thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-03--Jimmy Carter: Powerful People Must Say 'No More' To Racist Justice System

“ As a politician , I felt a responsibility to bring equity to my state and our country .
In @ @ @ @ @ Georgia ’ s governor , I said : ‘ The time for racial discrimination is @ @ @ @ @ sorrow and disappointment , I repeat those words today , nearly five decades later .
@ @ @ @ @ ; humanity is beautifully and almost infinitely diverse .
The bonds of our common humanity @ @ @ @ @ our fears and prejudices .
”

“As a politician, I felt a responsibility to bring equity to my state and our country. In my 1971 inaugural address as Georgia’s governor, I said: ‘The time for racial discrimination is over.’
“With great sorrow and disappointment, I repeat those words today, nearly five decades later. Dehumanizing people debases us all; humanity is beautifully and almost infinitely diverse. The bonds of our common humanity must overcome the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-03--Virginia To Take Down Robert E. Lee Statue

Virginia Gov .
Ralph Northam is planning to announce on Thursday the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond .
The statue , located on Richmond ’ s well-known Monument Avenue , will be placed in storage , according to The Associated Press , which first reported on the announcement .
The Democratic governor ’ s office , which confirmed the decision to HuffPost , did not immediately clarify when the statue would come down .
The governor ’ s move comes as people protest systemic racism and police brutality across the nation in response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Minneapolis .
Floyd , who was Black , pleaded “ I can ’ t breathe ” as white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck .
Protesters in Richmond have gathered at the Lee statue in recent days , calling for officials to tear it down .
The statue now has graffiti on it , including messages saying “ end police brutality ” and “ stop white supremacy.
” Activists have long called for the removal of the monument to the Confederate general .
After white nationalist Dylann Roof shot and killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church in 2015 , dozens of Confederate symbols and monuments came down across the country at activists ’ insistence .
There were more calls for the removal of Richmond ’ s Lee statue after the 2017 deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville , Virginia , which was itself spurred by the planned removal of another statue honoring Lee .
Earlier this year , Northam expressed support for removing a statue of Lee located at the U.S. Capitol .
Last year , a racist yearbook photo of the governor surfaced in which he and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Klansman ’ s white hood .
( Northam confirmed he was in the photo and apologized , but did not specify which of the racist disguises he was wearing ) .
On Wednesday , Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced plans to introduce an ordinance that will remove all Confederate statues on Monument Avenue .
The statues , including ones of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gens .
Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B .
Stuart , are on city land , The Associated Press reported .
The Lee statue is on state land .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statues will allow the healing process to begin for so many Black Richmonders and Virginians , ” Stoney said in a release .
“ Richmond is no longer the Capital of the Confederacy — it is filled with diversity and love for all — and we need to demonstrate that.
” I am proud to Co-Patron an ordinance with Mayor @ LevarStoney for the removal of Civil War Monuments .
This is not my victory .
To our great grandparents , who lived in their shadow and to young protesters who echoed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Humbled pic.twitter.com/VmOlf07EUW — Dr Michael Jones ( @ thedrmikejones ) June 3 , 2020

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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is planning to announce on Thursday the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond.
The statue, located on Richmond’s well-known Monument Avenue, will be placed in storage, according to The Associated Press, which first reported on the announcement.
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The Democratic governor’s office, which confirmed the decision to HuffPost, did not immediately clarify when the statue would come down.
The governor’s move comes as people protest systemic racism and police brutality across the nation in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, pleaded “I can’t breathe” as white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck.
Protesters in Richmond have gathered at the Lee statue in recent days, calling for officials to tear it down. The statue now has graffiti on it, including messages saying “end police brutality” and “stop white supremacy.”
Activists have long called for the removal of the monument to the Confederate general.
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Earlier this year, Northam expressed support for removing a statue of Lee located at the U.S. Capitol. Last year, a racist yearbook photo of the governor surfaced in which he and another person posed in blackface and a Klansman’s white hood. (Northam confirmed he was in the photo and apologized, but did not specify which of the racist disguises he was wearing).
On Wednesday, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced plans to introduce an ordinance that will remove all Confederate statues on Monument Avenue. The statues, including ones of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gens. Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart, are on city land, The Associated Press reported. The Lee statue is on state land.
“Times have changed, and removing these statues will allow the healing process to begin for so many Black Richmonders and Virginians,” Stoney said in a release. “Richmond is no longer the Capital of the Confederacy — it is filled with diversity and love for all — and we need to demonstrate that.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-03--As Congress Tries To Reform Policing, Democrats Face Classic Legislative Dilemmas

WASHINGTON ― With protests continuing that call for changes to policing after an officer killed yet another unarmed Black man , some lawmakers in Congress are struggling to write bills that fit two important criteria : measures that have the possibility to become law and would address actual problems .
Democrats are drafting a number of proposals .
There ’ s an old bill from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries ( D-N.Y. ) that would outlaw chokeholds ; a proposal from Sen. Cory Booker ( D-N.J. ) that would create a national registry of police misconduct ; and an idea from Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the authority in the annual National Defense Authorization Act that allows the military to give police forces old equipment .
But all of those proposals likely would face trouble in the Republican-controlled Senate .
President Donald Trump , who has made his preference for the police over the protesters widely known , would have to sign the legislation ― an iffy prospect at best .
And even if Democrats succeeded in pushing their measures into law , it ’ s unclear how much good any of them would do .
Republicans have largely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have continued following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and amid the mounting daily evidence of improper police practices .
On Tuesday , a stream of GOP senators shrugged at Trump using the U.S. Park Police to clear out protesters ― in part by using a chemical irritant ― the night before so he could stage a photo op .
And while many Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in condemning the killing of George Floyd as an officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes ― they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support and empathy for the protests .
Rep. Will Hurd of Texas ― the only Black Republican in the House ― did participate in a march on Tuesday .
But Hurd , who is leaving Congress at the end of the year , has been the only GOP member of Congress to do so .
While the reforms percolating in Congress could be important ― if the bill banning the use of chokeholds had been made law after it was proposed , following the killing by New York police of Eric Garner in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ― they won ’ t do much to address systemic policing problems .
After all , it should have already been clear to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin that kneeling on Floyd ’ s neck for almost nine minutes wasn ’ t acceptable .
During a conference call on Monday with House Democrats , one member told HuffPost that Pelosi said lawmakers had seen these types of killings again and again and nothing had happened .
“ But this has to be pivotal .
It has to be transformative , ” Pelosi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats have mentioned that the Congressional Black Caucus is working on a package of police reforms ― from outlawing chokeholds to new mandated training for officers , removing legal shields for police and allowing victims of excessive force to sue officers .
And the chair of the CBC , Rep. Karen Bass ( D-Calif. ) , seems intent on getting such legislation through the House .
But again , any bill that gets through the House would need to get through the Republican Senate and past Trump .
And Democrats already seem to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ messaging bill instead of an actual reform .
Democrats suffer from classic legislative and political dilemmas : If they actually insist on “ transformative ” change , then it ’ s unlikely Republicans will go along .
And if they try to address massive problems with minor fixes , they ’ ll hardly address this crisis and may actually make real reform harder .
Giving Republicans a fig leaf of change to support may relieve the political pressure to address the systematic policing issues .
The solution seems to be that House Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big as the federal government can go in addressing a largely local issue ― and hope that Republicans feel pressure to join them .
And if GOP lawmakers just continue to ignore these issues , then Democrats hope the November elections can bring them a new Congress and a new White House to make their more sweeping changes possible .

