutality and in a ‘double standard’ of justice and protection—one for Negroes and one for whites.” – Excerpt from the 1968 report, informally known as the Kerner Report, issued by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (also known as the Kerner Commission).The grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown spurred protests, looting, and businesses set on fire. It was a scene reminiscent of the 1960s. Continue Reading
Sculptor refuses to be pushed around by racism
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St. Paul sculptor Frank Brown describes himself as a “gofer,” someone who “goes for it, who doesn’t sit around waiting for someone to come looking for them. I take the initiative to go out and initiate the conversation that hopefully will create a positive response.”