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WASHINGTON ― With protests continuing that call for changes to policing after an officer killed yet another unarmed Black man, some lawmakers in Congress are struggling to write bills that fit two important criteria: measures that have the possibility to become law and would address actual problems.
Democrats are drafting a number of proposals. There’s an old bill from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that would outlaw chokeholds; a proposal from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) that would create a national registry of police misconduct; and an idea from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to revoke the authority in the annual National Defense Authorization Act that allows the military to give police forces old equipment.
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But all of those proposals likely would face trouble in the Republican-controlled Senate. President Donald Trump, who has made his preference for the police over the protesters widely known, would have to sign the legislation ― an iffy prospect at best. And even if Democrats succeeded in pushing their measures into law, it’s unclear how much good any of them would do.
Democrats say they are committed to, in the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), “transformative” change. Bill Clark via Getty Images
Republicans have largely stayed quiet as nationwide protests erupted and have continued following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and amid the mounting daily evidence of improper police practices. On Tuesday, a stream of GOP senators shrugged at Trump using the U.S. Park Police to clear out protesters ― in part by using a chemical irritant ― the night before so he could stage a photo op. And while many Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in condemning the killing of George Floyd as an officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes ― they’ve been much less vocal in expressing support and empathy for the protests.
Rep. Will Hurd of Texas ― the only Black Republican in the House ― did participate in a march on Tuesday. But Hurd, who is leaving Congress at the end of the year, has been the only GOP member of Congress to do so.
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Instead of the systemic policing problems that have fueled the demonstrations, GOP leaders have focused on the isolated looting and rioting that have marred some of the protests.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that he wanted to distinguish between the peaceful protests and the “violent riots that continue to see innocent people hurt, businesses and neighborhoods destroyed, and law enforcement officers assaulted.”
“The former is a cherished Constitutional right that every single citizen should support,” McConnell continued. “And the latter is an unacceptable scourge that state and local leaders should have ended days ago.
“It is well past time that we also unite on the side of peace in our streets and peace in our communities,” he added.
It’s possible Republicans join Democrats to endorse one or more of the reform measures targeting police. But even if they do, relatively modest reforms might not change the overarching problems.
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The nation’s policing crisis has become clear as the outrage over the Floyd killing has taken hundreds of thousands of Americans into the streets.
While the reforms percolating in Congress could be important ― if the bill banning the use of chokeholds had been made law after it was proposed, following the killing by New York police of Eric Garner in 2014, Floyd may be alive today ― they won’t do much to address systemic policing problems. After all, it should have already been clear to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin that kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes wasn’t acceptable.
A large part of the problem is that policing has always been more of a local issue, and local governments are generally the ones who approve police budgets and offer oversight, not Congress.
Still, Democrats say they are committed to, in the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), “transformative” change.
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During a conference call on Monday with House Democrats, one member told HuffPost that Pelosi said lawmakers had seen these types of killings again and again and nothing had happened. “But this has to be pivotal. It has to be transformative,” Pelosi said, according to The Hill.
Democrats have mentioned that the Congressional Black Caucus is working on a package of police reforms ― from outlawing chokeholds to new mandated training for officers, removing legal shields for police and allowing victims of excessive force to sue officers. And the chair of the CBC, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), seems intent on getting such legislation through the House.
“We are going to do everything we can, while the nation has a height of awareness on the issue, to pass transformative legislation,” Bass said.
But again, any bill that gets through the House would need to get through the Republican Senate and past Trump. And Democrats already seem to understand that their legislation will be a messaging bill instead of an actual reform.
Democrats suffer from classic legislative and political dilemmas: If they actually insist on “transformative” change, then it’s unlikely Republicans will go along. And if they try to address massive problems with minor fixes, they’ll hardly address this crisis and may actually make real reform harder. Giving Republicans a fig leaf of change to support may relieve the political pressure to address the systematic policing issues.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-03--California Lawmakers Block Facial Recognition Bill Amid Protests Against Racist Policing

California lawmakers blocked a bill on Wednesday that could have expanded the use of facial recognition technology by companies and government , including law enforcement , as protesters nationwide continued to call out racism and unjust policing .
The legislation , Assembly Bill 2261 , was held in committee , meaning it didn ’ t garner enough votes to move forward in the legislative process .
California Assemblymember Ed Chau , who introduced the bill , wrote in a CalMatters opinion article that it was meant to “ regulate the use of facial recognition technology by commercial , state and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil rights groups opposed it , calling the bill an “ endorsement of invasive surveillance ” in an April letter , adding : “ We should not be giving companies and governments a green light to use facial recognition to track individuals ... and further marginalize communities.
” The American Civil Liberties Union noted the bill would “ permit companies to sell face recognition technology to law enforcement even when they know their tech to be flawed and racially biased.
” “ While AB 2261 purports to protect privacy , it does the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its website .
“ The bill invites tech companies and law enforcement to self-regulate their use of face recognition , and places no meaningful restrictions on their ability to deploy this invasive technology against the people of California.
” VICTORY : The California legislature just stopped a bill that would have expanded police & corporate face surveillance across the state .
A massive civil rights coalition came together to stop this bill , which was backed by @ Microsoft .
# AB2261 More here : https : //t.co/7UtNDQd2Ce — Matt Cagle ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Northern California , San Francisco , Oakland and Berkeley have all banned government use of facial recognition technology in their jurisdictions .
Facial recognition technology has drawn scrutiny for its flaws , notably for frequently improperly identifying racial minorities .
In one high-profile example in 2018 , Amazon ’ s facial recognition tool incorrectly matched the faces of 28 lawmakers with people in mug shots and disproportionately misidentified people of color in a test by the ACLU .
“ We know face surveillance technology is less accurate for people of color , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biased police violence , ” ACLU of Northern California attorney Matt Cagle told HuffPost last year .
Facial recognition tools have been used in the past by law enforcement to monitor protests , reported the Verge — including to locate protesters in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray , a Black man who died after being arrested by police in 2015 .
Over the past week , protests have erupted nationwide against systemic racism and unjust policing in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I can ’ t breathe ” as white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the handcuffed man ’ s neck .

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California lawmakers blocked a bill on Wednesday that could have expanded the use of facial recognition technology by companies and government, including law enforcement, as protesters nationwide continued to call out racism and unjust policing.
The legislation, Assembly Bill 2261, was held in committee, meaning it didn’t garner enough votes to move forward in the legislative process.
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California Assemblymember Ed Chau, who introduced the bill, wrote in a CalMatters opinion article that it was meant to “regulate the use of facial recognition technology by commercial, state and local public entities.”
But dozens of civil rights groups opposed it, calling the bill an “endorsement of invasive surveillance” in an April letter, adding: “We should not be giving companies and governments a green light to use facial recognition to track individuals... and further marginalize communities.”
The American Civil Liberties Union noted the bill would “permit companies to sell face recognition technology to law enforcement even when they know their tech to be flawed and racially biased.”
“While AB 2261 purports to protect privacy, it does the opposite,” the ACLU wrote on its website. “The bill invites tech companies and law enforcement to self-regulate their use of face recognition, and places no meaningful restrictions on their ability to deploy this invasive technology against the people of California.”
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VICTORY: The California legislature just stopped a bill that would have expanded police & corporate face surveillance across the state. A massive civil rights coalition came together to stop this bill, which was backed by @Microsoft. #AB2261 More here: https://t.co/7UtNDQd2Ce — Matt Cagle (@Matt_Cagle) June 3, 2020
In Northern California, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley have all banned government use of facial recognition technology in their jurisdictions.
Facial recognition technology has drawn scrutiny for its flaws, notably for frequently improperly identifying racial minorities. In one high-profile example in 2018, Amazon’s facial recognition tool incorrectly matched the faces of 28 lawmakers with people in mug shots and disproportionately misidentified people of color in a test by the ACLU.
“We know face surveillance technology is less accurate for people of color, and a misidentification could subject people to racially biased police violence,” ACLU of Northern California attorney Matt Cagle told HuffPost last year.
Facial recognition tools have been used in the past by law enforcement to monitor protests, reported the Verge — including to locate protesters in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died after being arrested by police in 2015.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-03--Democratic Leaders Play Catch-Up On Black Lives Matter Movement

Not Enough Action From Democrats Congress Searching For Policies To Meet The Moment “ We are still trying to figure @ @ @ @ @ strategy is to energize and activate Black voters , ” said Jennifer Edwards , senior @ @ @ @ @ democracy at Color of Change , a grassroots progressive civil rights advocacy organization .
“ @ @ @ @ @ the Democratic Party needs to continue to prioritize the needs of Black voters in this @ @ @ @ @ about the bills that are moving through the halls of Congress right now and the @ @ @ @ @ COVID and the black community , those can best be described as a bandaid .
@

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WASHINGTON, D.C. ― With the country in crisis over the police killing of George Floyd, Joe Biden’s remarks about the incident at a historically Black church in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, weren’t what protesters wanted to hear.
“Instead of standing there and teaching a cop, when there’s an unarmed person coming at them with a knife or something ― you shoot them in the leg instead of in the heart, is a very different thing,” Biden said, aiming to show empathy and paint a stark contrast with President Donald Trump. “There’s a lot of different things that could change.”
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The comment sparked anger among the most progressive activists demonstrating on the streets. As Black Lives Matter protesters and their allies call for defunding the police, ending racist law enforcement practices and holding police accountable at a federal level, the remark by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee reverberated among young progressive activists as yet another politician falling short.
Demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd near the White House in Washington on June 2. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate action group that has yet to endorse Biden, associated his comment with Trump’s call to shoot looters in a Monday post. “That’s the best you can do?” the group tweeted. “You need to be a lot fucking better, and fast (or step aside).”
“His heart is in the right place, but he’s just like every other white person who thinks that they’re an ally but is not listening to people on how to be an ally,” Ashton Woods, a Black Lives Matter protester in Houston who said he’s reluctantly voting for Biden, told HuffPost.
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Biden’s campaign and surrogates have defended the former vice president’s response to the crisis. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D), the first Black person to represent Delaware in Congress, said it was “good to see true leadership that says, ‘I care and I have a plan of action.’” Biden, whose campaign has a Plan for Black America, urged Congress on Tuesday to pass police reform.
The protests sparked by Floyd’s death present yet another opportunity for the Democratic Party to show activists and young Black voters that it is listening to them. So far though, party leaders’ official response has been reactive and redundant. Congress will hold a hearing on police brutality next week, just as it did last year. There’s no firm timeline for legislative action in either the Democratic-controlled House or the Republican-controlled Senate.
“Part of the issue [is] that it’s just been words,” said Rose, 34, who was protesting in Washington, D.C. “We don’t employ any policy changes; we don’t really push the agenda forward. We need more than just words at this point.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to members of the clergy and community leaders at Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 1. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Not Enough Action From Democrats
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) called Floyd’s death a “crime” early on. Democratic leaders have condemned police brutality — just as they did in response to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, six years ago.
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But their statements all include the same caveat.
“The small minority who have exploited the protests to wreak havoc and violence are wrong,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “They are breaking laws, destroying businesses already struggling to recover, and putting their fellow citizens in danger.”
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called for an investigation after video showed two police SUVs ramming into a crowd of people, but he also blamed protesters for precipitating the situation by “blocking and surrounding a police vehicle.” (The video does not show protesters surrounding the SUVs, and on Monday, amid mounting criticism, de Blasio delivered a more forceful condemnation of police conduct in the incident.)
Others in the party, like former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, emphasized the need for voters to express their grievances at the ballot box.
It’s a suggestion that many activists say misses the point of protest.
“I mean, no one has ever voted their way to freedom. You know, voting is important. I vote in every single election. However, we also know that at most, voting someone good into office will soften the ground for the kind of meaningful change that we need. What’s always worked is the protest piece,” said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.
“There is still a huge gap” between what activists are calling for and what Democratic leaders are saying, said Yvette Simpson, chief executive of the progressive political action and grassroots organizing group Democracy for America.
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“We only take action when something has happened and that action is generally temporary and changes when political wind changes and when political leadership changes,” Simpson said of the Democratic Party’s response to police brutality, noting that many of these protests are taking place in Democratic-run cities that have long failed to reckon with their problematic policing practices.
“We only take action when something has happened and that action is generally temporary and changes when political wind changes and when political leadership changes.” - Yvette Simpson, CEO of Democracy for America
On the local level, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkin (D) came under fire from some progressive city council members for announcing a 5 p.m. curfew on Saturday just minutes before it went into effect. In addition to the police SUVs driving into a crowd, de Blasio has also faced criticism from activists over police arresting two Black state lawmakers on Friday night at a Brooklyn protest and a HuffPost reporter, who identified himself as a journalist, on Saturday night at another demonstration in the borough.
Police violence at the protests, which Simpson said isn’t getting as much attention from Democratic leaders, is “evidence of the fact that these officers aren’t taking this seriously.”
“It’s a shame that you can’t put a hold on police brutality when you are protesting police brutality. ... A lot of folks are acknowledging it when it goes to a George Floyd situation but not acknowledging the root of it,” she said.
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Congress Searching For Policies To Meet The Moment
Biden locked up the Democratic nomination with the support of a majority of Black voters. But he continued to defend his co-authorship of the controversial 1994 crime bill and never so much as courted many activist groups focused on policing. That approach may not have been enough to hurt his chances in the primary, but it could hamper his ability to turn out the progressive-leaning young people, including young Black voters, that he needs to defeat Trump in November.
“There’s a definite need for him to do a lot more listening,” said Christian Dorsey, a Black progressive activist in Virginia and member of the Arlington County Board.
Biden admitted he needs to do so amid another controversy last month. In an interview with popular Black radio host Charlamagne tha God, he said, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” Biden apologized later that day in a call with Black business leaders, insisting that he did not take the Black vote for granted.
Mainstream Democrats are keen to emphasize the stark contrast between their party and the GOP, which has embraced Trump’s racist policies and rhetoric.
“While the vocabulary may not always be the same, the long-term goal is exactly the same,” Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist, said of his party. “Even the differences we have among each other, they do not compare with the differences we have with the other side.”
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But in the years leading up to Floyd’s killing, legislation targeting police brutality and racism has barely registered as a priority for congressional Democrats, including in the House, which Democrats have controlled since 2019. Police reform in Congress stalled after Ferguson and then the Trump administration stopped investigating police misconduct at the federal level. In 2018, Congress did pass criminal justice reform legislation under Trump, a significant achievement, but the changes were modest, easing sentencing laws around some federal drug offenses.
Dominique Bryant, 23, wearing the "Black and Proud" T-shirt, joins others protesting the death of Floyd on June 3 outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Pelosi spoke favorably about one bill with teeth ― a federal ban on police chokeholds ― and others that were symbolic, such as the creation of a commission for the study of the “social status” of Black men and boys. And protesters are seeing the same faces behind these messages and ideas.
Ben Baker, a Black 26-year-old activist, said that while a number of Black politicians have spoken out, that’s not good enough.
“I want to see more moderate white politicians speak out,” Baker said. “We can have the left vote as much as they want, but you need people in the middle to take you over the top. Them not saying anything is complicitness.”
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As protests continue nationwide, Democrats have begun crafting more ambitious proposals to address police violence. Schumer confirmed that Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.), Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), among others, were working on legislation to implement reforms, from rethinking the qualified immunity doctrine to creating a national police misconduct registry.
Biden’s biggest initial commitment, rolled out at the church in Wilmington on Monday, was likewise relatively vague. He promised to create a police oversight board within his first 100 days in office, though it was not clear exactly what power that panel would have. In a speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Biden outlined a number of additional proposals. He called for a federal ban on the chokehold, an end to the military’s transfer of “weapons of war” to police departments, and the creation of a national “model use-of-force standard.”
Many activists at the protests this week said they supported Biden, even if he wasn’t their ideal choice.
A demonstrator is taken into custody by police near the White House in Washington after a curfew took effect on June 1. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Jackie, 30, who was at the protest outside the White House on Tuesday, said the former vice president “obviously has his flaws, for sure. But at this point, we just need to get behind him.”
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“Biden has, in his past, definitely done damage to the Black community, and I feel like he has a lot more making up to do for that, so to come out a little bit more and show a little bit more solidarity, just speak out a little bit more, for sure,” she added.
At the U.S. Capitol building on Monday, a protester who would only identify themselves as T, had another idea for lawmakers: “Congress should get that bullshit ass crime bill out of here — incarcerating us at a mass level. How about we start with some shit like that?”
Biden helped write that legislation in 1994 when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The massive law contained provisions like the Violence Against Women Act that still elicit progressive support, but it also enshrined policies that reformers blame for the growth of a racist incarceration system, such as mandatory prison sentences for certain kinds of offenders and the allocation of massive new federal funding for police and prisons.
The Urgency Of Holding Police Accountable
A significant part of the frustration over Biden’s comment about shooting people in the legs was just how small-bore it was, which is representative of some of the problematic thinking in the Democratic Party.
“It pursues the same trend that other Democratic candidates have had: that we can’t solve the underlying issue, but we can make this common-sense tweak that won’t alienate conservatives,” said Mattias Lehman, a Black resident of Minneapolis and Sunrise’s digital director, who wrote the organization’s pointed tweet.
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Symone Sanders, a senior adviser for the Biden campaign, disputed that characterization, taking particular issue with the Sunrise Movement’s association of Biden’s remarks with those of Trump.
“Joe Biden spoke not only to the pain that people across the country are feeling, but specifically to the pain of the protesters,” she said. “So any suggestion that Donald Trump and Joe Biden are two sides of the same coin I just think is incorrect.”
The dust-up over Biden’s latest comment highlights the chasm between an overwhelmingly young and racially diverse array of activists and progressive voters clamoring for radical, immediate change, and a Democratic establishment, now led by Biden, that expresses sympathy for those demands while still playing catch-up on actual policy.
Many of the protesters are thinking much bigger. After all, the Floyd killing didn’t happen in isolation. It came in quick succession after other high-profile shootings of unarmed Black people, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, as well as the disproportionate impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the Black community.
Rose, who was at the White House protest on Tuesday, said she wanted to see racism recognized as a public health crisis.
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“The confidence is fairly low right now. ... It’s hard to have that kind of hope but we have to start somewhere,” she added.
Thereasa, a 33-year-old naval officer and attorney, carried a sign with her list of demands as she protested outside the White House. “All police officers must undergo racial bias testing and pass with an acceptable score, all police homicide cases must be handled by a prosecutor outside of 150 miles from the office from which the case originated, a federal department must be created that is responsible for reevaluating and trying any case involving the killing of a person of color by police officers,” it read in part.
There is increasingly a push on the left to defund the police ― or at least radically decrease the funding for police departments.
“Communities are told there’s not enough money for education, for housing, for health care, for jobs, yet we see ballooning police budgets, over-policing,” said Sochie Nnaemeka, state director of the New York Working Families Party. “The first thing we need is to move money in order to invest in what we need.”
Two civil rights groups in Minneapolis, Reclaim the Block and Black Visions Collective, have put defunding police at the heart of a four-point pledge they are asking city council members to sign. They want the council to promise to never again increase the city’s police budget, to immediately cut $45 million from the existing police budget, to increase investment in “community-led health and safety strategies,” and to do everything it can to “compel” the police and other law enforcement bodies to stop “enacting violence” on protesters and other residents.
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“I want to see more moderate white politicians speak out. We can have the left vote as much as they want, but you need people in the middle to take you over the top. Them not saying anything is complicitness.” - Ben Baker, a 26-year-old activist
The New York Working Families Party’s biggest policing policy push this year is to reduce funding for the police and plow the savings into health care, housing and jobs programs that progressives argue will prevent crime by addressing its underlying causes. It’s not an abstract request: The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the city and state of New York into a budgetary squeeze, prompting the city, for example, to cancel its annual summer jobs program for 75,000 low-income teenagers and young adults.
These proposals are unlikely to be adopted by some progressive elected officials, let alone by party leaders like Biden and other mainstream Democrats. In a Tuesday interview, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former progressive congressman well to the left of Biden, rejected the idea of defunding the police.
“There are a lot of police officers who recognize the need for reform and want to be part of it,” he said.
There’s an understanding among progressive Black activist groups that the change they are seeking cannot come overnight. But they’re looking for more from party leaders than what’s been offered for the Black community so far.
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“We are still trying to figure out what Biden’s strategy is to energize and activate Black voters,” said Jennifer Edwards, senior director of digital engagement and democracy at Color of Change, a grassroots progressive civil rights advocacy organization. “Not just Biden, but the Democratic Party needs to continue to prioritize the needs of Black voters in this moment. When we think about the bills that are moving through the halls of Congress right now and the policies proposed with respect to COVID and the black community, those can best be described as a bandaid.”
In that context, getting the ear of politicians is a fine place to start, according to Dorsey, the Arlington County Board member.
“The more important thing for me is whether people are going to accept the urgency that activists want,” he said. “That’s the gap that activists are rightly identifying as problematic.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Obama Photographer Takes Not-So-Subtle Swipe At Donald Trump's Bible Stunt

Pete Souza let an old photograph do the talking ― as he so often does ― with his latest thinly veiled swipe at President Donald Trump .
Souza , the Obama-era White House photographer , on Wednesday shared this image he took of the Obamas “ walking through Lafayette Square Park to attend services at St. John ’ s Church in 2013.
” Souza did not reference Trump in the caption — but he didn ’ t have to .
Over the last few years , the photographer ’ s followers have become used to seeing him slam Trump with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barack Obama ’ s presidency .
He ’ s even written a book about it .
So they were quick to point out how Souza ’ s old picture of the Obamas walking through Lafayette Square Park stood in stark contrast to images of Trump ’ s stroll through the same park near the White House on Monday .
The photos of Trump were taken after federal authorities had used tear gas to clear peaceful protesters so the president could pose for a picture in front of St. John ’ s Church with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this week shared an image of Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden receiving a blessing at the same church .
“ No teargas was needed to get there , ” he captioned that picture :

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Pete Souza let an old photograph do the talking ― as he so often does ― with his latest thinly veiled swipe at President Donald Trump.
Souza, the Obama-era White House photographer, on Wednesday shared this image he took of the Obamas “walking through Lafayette Square Park to attend services at St. John’s Church in 2013.”
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Souza did not reference Trump in the caption — but he didn’t have to.
Over the last few years, the photographer’s followers have become used to seeing him slam Trump with pictures he took during his time documenting Barack Obama’s presidency. He’s even written a book about it.
So they were quick to point out how Souza’s old picture of the Obamas walking through Lafayette Square Park stood in stark contrast to images of Trump’s stroll through the same park near the White House on Monday. The photos of Trump were taken after federal authorities had used tear gas to clear peaceful protesters so the president could pose for a picture in front of St. John’s Church with a Bible in his hand.
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Souza earlier this week shared an image of Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden receiving a blessing at the same church.
“No teargas was needed to get there,” he captioned that picture:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Elizabeth May Wants Canada To Accept U.S. Asylum Seekers Now That Country ‘No Longer Safe’

CP Green Party parliamentary leader Elizabeth May and U.S. President Donald Trump are shown in a composite of images from The Canadian Press .
May called the press conference to address the protests against anti-Black racism that have erupted after last week ’ s police killing of George Floyd , a Black man , in Minneapolis .
The situation has been made more dire by Trump ’ s incendiary words and actions , she said .
She noted Trump ’ s threat to use military action on protesters , his tweets that were flagged by Twitter as glorifying violence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of tear gas on peaceful demonstrators in Washington , D.C. this week to clear a path for a presidential photo-op .
According to the 2004 pact , Canada and the U.S. recognize each other as safe places for refugee claimants to seek protection .
Both countries reject most asylum claims made at land border crossings on the basis that people should instead seek refuge in the first country they arrive in .
However , in what has been called a loophole , the Safe Third Country agreement only applies at official border points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canada from the U.S. irregularly over several years in order to make claims .
In a move that outraged refugee advocates , Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in March that asylum seekers who try to come into Canada irregularly from the U.S. would be sent back as part of a “ reciprocal ” arrangement between the countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
Canada has closed the border to non-essential U.S. visitors until at least June 21 .
At the time , May also blasted the government for closing the border to those seeking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ border officials are allowed to turn away asylum seekers at unauthorized points of entry , we might as well just build a wall across the entire country .
Whatever happened to our ‘ welcoming ’ country ?
” she said in a press release .
“ We ’ ve been making this point since Trump came to office with his anti-Muslim ban , ” she said , referring to the president ’ s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations .
“ That you couldn ’ t be a Muslim in the United States and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Safe Third Country.
” The prime minister stood silent for 21 seconds Tuesday when asked by a reporter to weigh in on Trump ’ s behaviour .
When he eventually answered , Trudeau did not reference the U.S. president by name , but said Canadians were watching what is happening in the U.S. with “ horror and consternation.
” May said she wants to give Trudeau and Freeland “ the space to navigate ” how they deal with the Trump White House , saying they have “ different jobs ” and roles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a very dangerous situation .
And I do think those of us in other countries should speak out , ” she said .
“ But I won ’ t criticize the prime minister or the deputy prime minister because the nature of what they have to do in negotiating keeping the border closed for safety , right now , for COVID-19.
” Singh : PM must speak out on Trump ’ s actions “ He is acting in a way which is going to put people ’ s lives at risk , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And it is wrong and it needs to be called out .
“ It ’ s difficult to stand up to bullies .
It ’ s difficult to call out hate .
It ’ s hard to do but it must be done .
And it takes courage and everyone has to do their part.
” The NDP leader , who a day earlier in the House of Commons suggested Trudeau was more interested in “ pretty words ” than concrete action on racial injustice , said the Liberal government should also move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ address the over-representation of visible minorities and Indigenous people in prisons .
Singh , the first racialized leader of a major federal party and a politician who has been open about the bigotry he has faced as a turbaned Sikh , recounted how some bystanders would say nothing when he was bullied as a child .

Green Party parliamentary leader Elizabeth May and U.S. President Donald Trump are shown in a composite of images from The Canadian Press. CP
Elizabeth May says Canada must welcome asylum seekers wanting to flee the United States because it isn’t a secure country for racialized communities under the president’s leadership.
“We must not turn them away because Donald Trump has made the United States no longer safe,” the federal Green parliamentary leader told reporters in Ottawa Wednesday.
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May called the press conference to address the protests against anti-Black racism that have erupted after last week’s police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis. The situation has been made more dire by Trump’s incendiary words and actions, she said.
Also on HuffPost: May defends Green party’s $30,000 entry fee for leadership race
She noted Trump’s threat to use military action on protesters, his tweets that were flagged by Twitter as glorifying violence, and the National Guard’s use of tear gas on peaceful demonstrators in Washington, D.C. this week to clear a path for a presidential photo-op.
May reiterated her party’s position that it is time for the Liberal government to suspend Canada’s Safe Third Country agreement with the U.S.
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“It’s clear that if you’re Muslim, if you’re Black, if you’re Latina, if you’re Indigenous, the United States is not a safe country,” she said.
According to the 2004 pact, Canada and the U.S. recognize each other as safe places for refugee claimants to seek protection. Both countries reject most asylum claims made at land border crossings on the basis that people should instead seek refuge in the first country they arrive in.
However, in what has been called a loophole, the Safe Third Country agreement only applies at official border points. Thousands of people have crossed into Canada from the U.S. irregularly over several years in order to make claims.
In a move that outraged refugee advocates, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in March that asylum seekers who try to come into Canada irregularly from the U.S. would be sent back as part of a “reciprocal” arrangement between the countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada has closed the border to non-essential U.S. visitors until at least June 21.
At the time, May also blasted the government for closing the border to those seeking refuge during the pandemic. “If border officials are allowed to turn away asylum seekers at unauthorized points of entry, we might as well just build a wall across the entire country. Whatever happened to our ‘welcoming’ country?” she said in a press release.
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May said Wednesday that as long as those seeking asylum adhere to Canada’s COVID-19 safety protocols, they shouldn’t be turned away.
“We’ve been making this point since Trump came to office with his anti-Muslim ban,” she said, referring to the president’s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations. “That you couldn’t be a Muslim in the United States and feel safe. It was no longer a Safe Third Country.”
But May said she would not criticize Trudeau or Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland for refusing to call out Trump by name over the unrest south of the border.
“It’s clear that if you’re Muslim, if you’re Black, if you’re Latina, if you’re Indigenous, the United States is not a safe country.” - Green MP Elizabeth May
The prime minister stood silent for 21 seconds Tuesday when asked by a reporter to weigh in on Trump’s behaviour. When he eventually answered, Trudeau did not reference the U.S. president by name, but said Canadians were watching what is happening in the U.S. with “horror and consternation.”
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May said she wants to give Trudeau and Freeland “the space to navigate” how they deal with the Trump White House, saying they have “different jobs” and roles than she does.
“I just knew I could not stay silent as the president of the United States urged violence and in coded language has been giving… oxygen, for years now, to white supremacists,” she said.
The Green parliamentary leader is also calling for an inquiry to determine to what extent white supremacist forces could be infiltrating police and the military in Canada.
“This is a very dangerous situation. And I do think those of us in other countries should speak out,” she said. “But I won’t criticize the prime minister or the deputy prime minister because the nature of what they have to do in negotiating keeping the border closed for safety, right now, for COVID-19.”
Singh: PM must speak out on Trump’s actions
In contrast, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters in Ottawa Wednesday that Trudeau needs to speak out forcefully against Trump. Canada cannot be a “passive bystander” as Trump inflames hatred and fuels racism, he said.
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“He is acting in a way which is going to put people’s lives at risk,” Singh said of the president. “And it is wrong and it needs to be called out.
“It’s difficult to stand up to bullies. It’s difficult to call out hate. It’s hard to do but it must be done. And it takes courage and everyone has to do their part.”
The NDP leader, who a day earlier in the House of Commons suggested Trudeau was more interested in “pretty words” than concrete action on racial injustice, said the Liberal government should also move to end racially motivated policing tactics and address the over-representation of visible minorities and Indigenous people in prisons.
Watch:
Singh, the first racialized leader of a major federal party and a politician who has been open about the bigotry he has faced as a turbaned Sikh, recounted how some bystanders would say nothing when he was bullied as a child.
“Silence didn’t stop the blows that I felt. Silence didn’t stop the painful words,” he said.
Trudeau should condemn Trump’s conduct clearly, even if it complicates Canada-U.S. relations, he suggested.
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“There are times where we have to be strategic, and there are times where we just have to stand up for what is right,” he said. “And this is one of those times where we have to stand up for what is right.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Facebook To Label State-Controlled Media Organizations

SAN FRANCISCO , June 4 ( Reuters ) - Facebook Inc will start labeling Russian , Chinese and other state-controlled @ @ @ @ @ this summer block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users , it said @ @ @ @ @ s Sputnik , Iran ’ s Press TV and China ’ s Xinhua News are @ @ @ @ @ that will receive the label from world ’ s biggest social network .
U.S. news @ @ @ @ @ , as the company has determined that even U.S. government-run organizations have editorial independence , @ @ @ @ @ ’ s head of cybersecurity policy , in an interview .
Facebook , which has @ @ @ @ @ Russian use of its platforms to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election , announced @ @ @ @ @ create a state media label .

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SAN FRANCISCO, June 4 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will start labeling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organizations, and later this summer block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users, it said on Thursday.
Russia’s Sputnik, Iran’s Press TV and China’s Xinhua News are on the list of organizations that will receive the label from world’s biggest social network.
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U.S. news outlets will not be labeled, as the company has determined that even U.S. government-run organizations have editorial independence, said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, in an interview.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Trump's Former Defense Secretary Called Him A Threat To The Republic. The GOP Doesn't Care.

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis thinks President Donald Trump is a juvenile and divisive leader who poses a fundamental threat to the republic .
Most Senate Republicans say that ’ s just , like , his opinion , man .
Mattis had largely remained quiet about his former boss after resigning as defense secretary at the end of 2018 following Trump ’ s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria .
His silence ended this week amid nationwide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd .
In an extraordinary rebuke on Wednesday , Mattis excoriated Trump ’ s response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president abused his power by cracking down on protesters at the White House and has sown division rather than working to unite Americans .
“ Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try , ” Mattis , a retired four-star Marine general , wrote in a letter published by The Atlantic .
The unusually pointed criticism from someone Trump had repeatedly praised was received by most Senate Republicans in much the same way they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials from his administration : a huge shrug .
“ I think that ’ s one individual ’ s view , ” Sen. Mike Braun ( R-Ind . )
said Thursday .
“ I don ’ t think that ’ s going to make a difference like some have talked about in terms of being the straw the breaks the camel ’ s back , so to speak.
” Sen. Lisa Murkowski ( R-Alaska ) , who is known to sometimes break from her party but nevertheless voted to acquit Trump during his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mattis ’ letter “ true , honest , necessary and overdue.
” Yet Murkowski told reporters on Capitol Hill that she continues to “ struggle ” with whether to support the president in the 2020 election , even though she agrees with the letter .
Sen. Mitt Romney ( R-Utah ) , another critic of Trump ’ s , called Mattis ’ broadside “ powerful ” and “ stunning , ” praising his “ extraordinary service and sacrifice and great judgment.
” The senator , who voted to convict Trump in February , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mattis .
Most of their colleagues either refrained from commenting or sought to downplay Mattis ’ criticism of Trump ― a recurring pattern for Republican lawmakers , who have feared reprisals from the president and his supporters .
Sen. Joni Ernst ( R-Iowa ) , a veteran and a member of GOP leadership , declined to comment .
Sen. Ted Cruz ( R-Texas ) , who is very active on Twitter , said he “ didn ’ t see ” the comments that drew big headlines this week .
“ They ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] history of differences , ” Sen. Thom Tillis ( R-N.C. ) said of the two men .
“ But I have a lot of respect for Gen. Mattis .
I respect his opinion .
I agree with most of them.
” “ The question is more about tone and words .
[ Trump ] could do better .
... We need to continue to encourage the president to say what he ’ s said in his speeches , ” Portman said .
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee , Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , suggested that Mattis wasn ’ t media savvy and was somehow fooled into speaking out against the president .
“ He was put in a situation where he was subjected to the press .
... A lot of the unfriendly media would like to put them in the situation , misquote them , misquote me , ” Inhofe told HuffPost , adding that Mattis is “ just not seasoned how to respond sometimes .
”

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Mattis had largely remained quiet about his former boss after resigning as defense secretary at the end of 2018 following Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria. His silence ended this week amid nationwide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.
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In an extraordinary rebuke on Wednesday, Mattis excoriated Trump’s response to the civil unrest, writing that the president abused his power by cracking down on protesters at the White House and has sown division rather than working to unite Americans.
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try,” Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, wrote in a letter published by The Atlantic.
The unusually pointed criticism from someone Trump had repeatedly praised was received by most Senate Republicans in much the same way they have prior condemnations of Trump by other top officials from his administration: a huge shrug.
“I think that’s one individual’s view,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said Thursday. “I don’t think that’s going to make a difference like some have talked about in terms of being the straw the breaks the camel’s back, so to speak.”
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Sure, there were some exceptions. But those came from familiar voices.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is known to sometimes break from her party but nevertheless voted to acquit Trump during his impeachment trial earlier this year, called Mattis’ letter “true, honest, necessary and overdue.” Yet Murkowski told reporters on Capitol Hill that she continues to “struggle” with whether to support the president in the 2020 election, even though she agrees with the letter.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), another critic of Trump’s, called Mattis’ broadside “powerful” and “stunning,” praising his “extraordinary service and sacrifice and great judgment.” The senator, who voted to convict Trump in February, did not say whether he agreed with Mattis.
Most of their colleagues either refrained from commenting or sought to downplay Mattis’ criticism of Trump ― a recurring pattern for Republican lawmakers, who have feared reprisals from the president and his supporters.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a veteran and a member of GOP leadership, declined to comment. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is very active on Twitter, said he “didn’t see” the comments that drew big headlines this week.
“They’ve had a little bit of [a] history of differences,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of the two men. “But I have a lot of respect for Gen. Mattis. I respect his opinion. I agree with most of them.”
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Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said he was a “fan” of Mattis but defended Trump, noting the president had denounced Floyd’s death and addressed racial justice issues.
“The question is more about tone and words. [Trump] could do better. ... We need to continue to encourage the president to say what he’s said in his speeches,” Portman said.
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), meanwhile, suggested that Mattis wasn’t media savvy and was somehow fooled into speaking out against the president.
“He was put in a situation where he was subjected to the press. ... A lot of the unfriendly media would like to put them in the situation, misquote them, misquote me,” Inhofe told HuffPost, adding that Mattis is “just not seasoned how to respond sometimes.”
When HuffPost noted Mattis wasn’t misquoted and that he put his thoughts down in a letter The Atlantic had published in full, Inhofe said, “That’s part of communication.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Esper Reverses Course Again, Orders Troops Out Of D.C.

In his second reversal in the last 24 hours , Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered several hundred active-duty troops to return home after being deployed in Washington , D.C. , to respond to anti-racism protests .
“ The Department made the decision to return members of some of the active-duty units in the capital region to their home base , ” a senior Defense Department official told HuffPost .
“ Military leaders are continuously monitoring this dynamic situation .
Return of the remainder of the active-duty service members will be conditions-based.
” Esper ’ s decisions on the matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Earlier this week , he put Army units on the ground in the capital to assist local law enforcement with the protests .
But he ordered them home on Wednesday morning after a night of peaceful protests .
Then he reversed course by the afternoon .
That decision was announced after he met with President Donald Trump , who was reportedly irritated that he did not fully back him on his plans to deploy the military amid the protests , many of which were near the White House .
After Trump threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and local officials didn ’ t stop protests more aggressively , Esper appeared before cameras to say he opposed the idea .
“ The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations , ” Esper said Wednesday .
“ We are not in one of those situations now.
” But a Pentagon official told Politico that Esper ’ s plan to backtrack was in the works before he met with Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were ignited by the police killing of George Floyd , a Black man in Minneapolis , on May 25 .
Demonstrations have illuminated the recurring tragedy of Black lives ended by police violence and racism .

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In his second reversal in the last 24 hours, Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered several hundred active-duty troops to return home after being deployed in Washington, D.C., to respond to anti-racism protests.
“The Department made the decision to return members of some of the active-duty units in the capital region to their home base,” a senior Defense Department official told HuffPost. “Military leaders are continuously monitoring this dynamic situation. Return of the remainder of the active-duty service members will be conditions-based.”
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A source from the Pentagon put the number of troops at 700, ABC News reported.
Esper’s decisions on the matter have been hard to keep up with. Earlier this week, he put Army units on the ground in the capital to assist local law enforcement with the protests. But he ordered them home on Wednesday morning after a night of peaceful protests. Then he reversed course by the afternoon.
That decision was announced after he met with President Donald Trump, who was reportedly irritated that he did not fully back him on his plans to deploy the military amid the protests, many of which were near the White House. After Trump threatened last week to deploy troops if state and local officials didn’t stop protests more aggressively, Esper appeared before cameras to say he opposed the idea.
“The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations,” Esper said Wednesday. “We are not in one of those situations now.”
But a Pentagon official told Politico that Esper’s plan to backtrack was in the works before he met with Trump.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Curfews Make Life Even Harder For Essential Workers

Medical personnel , grocery store employees and food delivery workers were already carrying more than their share of the burden of the novel coronavirus outbreak .
Now they have something else to worry about .
Cities including New York , Los Angeles , Chicago , Philadelphia and Washington have imposed curfews in recent days in response to the ongoing demonstrations against police violence around the nation .
Essential workers are technically exempt from these restrictions , but no one on city streets after curfew has been exempt from the aggressive and brutal police response to the protests , which began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Floyd .
The very people who are asked to put their lives at risk working during a pandemic ― often for low wages ― face the prospect of being arrested and detained on their way to or from work .
The fact that laborers such as food delivery workers are disproportionately people of color puts them at even greater risk .
In New York City , Mayor Bill de Blasio established a curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. that started Tuesday and will continue until next Monday .
It could be extended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day the state of New York intended to begin the first phase of relaxing stay-at-home orders related to the coronavirus outbreak .
The city permits certain essential workers — including health care , restaurant and grocery store workers — to be outside during curfew hours .
But the New York Police Department said that anyone stopped by officers must prove their status .
How they would do so is unclear .
Certain workers , such as hospital employees , may have identification from their employers , but bicycle delivery workers or cashiers may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing essential work , you should go home .
If you don ’ t go home , there ’ s obviously going to be a lot of police presence to address the situation , ” de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday .
In practice , however , video footage from New York , Los Angeles , Washington and other cities shows that police officers aren ’ t taking pains to ask questions or listen to explanations from the people they detain .
At a time when police are using extreme measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curfews appear to give them the license to arrest anyone for any reason after hours .
Police have even targeted medics who attend protests to provide medical care to injured demonstrators .
As an example , journalists in New York are supposed to be exempt as essential workers under de Blasio ’ s order .
But even those whose status is obvious to anyone have been subject to violent actions by police or have been detained for breaking curfew .
In one incident , police harassed an Associated Press news crew covering the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trains have been running on the subway because of reduced demand during the public health crisis .
No trains run at all between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. , a departure from the city ’ s normal 24-hour subway service , although buses continue to operate .
During the protests , the city has also barred rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft from providing service until after 12:30 a.m .
Ordinary taxis remain available , but they ’ re not easy to find .
The city also shut down the Citi Bike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politicians at all levels of government have spent the last several months extolling the virtues of essential workers .
But curfews that endanger people trying to get to or from essential work make that praise ring hollow .

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Medical personnel, grocery store employees and food delivery workers were already carrying more than their share of the burden of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Now they have something else to worry about.
Cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington have imposed curfews in recent days in response to the ongoing demonstrations against police violence around the nation. Essential workers are technically exempt from these restrictions, but no one on city streets after curfew has been exempt from the aggressive and brutal police response to the protests, which began after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd.
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The very people who are asked to put their lives at risk working during a pandemic ― often for low wages ― face the prospect of being arrested and detained on their way to or from work. The fact that laborers such as food delivery workers are disproportionately people of color puts them at even greater risk.
That risk is more than theoretical. Police assaulted a hospital employee leaving work in Brooklyn, New York, this week, the Daily Beast reported.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio established a curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. that started Tuesday and will continue until next Monday. It could be extended. Monday also happens to be the day the state of New York intended to begin the first phase of relaxing stay-at-home orders related to the coronavirus outbreak.
The city permits certain essential workers — including health care, restaurant and grocery store workers — to be outside during curfew hours. But the New York Police Department said that anyone stopped by officers must prove their status. How they would do so is unclear. Certain workers, such as hospital employees, may have identification from their employers, but bicycle delivery workers or cashiers may not.
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“Unless you’re doing essential work, you should go home. If you don’t go home, there’s obviously going to be a lot of police presence to address the situation,” de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday.
In practice, however, video footage from New York, Los Angeles, Washington and other cities shows that police officers aren’t taking pains to ask questions or listen to explanations from the people they detain. At a time when police are using extreme measures on demonstrators, bystanders and journalists, curfews appear to give them the license to arrest anyone for any reason after hours. Police have even targeted medics who attend protests to provide medical care to injured demonstrators.
As an example, journalists in New York are supposed to be exempt as essential workers under de Blasio’s order. But even those whose status is obvious to anyone have been subject to violent actions by police or have been detained for breaking curfew. In one incident, police harassed an Associated Press news crew covering the protests.
Making matters worse, curfews and coronavirus-related restrictions on public transportation complicate the simple task of getting to and from work.
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In New York, fewer trains have been running on the subway because of reduced demand during the public health crisis. No trains run at all between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., a departure from the city’s normal 24-hour subway service, although buses continue to operate. During the protests, the city has also barred rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft from providing service until after 12:30 a.m. Ordinary taxis remain available, but they’re not easy to find. The city also shut down the Citi Bike bike-share service during curfew.
These actions pose serious problems in a city where the majority of residents don’t own motor vehicles.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Historic Anti-Lynching Legislation Blocked In The Senate By Rand Paul

On the day of George Floyd ’ s funeral , as American cities continued to fill with protesters demonstrating for Black lives , Congress sought to pass a bill that would make lynching a federal crime .
But one man , Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul ( R ) , stood in the way .
In an emotional exchange on the Senate floor Thursday , Sens .
Cory Booker ( D-N.J. ) and Kamala Harris ( D-Calif. ) pleaded with Paul to stand down and allow their legislation to pass .
The bill , the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act , named @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brutally murdered in 1955 , has broad bipartisan support .
“ I have had children break down with me this week wondering if this is a country that values their lives as much as white people ’ s lives , ” Booker said , choking up on the Senate floor .
“ I have had to explain to grown men this week that there is still hope in America ... For one member to yield ... for one day and give America this win .
Let us pass this legislation today of all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tomorrow that will give hope to this country that we can get it right .
It may not cure the ills that so many are protesting about but it could be a sign of hope.
” Congress has failed to pass similar anti-lynching legislation repeatedly over the last century .
In a separate session last year , the Senate passed this bill unanimously , in a voice vote .
The House passed an identical bill this February , and it has sat in the Senate until now .
But on Thursday , Paul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make lynching a federal hate crime with an heightened sentencing penalty , because he said it was too broad .
It could implicate people who got into a bar fight , or had an altercation that led to “ minor bruising , ” Paul said , citing an incident in which a Black woman slapped three Jewish woman that the senator said could be wrongly over-sentenced under the bill .
“ You think I ’ m taking great joy in being here ?
No , ” Paul said on the floor .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good publicity out of this ?
No .
I will be excoriated by simple-minded people on the internet who think I somehow don ’ t like Emmett Till or appreciate the history and memory of Emmett Till .
I ’ ll be lectured to by everybody that I have no right to have an opinion on any of these things.
” Paul said he ’ s been working with Booker ’ s office for three months to tighten the language in the bill , noting that his objections are closely tied to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an amendment to address his concerns , which Harris and Booker called unnecessary .
If the Senate were to take up Paul ’ s amendment , it would further delay passage of the bill by requiring the legislation to go back to the House for yet another vote .
Anti-lynching legislation has volleyed between the House and Senate for decades , making its passage a symbolic gesture in the face of continued racial injustice .
Harris called Ahmaud Arbery , the Black man who was shot to death by white neighbors while on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victim of a modern day lynching.
” Booker , who has worked with Paul on criminal justice issues in the past , made a heartfelt plea to Paul saying he did not question the senator ’ s convictions .
But still his frustration with the Kentucky Republican was explicit .
“ I ’ m so raw today , ” Booker said .
“ Of all days we are doing this .
Of all days we are doing this right now — God , if this bill passed today , what that would mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ body have now finally agreed.
” “ I do not need my colleague , the senator from Kentucky , to tell me about one more lynching in this country .
I have stood in the museum in Montgomery , Alabama , and watched African American families weeping at the stories of pregnant women lynched in this country and their babies ripped out of them while this body did nothing .
”

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On the day of George Floyd’s funeral, as American cities continued to fill with protesters demonstrating for Black lives, Congress sought to pass a bill that would make lynching a federal crime. But one man, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R), stood in the way.
In an emotional exchange on the Senate floor Thursday, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) pleaded with Paul to stand down and allow their legislation to pass. The bill, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, named after the 14-year-old Black teenager who was brutally murdered in 1955, has broad bipartisan support.
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“I have had children break down with me this week wondering if this is a country that values their lives as much as white people’s lives,” Booker said, choking up on the Senate floor. “I have had to explain to grown men this week that there is still hope in America ... For one member to yield ... for one day and give America this win. Let us pass this legislation today of all days, let us give a headline tomorrow that will give hope to this country that we can get it right. It may not cure the ills that so many are protesting about but it could be a sign of hope.”
Congress has failed to pass similar anti-lynching legislation repeatedly over the last century. In a separate session last year, the Senate passed this bill unanimously, in a voice vote. The House passed an identical bill this February, and it has sat in the Senate until now.
But on Thursday, Paul objected to the bill, which would make lynching a federal hate crime with an heightened sentencing penalty, because he said it was too broad. It could implicate people who got into a bar fight, or had an altercation that led to “minor bruising,” Paul said, citing an incident in which a Black woman slapped three Jewish woman that the senator said could be wrongly over-sentenced under the bill.
“You think I’m taking great joy in being here? No,” Paul said on the floor. “You think I’m getting any good publicity out of this? No. I will be excoriated by simple-minded people on the internet who think I somehow don’t like Emmett Till or appreciate the history and memory of Emmett Till. I’ll be lectured to by everybody that I have no right to have an opinion on any of these things.”
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Paul said he’s been working with Booker’s office for three months to tighten the language in the bill, noting that his objections are closely tied to the debate around mandatory minimums.
Paul offered an amendment to address his concerns, which Harris and Booker called unnecessary. If the Senate were to take up Paul’s amendment, it would further delay passage of the bill by requiring the legislation to go back to the House for yet another vote.
Anti-lynching legislation has volleyed between the House and Senate for decades, making its passage a symbolic gesture in the face of continued racial injustice. Harris called Ahmaud Arbery, the Black man who was shot to death by white neighbors while on a run in Georgia, “a victim of a modern day lynching.”
“There’s no reason for this,” Harris said of Paul’s objection, saying the amendment would put “a greater burden on victims of lynching than is currently required by federal hate crimes law.”
“There is no reason other than cruel and deliberate obstruction on a day of mourning,” she said.
Booker, who has worked with Paul on criminal justice issues in the past, made a heartfelt plea to Paul saying he did not question the senator’s convictions. But still his frustration with the Kentucky Republican was explicit.
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“I’m so raw today,” Booker said. “Of all days we are doing this. Of all days we are doing this right now — God, if this bill passed today, what that would mean for America that this body and that body have now finally agreed.”
“I do not need my colleague, the senator from Kentucky, to tell me about one more lynching in this country. I have stood in the museum in Montgomery, Alabama, and watched African American families weeping at the stories of pregnant women lynched in this country and their babies ripped out of them while this body did nothing.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--COVID-19's Economic Fallout Is Hitting The Black Community Hard, Too

The Black unemployment rate was 16.7 % in April , compared with 14.2 % for white workers .
Expect those numbers to get worse on Friday morning , when the Department of Labor will release its data for May .
Overall , the jobless rate is expected to hit a new high ― perhaps touching 20 % , according to some estimates .
For Black workers , the latest figures will almost assuredly be higher .
Of course , a lot of Americans are out of work now .
The crucial difference for Black Americans is their safety net ― @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Black Americans have less of a cushion to fall back on during a time of economic stress .
“ Institutional racism and historical discrimination have meant that Black workers have fared worse in the labor market , even in good times , ” said Elise Gould , a senior economist at the progressive Economic Policy Institute who co-authored a report this week looking at the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken on Black workers .
“ When we have a severe economic downturn like we ’ re having right now , it disproportionately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They ’ re the ones more likely to lose their jobs , but they ’ re also the ones less able to weather the storm.
” Black workers have less savings to fall back on .
They earn less money ; the median income for Black households is $ 41,692 , compared to $ 70,642 for whites .
And the rate of people living below the poverty line ― for a family of four , that ’ s less than $ 26,000 ― for Black Americans is 20 % .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In 1863 , the Black community owned 0.5 % of all the wealth in the U.S. ― think homes , property , stocks , cash savings .
That might have made more sense 157 years ago because enslaved people weren ’ t allowed to own anything , but it doesn ’ t now .
And the number today is around 1 % , Baradaran wrote in her 2017 book “ The Color of Money.
” It is worth pausing here to sit with that number : More than a century and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealth owned by Black Americans increased by just one-half of a percentage point .
Considering that wealth confers power in the U.S. , that number says a lot .
People Who Still Have Jobs Are Also Struggling Meanwhile , Black Americans who are still employed are more likely to be in front-line jobs at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus , the EPI report notes .
And those jobs are typically lower-paying with little or no benefits .
The weak safety net and the likelihood of Black Americans to be unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here .
Black workers are 60 % less likely to have health insurance , EPI ’ s report notes .
They ’ re also less likely to have paid sick days or to be able to work from home .
Black women in particular are in a really precarious spot .
They ’ re more likely than white women to be the sole breadwinner at home with young children ― 14.4 % of Black women are in that situation , compared with 4 % of white women , EPI points out .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leave the workforce amid school and day care closures caused by coronavirus .
The Recovery Will Be Slower It ’ s likely that the last jobs to come back will be those in higher-risk , high-touch sectors ― such as restaurants and nail salons ― where customers might be reluctant to return right away .
And those jobs are disproportionately held by workers of color , notes a report released Thursday from the National Equity Atlas and PolicyLink , which took a granular look at the job listings to find the occupations most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you fall ― whether you ’ re in the camp of people who lost their livelihoods or the camp of people who still go to work ― people of color are at significantly greater risk than the general populations , ” said Abigail Langston , a senior associate at PolicyLink and a co-author of that report .
The $ 1,200 stimulus checks are just one example .
They were a quick windfall for those with bank accounts , as the federal government was able to instantly deposit the money .
But for those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and is possibly still going on .
A shocking 12 % of Black households are unbanked , compared to 3 % of white .

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The economic impact of coronavirus is hitting Black communities disproportionately hard.
The Black unemployment rate was 16.7% in April, compared with 14.2% for white workers. Expect those numbers to get worse on Friday morning, when the Department of Labor will release its data for May. Overall, the jobless rate is expected to hit a new high ― perhaps touching 20%, according to some estimates. For Black workers, the latest figures will almost assuredly be higher.
Of course, a lot of Americans are out of work now. The crucial difference for Black Americans is their safety net ― or lack thereof. At every level, Black Americans have less of a cushion to fall back on during a time of economic stress.
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“Institutional racism and historical discrimination have meant that Black workers have fared worse in the labor market, even in good times,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the progressive Economic Policy Institute who co-authored a report this week looking at the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken on Black workers.
“When we have a severe economic downturn like we’re having right now, it disproportionately disadvantages Black workers,” she added. “They’re the ones more likely to lose their jobs, but they’re also the ones less able to weather the storm.”
The economic devastation is coming not only during the pandemic but also at a time of massive social unrest over the brutal way the police treat Black Americans, setting up a crisis of staggering proportions.
Black workers have less savings to fall back on. They earn less money; the median income for Black households is $41,692, compared to $70,642 for whites. And the rate of people living below the poverty line ― for a family of four, that’s less than $26,000 ― for Black Americans is 20%. For whites, it’s 8.1%.
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“Job loss for those living at such low incomes is absolutely shattering,” Gould and her co-author, Valerie Wilson, write in their report.
Economic Policy Institute
Then there’s also a massive racial wealth gap — the legacy of racial discrimination embedded into U.S. policy going back to slavery, through Reconstruction and the New Deal, which essentially only benefitted whites.
“It rewrote our economy from scratch basically, and Blacks were completely left out,” said Mehrsa Baradaran, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine who has closely studied the wealth gap.
White families hold five times as much in liquid assets like savings accounts, a home, stocks, bonds as Black families, the EPI report points out: $49,529 versus $8,762.
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In 1863, the Black community owned 0.5% of all the wealth in the U.S. ― think homes, property, stocks, cash savings. That might have made more sense 157 years ago because enslaved people weren’t allowed to own anything, but it doesn’t now. And the number today is around 1%, Baradaran wrote in her 2017 book “The Color of Money.”
It is worth pausing here to sit with that number: More than a century and a half after emancipation, the percentage of wealth owned by Black Americans increased by just one-half of a percentage point. Considering that wealth confers power in the U.S., that number says a lot.
People Who Still Have Jobs Are Also Struggling
Meanwhile, Black Americans who are still employed are more likely to be in front-line jobs at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus, the EPI report notes. And those jobs are typically lower-paying with little or no benefits.
Reports of Walmart workers, grocery store clerks, Amazon warehouse workers and meatpacking plant employees contracting and dying from COVID-19 have been all over the news.
The health effects of COVID-19 have also been worse for Black Americans, who are dying at nearly twice the rate of white people.
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“Sociologists and epidemiologists say that nearly every condition that increases patients’ vulnerability to coronavirus — from asthma to diabetes to HIV — appears at higher rates in the Black population,” HuffPost’s Michael Hobbes wrote in April.
The weak safety net and the likelihood of Black Americans to be unable to shelter at home also play a role here. Black workers are 60% less likely to have health insurance, EPI’s report notes. They’re also less likely to have paid sick days or to be able to work from home.
Black women in particular are in a really precarious spot. They’re more likely than white women to be the sole breadwinner at home with young children ― 14.4% of Black women are in that situation, compared with 4% of white women, EPI points out. That’s meant many have had to leave the workforce amid school and day care closures caused by coronavirus.
Barbers in Florida wear masks to protect against the coronavirus while at work on May 21. Personal grooming shops were allowed to open the day before, during a phased reopening of certain businesses in Miami-Dade County. Wilfredo Lee/AP
The Recovery Will Be Slower
As the country “opens back up,” any kind of recovery will be slower for Black workers.
It’s likely that the last jobs to come back will be those in higher-risk, high-touch sectors ― such as restaurants and nail salons ― where customers might be reluctant to return right away. And those jobs are disproportionately held by workers of color, notes a report released Thursday from the National Equity Atlas and PolicyLink, which took a granular look at the job listings to find the occupations most impacted by the downturn.
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According to the report, 43% of white workers are in the kind of higher-risk, nonessential jobs that will be slower to come back, compared with 52% of Black workers and 57% of Latinx workers.
“Wherever you fall ― whether you’re in the camp of people who lost their livelihoods or the camp of people who still go to work ― people of color are at significantly greater risk than the general populations,” said Abigail Langston, a senior associate at PolicyLink and a co-author of that report.
The fact that Black Americans would struggle more in a public health crisis like COVID-19 could have been planned for. But so far, policy solutions haven’t grappled with the racial disparities of COVID-19.
The $1,200 stimulus checks are just one example. They were a quick windfall for those with bank accounts, as the federal government was able to instantly deposit the money. But for those without accounts, the wait was longer — and is possibly still going on. A shocking 12% of Black households are unbanked, compared to 3% of white.
Increased unemployment benefits are also harder to get, especially for the lowest-paid workers, like tipped minimum wage workers or those who are working off the books. Women of color are particularly suffering here.
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The small business loan program created as part of the CARES Act also sent less help to Black businesses, according to one survey released last month.
None of this should be surprising, Langston said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-04--Al Sharpton Announces March On Washington In August

Rev .
Al Sharpton and George Floyd ’ s family are planning a march on Washington this August .
Sharpton announced the plan Thursday while delivering a eulogy for Floyd , a Black man who died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly gasped , “ I can ’ t breathe.
” “ We ’ re going back to Washington , ” Sharpton told the crowd , specifically addressing Martin Luther King III , who was in attendance .
“ That ’ s where your father stood in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , ‘ I have a dream.
’ Well , we ’ re going back this August 28 to restore and recommit that dream , to stand up.
” “ This is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice , ” he added , noting the march would specifically be used to call for a federal policing equality act .
Aug. 28 is the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. ’ s “ I Have A Dream ” speech .
Derek Chauvin , the officer who knelt on Floyd ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second-degree murder and manslaughter .
The three other officers who were with Chauvin at the time ― Tou Thao , Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng ― were arrested Wednesday and charged with aiding and abetting Floyd ’ s murder .
Medical examiners concluded Floyd ’ s cause of death was “ homicide by asphyxia .
”

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Sharpton announced the plan Thursday while delivering a eulogy for Floyd, a Black man who died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly gasped, “I can’t breathe.”
“We’re going back to Washington,” Sharpton told the crowd, specifically addressing Martin Luther King III, who was in attendance. “That’s where your father stood in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial and said, ‘I have a dream.’ Well, we’re going back this August 28 to restore and recommit that dream, to stand up.”
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“This is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice,” he added, noting the march would specifically be used to call for a federal policing equality act.
Aug. 28 is the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. The three other officers who were with Chauvin at the time ― Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng ― were arrested Wednesday and charged with aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder.