therealnews--2020-06-02--The Black Man Lab In Atlanta Is Providing A Reprieve For Men

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Speaker 1 : Every Monday night , more than 100 Black men get together at the Andrew Walter Young YMCA in Atlanta , Georgia to participate in the Black Man Lab , a collective forum and private space where Black men address their concerns .
In March , Real News executive producer Eddie Conway traveled to Atlanta to visit the Black Man Lab .
This report documents the last time the Black Man Lab met in person as the spread of COVID-19 heightened in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m Eddie Conway .
I ’ m coming to you from Atlanta , Georgia .
I ’ ve heard about the Black Man ’ s Lab .
I came down to check it out .
This is their story .
Speaker 3 : Well , we want you for this space , we want everybody to have a place to cover and a place to focus and to do that , what we wanted to do is I ’ m going to ask everybody to take one big inhale and let it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you to help organize this ?
Speaker 3 : Well , the Black Man Lab was grown from the need of fathers wanting to be able to get their sons information , right ?
Meaning like I might tell my son something and typically , and I did the same thing with my dad , typically we don ’ t listen to our fathers often .
It ’ s like , oh , you ’ re just talking that old stuff or whatever like that .
But , if there ’ s an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having a conversation with our sons , we find then that they listen .
So that ’ s been going on for now , three to almost four years , that part of it .
But what Black Man Lab is today , when I first started coming and first started being a part of it back in July , there were probably crowd of 40 to 50 people .
And now we ’ re well over 250 and growing .
Speaker 4 : Tonight , a new community group is getting a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s called the Black Man Lab .
Speaker 5 : I went to college at Fairview… Speaker 6 : We need some cultural privacy .
There are things that happen to young Black men that don ’ t happen to anyone else on the planet .
You got to come in the gym .
Yeah .
How you doing ?
Good .
Good to see you back .
You got to come in here and check this out .
Let ’ s go to the gym , brothers .
Those that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lab really started as an offshoot of an organization called Let Us Make Man .
So back in 2006 , a group of us got together , a group , 10 African American men got together from a variety of religious , fraternal organizations… And we said , we have to reclaim the narrative around what it is to be a Black man .
We also do our podcast .
So we have our audio video team that we provide them some resources .
Welcome to the Black Man Lab after floor brothers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Conway : We initially started with just some dads who were just like , Hey man , we doing all of these work in the community .
We ’ re Let Us Make Man , and we ’ re doing it around the state for these big groups .
So we said , well , what about our sons are having a more intimate environment ?
And now , it ’ s not quite as intimate as it started , but it ’ s necessary .
And they started inviting their friends .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 : We can fight anything .
I mean , if we fought state , we fought this [ inaudible 00:03:18 ] war on drugs , this prison industrial complex , we ’ ve got the police shooting us in the streets .
Like they don ’ t talk about Africans who don ’ t have education .
Who don ’ t have access to education , who don ’ t have access to healthcare , there ’ s foreclosures killing us… Eddie Conway : And the one thing that made me decide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that as it ’ s not locked in , in any ideology , and it ’ s all inclusive .
Why did you decide to keep it open for any of them ?
Speaker 7 : What was really important ?
Just like in the founding of Let Us Make Man , we didn ’ t want any religious , political ideology to separate us .
What are common denominators is that we are Black men , men of African descent that know we need each other .
Know that there aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sacred for us to come into .
Our whole focus is the upliftment of all brothers .
And we know that we can do that and support each other , and that there ’ s no need for us to think that there ’ s only one way .
We have multiple routes to saving and helping ourselves .
Cody Moore : What ’ s going on , you all ?
My name is Cody Moore .
Professionally , I go by Codyguy Beats , I ’ m from right here in Southwest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , graduated Morehouse College .
Now , a professional DJ music producer .
I got my hand on a bunch of different parts around the city .
You know , involving that .
So , you know , you may catch me at a club here .
You may catch me at , you know , a private event there , or you might catch me at the studio .
Speaker 5 : And tonight we catch you at the Black Man Lab , baby .
Hey There it is .
Cody Moore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that isn ’ t being done .
That , you know , a lot of people are afraid of .
You know what I mean ?
There ’ s a lot of , like I say , somebody said earlier , there was a lot of power in it , you know what I mean ?
And as much power that was on the forefront , there was a lot of untapped potential .
Eddie Conway : You know , I have been here myself a couple of times and I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you know , young men , their fathers , their grandfathers , and their great grandfathers .
What ’ s the challenge ?
What has been the challenge toward this work ?
Speaker 3 : Brother Conway , you ’ ve , I ’ m sure experienced once you ’ re in that room , the level of connectiveness , the level of spirituality that ’ s in that room , without being , you know , of any specific religious denomination… It ’ s hard to quantify , it ’ s hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like , as we continue , we ’ re out on the street , all of us that are involved with Black Man Lab , all the organizers , we ’ re having conversations with other people .
It ’ s so hard to make them understand what this room is about .
Speaker 6 : Nowhere else , that you have from five to seventy-two , this is the beauty of Black Man Lab , it ’ s an intergenerational conversation .
May we give it up for our elders , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : So why is it important today , in the 21st century , for Black men to come together like this ?
Speaker 3 : Our communities need that .
Our communities have been disenfranchised by not having strong Black role models within them , right ?
So Black Man Lab is a place that gives the opportunity for young folks to get any kind of information that they want .
Speaker 10 : And my question is , how did you guys experience spiritual practice [ inaudible 00:06:58 ] .
Eddie Conway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other people in other communities can do to organize a Black Man ’ s Lab in their community ?
Speaker 3 : So , to organize a Black Man ’ s Lab , you would have to be connected to the synergy that ’ s happening within the Black Man ’ s Lab , and the way that it stars .
It ’ s about removing ego , you know , because you have a lot of Black men that come into the space that do a lot of significant things for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the world .
But then that space is literally just about putting your pride to the side .
So you can come and do something to move the culture forward .
And so the beginning to create anything similar to the Black Man ’ s Lab , Black men need to be able to remove ego .
So they can say that it was built together .
Eddie Conway : How old are you , and how long have you been doing this ?
Speaker 3 : So I ’ m 33 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizing in the city of Atlanta for about 15 years now .
And so , but I ’ ve been actually working with the Black Man ’ s Lab since the summertime .
So that ’ s like , June .
Do you know when we did the first Black Man ’ s Lab here at the YMCA , and since then we ’ ve done it every single Monday consistent .
So right now , we ’ re on probably like our 60th or 70th Monday , right now .
Speaker 7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Man , ” you all say “ Lab.
” Black Man !
Speaker 3 : This is your first time here , this is your 20th time here , we meet together .
You can walk past a brother , we don ’ t disrespect a brother , we ’ re linked .
Speaker 3 : And walk right here .
Crowd : And walk right here .
Dr. Walter Youn… : I ’ ve been honored to have the Lives CA named after myself and my brother , it ’ s called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And we began our journey with the Y about 80 years ago , I was five and my brother was seven .
Speaker 6 : You all , we just want to recognize Dr. Walter Young , he made [ inaudible 00:08:50 ] Dr. Walter Youn… : I ’ ve just been active because I believe that I can do here at this Y , what the Y do all and did for me .
As a young man growing up in rural South and Jim Crow segregated South , the Y gave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And I ’ m so thankful for the work that the Y ’ s done in my life that I want to sort of give it back to some of the young people here .
Eddie Conway : This is the second time in this gym .
I was at another place , another time , but I look at the activities that ’ s going on here .
And I ’ m impressed with the amount of things that ’ s presented for young people .
Tell me a little bit about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Dr. Walter Youn… : The Black Man ’ s Lab , as you see here , we ’ ve got summer programs .
We ’ ve got all , we ’ ve got programs year round , 24/7 .
We ’ re opened seven days a week .
We ’ ve got five high schools .
I ’ d like to reach out to these high schools , and I ’ d like their students to be able to come to this Y rather than to go home in the streets .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s a nice way to tell you about life .
One thing I like about it , like making me want to continue my dream .
I want to be a lawyer or have my own business .
Dr. Walter Youn… : One thing I remember during those years , we had the Hungry Club at the Butler Street YMC .
Now , the Butler Street Lives said it doesn ’ t exist anymore , but I ’ m so thankful that brother Attorney Bilowry Davis picked up the baton and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So we ’ re , he ’ s doing the same thing that we were doing during the civil rights movement with Dr. King .
Speaker 4 : We constantly need resources so that we can feed these brothers , allow them to come here and know that they ’ ll have a dinner .
And they ’ ll not only be fed with food , but also with spiritual food and encouragement .
And the whole principle , the whole idea , is that we ’ re really trying to help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inspire men who will transform the world .
Dr. Walter Youn… : I think when I liked when Dr. King said , “ We need to keep on keeping on , ” don ’ t you think so ?
We going to make it happen .
Speaker 10 : And if you need , brothers , if you need help , just let the brotherhood know you need help , and we got your back .
Appreciate you all .
Speaker 7 : But what I ’ ve found is that we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not that we haven ’ t been injured , that we ’ re all in different stages of healing .
Speaker 7 : So you find some people who were in a position who may not have it all together .
Speaker 7 : That we were supposed to share with them , help heal this person .
Speaker 7 : That ’ s what we do on [ inaudible 00:11:50 ] every day .
Speaker 6 : I know you all know , we always talk about me , my brothers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a bad day , or bad week .
And hell , some of them may have had a bad life .
What we typically do , is we bring them on up , we need to come up to own up , brother .
You bring up our brothers who need some extra support .
We come give him a hug .
Let ’ s affirm this brother today , and he has a brother who needs some additional Black man love today .
Come on up .
Speaker 7 : I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banging against the Roman Empire .
This is the Roman Empire .
And we bang it .
So from that perspective , there are lessons that we can pull .
Speaker 5 : When you look at the nature of the situation that we ’ re in , we ’ re in a group- Hell on earth , right now .
And we ’ ve got leaders who are just , “ You know , let ’ s just retreat to our private little heavens… ” And if we need to retreat to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal situation right .
Then extend that outwards .
Speaker 7 : Not right now , we all get in .
They ’ re not , they ’ re not stopping you , or me , because they know , “ Oh , there drives a Baptist or Christian that ’ s Brother Malcolm.
” Say , don ’ t we all catch it here .
When we unify , it ’ s going to be over , right ?
It ’ s not that radical .
Crowd : A little radical .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ What ’ s radical is just having 200 Black men get together every Monday , and celebrate and love each other .
I guess that is radical in an oppressive white supremacist society .
Speaker 1 : Because COVID-19 spread rapidly throughout the United States , the Black Man Lab transitioned to virtual meetings every Monday .
Speaker 5 : Welcome to the Black Man Lab .
We appreciate others for , for stepping in today , connecting with us , for us to have this conversation about how they ’ re making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and how it ’ s impacted their lives and how they ’ re managing this impact .
Speaker 11 : Georgia ’ s population is 10.6 million people .
As of noon today , 3,700 of those 10.6 million are hospitalized with COVID-19 .
Speaker 12 : He ’ s allowing a wide array of businesses that usually involve very close physical contact to reopen as soon as this coming Friday .
Speaker 1 : In the midst of high rates of COVID-19 in Georgia , Governor Brian Kemp prematurely called for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 27th , without consulting Atlanta Mayor , Keisha Bottoms .
Speaker 15 : Given the favorable data , enhanced testing , and approval of our healthcare professionals , we will allow gyms , fitness centers , bowling alleys , body art studios… Speaker 1 : There is concern that Governor Kemp ’ s premature reopening of Georgia would increase the deaths from COVID-19 , which are disproportionately impacting Black people in the United States .
So key leaders from the Black Man Lab , along with the Georgia Coalition 2 Save Lives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kemp ’ s office at the state Capitol .
Speaker 6 : The reason that we have these hearses… We want everyone to recognize that the decision at midnight , when all of the restrictions are lifted , we will see more and more of these hearses pulling into communities and through communities because more and more Georgians will die as a result of this decision of putting profits over people .
The medical and scientific evidence does not support reopening or removing the restrictions that currently exist , and we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So everybody is saying more than six feet away from one another , because we are taking this as seriously as we are hoping the governor and other elected officials will .

Atlanta’s Black Man Lab is a forum where Black men can speak frankly and honestly address their concerns, even in the middle of a pandemic.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Speaker 1: Every Monday night, more than 100 Black men get together at the Andrew Walter Young YMCA in Atlanta, Georgia to participate in the Black Man Lab, a collective forum and private space where Black men address their concerns. In March, Real News executive producer Eddie Conway traveled to Atlanta to visit the Black Man Lab. This report documents the last time the Black Man Lab met in person as the spread of COVID-19 heightened in the United States.
Eddie Conway: I’m Eddie Conway. I’m coming to you from Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve heard about the Black Man’s Lab. I came down to check it out. This is their story.
Speaker 3: Well, we want you for this space, we want everybody to have a place to cover and a place to focus and to do that, what we wanted to do is I’m going to ask everybody to take one big inhale and let it go.
Eddie Conway: What motivated you to help organize this?
Speaker 3: Well, the Black Man Lab was grown from the need of fathers wanting to be able to get their sons information, right? Meaning like I might tell my son something and typically, and I did the same thing with my dad, typically we don’t listen to our fathers often. It’s like, oh, you’re just talking that old stuff or whatever like that. But, if there’s an uncle, a close friend that is having a conversation with our sons, we find then that they listen. So that’s been going on for now, three to almost four years, that part of it. But what Black Man Lab is today, when I first started coming and first started being a part of it back in July, there were probably crowd of 40 to 50 people. And now we’re well over 250 and growing.
Speaker 4: Tonight, a new community group is getting a lot of buzz in Atlanta. It’s called the Black Man Lab.
Speaker 5: I went to college at Fairview…
Speaker 6: We need some cultural privacy. There are things that happen to young Black men that don’t happen to anyone else on the planet. You got to come in the gym. Yeah. How you doing? Good. Good to see you back. You got to come in here and check this out. Let’s go to the gym, brothers. Those that are going to participate.
The Black Man Lab really started as an offshoot of an organization called Let Us Make Man. So back in 2006, a group of us got together, a group, 10 African American men got together from a variety of religious, fraternal organizations… And we said, we have to reclaim the narrative around what it is to be a Black man. We also do our podcast. So we have our audio video team that we provide them some resources.
Welcome to the Black Man Lab after floor brothers, how you all doing?
Speaker 3: Good, brother. Very well.
Eddie Conway: We initially started with just some dads who were just like, Hey man, we doing all of these work in the community. We’re Let Us Make Man, and we’re doing it around the state for these big groups. So we said, well, what about our sons are having a more intimate environment? And now, it’s not quite as intimate as it started, but it’s necessary. And they started inviting their friends. And then here we are.
Speaker 6: We can fight anything. I mean, if we fought state, we fought this [inaudible 00:03:18] war on drugs, this prison industrial complex, we’ve got the police shooting us in the streets. Like they don’t talk about Africans who don’t have education. Who don’t have access to education, who don’t have access to healthcare, there’s foreclosures killing us…
Eddie Conway: And the one thing that made me decide to come back was, I see that as it’s not locked in, in any ideology, and it’s all inclusive. Why did you decide to keep it open for any of them?
Speaker 7: What was really important? Just like in the founding of Let Us Make Man, we didn’t want any religious, political ideology to separate us. What are common denominators is that we are Black men, men of African descent that know we need each other. Know that there aren’t many spaces that are safe and sacred for us to come into. Our whole focus is the upliftment of all brothers. And we know that we can do that and support each other, and that there’s no need for us to think that there’s only one way. We have multiple routes to saving and helping ourselves.
Cody Moore: What’s going on, you all? My name is Cody Moore. Professionally, I go by Codyguy Beats, I’m from right here in Southwest Atlanta, born and raised Cascade areas, graduated Morehouse College. Now, a professional DJ music producer. I got my hand on a bunch of different parts around the city. You know, involving that. So, you know, you may catch me at a club here. You may catch me at, you know, a private event there, or you might catch me at the studio.
Speaker 5: And tonight we catch you at the Black Man Lab, baby. Hey There it is.
Cody Moore: You all are really doing something that isn’t being done. That, you know, a lot of people are afraid of. You know what I mean? There’s a lot of, like I say, somebody said earlier, there was a lot of power in it, you know what I mean? And as much power that was on the forefront, there was a lot of untapped potential.
Eddie Conway: You know, I have been here myself a couple of times and I’ve observed Black, like for generations, you know, young men, their fathers, their grandfathers, and their great grandfathers. What’s the challenge? What has been the challenge toward this work?
Speaker 3: Brother Conway, you’ve, I’m sure experienced once you’re in that room, the level of connectiveness, the level of spirituality that’s in that room, without being, you know, of any specific religious denomination… It’s hard to quantify, it’s hard to put words on it. So like, as we continue, we’re out on the street, all of us that are involved with Black Man Lab, all the organizers, we’re having conversations with other people. It’s so hard to make them understand what this room is about.
Speaker 6: Nowhere else, that you have from five to seventy-two, this is the beauty of Black Man Lab, it’s an intergenerational conversation. May we give it up for our elders, and the youngest among us.
Eddie Conway: So why is it important today, in the 21st century, for Black men to come together like this?
Speaker 3: Our communities need that. Our communities have been disenfranchised by not having strong Black role models within them, right? So Black Man Lab is a place that gives the opportunity for young folks to get any kind of information that they want.
Speaker 10: And my question is, how did you guys experience spiritual practice [inaudible 00:06:58].
Eddie Conway: Give us an idea of what other people in other communities can do to organize a Black Man’s Lab in their community?
Speaker 3: So, to organize a Black Man’s Lab, you would have to be connected to the synergy that’s happening within the Black Man’s Lab, and the way that it stars. It’s about removing ego, you know, because you have a lot of Black men that come into the space that do a lot of significant things for the community, a lot of significant things for the world.
But then that space is literally just about putting your pride to the side. So you can come and do something to move the culture forward. And so the beginning to create anything similar to the Black Man’s Lab, Black men need to be able to remove ego. So they can say that it was built together.
Eddie Conway: How old are you, and how long have you been doing this?
Speaker 3: So I’m 33 years old. I’ve been organizing in the city of Atlanta for about 15 years now. And so, but I’ve been actually working with the Black Man’s Lab since the summertime. So that’s like, June. Do you know when we did the first Black Man’s Lab here at the YMCA, and since then we’ve done it every single Monday consistent. So right now, we’re on probably like our 60th or 70th Monday, right now.
Speaker 7: When I say, “Black Man,” you all say “Lab.” Black Man!
Crowd: Lab!
Speaker 7: Black Man!
Crowd: Lab!
Speaker 3: This is your first time here, this is your 20th time here, we meet together. You can walk past a brother, we don’t disrespect a brother, we’re linked.
I’m linking this chain-
Crowd: I’m linked to this chain.
Speaker 3: And walk right here.
Crowd: And walk right here.
Dr. Walter Youn…: I’ve been honored to have the Lives CA named after myself and my brother, it’s called the Andrew Walter Young Lives CA. And we began our journey with the Y about 80 years ago, I was five and my brother was seven.
Speaker 6: You all, we just want to recognize Dr. Walter Young, he made [inaudible 00:08:50]
Dr. Walter Youn…: I’ve just been active because I believe that I can do here at this Y, what the Y do all and did for me. As a young man growing up in rural South and Jim Crow segregated South, the Y gave me an opportunity to expand myself. And I’m so thankful for the work that the Y’s done in my life that I want to sort of give it back to some of the young people here.
Eddie Conway: This is the second time in this gym. I was at another place, another time, but I look at the activities that’s going on here. And I’m impressed with the amount of things that’s presented for young people. Tell me a little bit about the different programs, if you will.
Dr. Walter Youn…: The Black Man’s Lab, as you see here, we’ve got summer programs. We’ve got all, we’ve got programs year round, 24/7. We’re opened seven days a week. We’ve got five high schools. I’d like to reach out to these high schools, and I’d like their students to be able to come to this Y rather than to go home in the streets.
Speaker 9: Black Man Lab, it’s a nice way to tell you about life. One thing I like about it, like making me want to continue my dream. I want to be a lawyer or have my own business.
Dr. Walter Youn…: One thing I remember during those years, we had the Hungry Club at the Butler Street YMC. Now, the Butler Street Lives said it doesn’t exist anymore, but I’m so thankful that brother Attorney Bilowry Davis picked up the baton and brought it over here to this Y. So we’re, he’s doing the same thing that we were doing during the civil rights movement with Dr. King.
Speaker 4: We constantly need resources so that we can feed these brothers, allow them to come here and know that they’ll have a dinner. And they’ll not only be fed with food, but also with spiritual food and encouragement. And the whole principle, the whole idea, is that we’re really trying to help build and really create and support and inspire men who will transform the world.
Dr. Walter Youn…: I think when I liked when Dr. King said, “We need to keep on keeping on,” don’t you think so? We going to make it happen.
Speaker 10: And if you need, brothers, if you need help, just let the brotherhood know you need help, and we got your back. Appreciate you all.
Speaker 7: But what I’ve found is that we’ve all been injured. It’s not that we haven’t been injured, that we’re all in different stages of healing.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 7: So you find some people who were in a position who may not have it all together.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 7: That we were supposed to share with them, help heal this person.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 7: That’s what we do on [inaudible 00:11:50] every day.
Speaker 6: I know you all know, we always talk about me, my brothers get along. That you may have had a bad day, or bad week. And hell, some of them may have had a bad life. What we typically do, is we bring them on up, we need to come up to own up, brother. You bring up our brothers who need some extra support. We come give him a hug. Let’s affirm this brother today, and he has a brother who needs some additional Black man love today. Come on up.
Speaker 7: I see through that lens of African revolutionary banging against the Roman Empire. This is the Roman Empire. And we bang it. So from that perspective, there are lessons that we can pull.
Speaker 5: When you look at the nature of the situation that we’re in, we’re in a group- Hell on earth, right now. And we’ve got leaders who are just, “You know, let’s just retreat to our private little heavens…” And if we need to retreat to our private little heavens, get our internal situation right. Then extend that outwards.
Speaker 7: Not right now, we all get in. They’re not, they’re not stopping you, or me, because they know, “Oh, there drives a Baptist or Christian that’s Brother Malcolm.” Say, don’t we all catch it here. When we unify, it’s going to be over, right? It’s not that radical.
Crowd: A little radical. It is radical!
Speaker 7: What’s radical is just having 200 Black men get together every Monday, and celebrate and love each other. I guess that is radical in an oppressive white supremacist society.
Speaker 1: Because COVID-19 spread rapidly throughout the United States, the Black Man Lab transitioned to virtual meetings every Monday.
Speaker 5: Welcome to the Black Man Lab. We appreciate others for, for stepping in today, connecting with us, for us to have this conversation about how they’re making these adjustments to dealing with the Coronavirus and how it’s impacted their lives and how they’re managing this impact.
Speaker 11: Georgia’s population is 10.6 million people. As of noon today, 3,700 of those 10.6 million are hospitalized with COVID-19.
Speaker 12: He’s allowing a wide array of businesses that usually involve very close physical contact to reopen as soon as this coming Friday.
Speaker 1: In the midst of high rates of COVID-19 in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp prematurely called for the reopening of the Peach State on April 27th, without consulting Atlanta Mayor, Keisha Bottoms.
Speaker 15: Given the favorable data, enhanced testing, and approval of our healthcare professionals, we will allow gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios…
Speaker 1: There is concern that Governor Kemp’s premature reopening of Georgia would increase the deaths from COVID-19, which are disproportionately impacting Black people in the United States. So key leaders from the Black Man Lab, along with the Georgia Coalition 2 Save Lives, organized a mock funeral procession around Governor Kemp’s office at the state Capitol.
Speaker 6: The reason that we have these hearses… We want everyone to recognize that the decision at midnight, when all of the restrictions are lifted, we will see more and more of these hearses pulling into communities and through communities because more and more Georgians will die as a result of this decision of putting profits over people.
The medical and scientific evidence does not support reopening or removing the restrictions that currently exist, and we’re also engaged in the social distancing. So everybody is saying more than six feet away from one another, because we are taking this as seriously as we are hoping the governor and other elected officials will.
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therealnews--2020-06-02--Police Repression Backfires As Protests Multiply

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Speaker 1 : We ’ re in a moment where you got a combination of a pandemic that ’ s in virus form , and then we got a pandemic in political policing form .
Now , the virus form is still political , but when you have interaction , sorry about this .
You got interaction between a pandemic that ’ s basically taken one out of 2,000 African American lives , and then you ’ ve got a policing dynamic , which has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but a similar effect on black bodies .
I don ’ t know why I wouldn ’ t be here .
Speaker 2 : You saw the first officer get charged in George Floyd ’ s murder , but the protests have only grown , and there was maybe a historic level of coordinated police repression across the country .
That seems to have also only fueled protests .
Can you talk about that ?
Speaker 1 : Yeah .
For the first time , we ’ ve seen police not just go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen police actually on purpose going after journalists .
Those are dynamics that you would normally associate with basically the politics of a Banana Republic .
I think that ’ s what people are protesting .
People are protesting the fact that increasingly , America acts as if it ’ s a Banana Republic .
We ’ re well concentrated and political power concentrated in an ethno-racial capitalist state .
Speaker 2 : In Baltimore , there was an uprising just five years ago .
A lot of people feel like not a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What do you think has been learned from these years of protests against these similar incidents and what is it going to take to actually change this ?
Speaker 1 : Well , the thing is people have been fighting against a combination of economic violence and political violence in places like Baltimore .
That struggle isn ’ t just a five-year struggle .
We already knew it was a struggle , but I think the thing that people are really beginning to focus on , although again , I think we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it ’ s really important to basically enact policies that defund the police and then that take the capital that ’ s embodied downtown and basically redistributing it .
That takes a combination of traditional political means and not traditional political means , and then it takes a combination of basically elected officials , political parties , social movement tendencies , and then public policy .
It requires it all .
Speaker 2 : Baltimore is interesting because it spends most per capita of any large city on its police department .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it subsidizes large corporations to the tune of billions every year , while its schools are starved for heat and AC .
Can you talk about that as well ?
Speaker 1 : We spend $ 500 million on police a year , right ?
The thing I ’ ve emphasized is that by comparison , for example , we spend maybe $ 40 , $ 50 million on parks and rec .
In the case of the police , it ’ s not even like the city has a lot of power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it by state politics , not necessarily local politics .
What we have [ inaudible 00:03:40 ] and then most of that money is spent basically defending capital .
A significant portion is spent in this district , and then a significant portion of spent in the poorest district , the poorest area in the city where Freddie Gray was killed .
As if we can actually see the money that should be going to parks and rec , the money that should be going to education , go to policing and defending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the struggle .

Professor Lester Spence argues America is facing two pandemics: COVID-19 and political policing.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Speaker 1: We’re in a moment where you got a combination of a pandemic that’s in virus form, and then we got a pandemic in political policing form. Now, the virus form is still political, but when you have interaction, sorry about this. You got interaction between a pandemic that’s basically taken one out of 2,000 African American lives, and then you’ve got a policing dynamic, which has had not quite the same effect, but a similar effect on black bodies. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be here.
Speaker 2: You saw the first officer get charged in George Floyd’s murder, but the protests have only grown, and there was maybe a historic level of coordinated police repression across the country. That seems to have also only fueled protests. Can you talk about that?
Speaker 1: Yeah. For the first time, we’ve seen police not just go after protestors, but we’ve seen police actually on purpose going after journalists. Those are dynamics that you would normally associate with basically the politics of a Banana Republic. I think that’s what people are protesting. People are protesting the fact that increasingly, America acts as if it’s a Banana Republic. We’re well concentrated and political power concentrated in an ethno-racial capitalist state.
Speaker 2: In Baltimore, there was an uprising just five years ago. A lot of people feel like not a lot has changed in those five years. What do you think has been learned from these years of protests against these similar incidents and what is it going to take to actually change this?
Speaker 1: Well, the thing is people have been fighting against a combination of economic violence and political violence in places like Baltimore. That struggle isn’t just a five-year struggle. We already knew it was a struggle, but I think the thing that people are really beginning to focus on, although again, I think we knew that here in Baltimore, is that it’s really important to basically enact policies that defund the police and then that take the capital that’s embodied downtown and basically redistributing it. That takes a combination of traditional political means and not traditional political means, and then it takes a combination of basically elected officials, political parties, social movement tendencies, and then public policy. It requires it all.
Speaker 2: Baltimore is interesting because it spends most per capita of any large city on its police department. We’ve talked about this, it subsidizes large corporations to the tune of billions every year, while its schools are starved for heat and AC. Can you talk about that as well?
Speaker 1: We spend $500 million on police a year, right? The thing I’ve emphasized is that by comparison, for example, we spend maybe $40, $50 million on parks and rec. In the case of the police, it’s not even like the city has a lot of power that police has, is given to it by state politics, not necessarily local politics. What we have [inaudible 00:03:40] and then most of that money is spent basically defending capital. A significant portion is spent in this district, and then a significant portion of spent in the poorest district, the poorest area in the city where Freddie Gray was killed. As if we can actually see the money that should be going to parks and rec, the money that should be going to education, go to policing and defending capital. That’s kind of the struggle.
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therealnews--2020-06-03--Third Parties Sue For Ballot Access During COVID-19 Pandemic

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Jaisal Noor : Welcome to The Real News .
I ’ m Jaisal Noor .
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed over 100,000 people across the United States and it ’ s changed the way political campaigns are run and made traditional canvasing impossible .
For third parties like Greens and Libertarians , this could spell doom as collecting signatures are often a requirement for ballot access .
Some states are taking action .
Vermont waived signature requirements to be listed on their state ballot and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Our next guest filed a federal lawsuit to get third party candidates on the ballot in Maryland .
Andy Ellis is the co-chair of the Maryland Green Party .
Thanks so much for joining us .
Andy Ellis : Thank you for the opportunity to talk about this .
I ’ m glad to be here and spread the word about how we need to have choices in our democracy even during a pandemic .
Jaisal Noor : So talk about why you filed this lawsuit against the state of Maryland .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with another third party , the libertarian party .
Andy Ellis : Yeah , so the state of Maryland requires 10,000 valid petition signatures from registered voters in order for a third party to be on the ballot in the general election .
And the deadline for that is the beginning of August and because of the COVID state of emergency , as of March 5th , the Greens and Libertarians suspended all of their in-person petitioning efforts .
And given that social distancing is likely to stay in place even as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we ’ re not going to be able to go back out into the field to petition for signatures .
So functionally what the governor ’ s order did was , without warning and without statutory reference , he changed the deadline from August 3rd to March 5th .
And so we believe that we have a first amendment right to seek to be on the ballot .
And we believe that there is a pathway in Maryland law that allows us to do so , but the governor ’ s state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And now we need to have the state of Maryland provide relief for that , so that we can be on the ballot , so the candidates can run , and so the voters who so choose can affiliate with the party of choice .
Jaisal Noor : And so what are you proposing ?
I know the idea of e-signatures is sort of growing in popularity .
There ’ s discussions around that .
Would that be an adequate remedy ?
Andy Ellis : So we asked for two things .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state Board of Elections to allow electronic signatures .
And on April 22nd , they did do that .
We also asked for the governor to lower the threshold for the number of signatures required because we simply think that while e-signatures are a good idea , they can ’ t be a replacement for in-person signatures .
In the past , we ’ ve gotten the majority of our petition signatures from going to farmer ’ s markets , fairs , festivals , community gatherings , things like that where there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we just don ’ t think that e-signatures will be a replacement for that .
We do think it ’ s a good addition to have and hopefully something that the state continues to allow going forward so that the next signature campaign can do electronic signatures and in-person .
But the lawsuit is because we don ’ t think that we can replace in-person petitioning with online petitioning , especially when we have no idea how it works or how many people are going to be receptive to it .
Jaisal Noor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the requirement for signatures to get on the ballot .
What are other States doing ?
And we know courts have weighed in too .
Can you give us a lay of the land where this stands across the country right now ?
Andy Ellis : Yeah .
So there ’ s some version of electronic signatures that is being adapted in some places .
Minnesota allowed electronic signatures .
Utah reduced the amount by a period of time that didn ’ t take into account the seasonality of gathering petition signatures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gather them as May would be .
And if we ’ re gathering them outside , we can imagine that February and May are just not equal .
And Virginia and Pennsylvania have lawsuits right now in order to lower the signature threshold .
It ’ s all across the board what states are doing because ballot access laws are all across the board and sort of each state , 50 states do it different ways , but it is some combination of lowering the threshold and electronic signatures .
Vermont sort of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballot without any petitioning .
Jaisal Noor : And of course that ’ s the home of Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders .
So I guess that makes a lot of sense .
I also wanted to ask you about ballot measures because ballot measures are an important way that voters can sort of bypass lawmakers to get initiatives passed .
You know , in Maryland , we ’ ve seen a lot of progressive legislation on a local level happen through ballot measures .
The public financing of elections was passed through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fund was passed through ballot measures , things that lawmakers didn ’ t do that the voters took it in their own hands to do .
We know in other places there ’ s been regressive policies passed through ballot measures .
Where does that stand right now during this pandemic ?
Andy Ellis : So they are facing the same thing the third parties and the unaffiliated candidates are facing .
They can ’ t go collect signatures .
It ’ s literally against the law to go out and petition and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days ago .
And there ’ s still social distancing guidelines in place .
So the petition process in the state of Maryland governs four things .
It governs ballot measure , referendum of general assembly , unaffiliated candidates , and new parties .
So everybody ’ s in the same boat to some degree .
We ’ ve been in coalition with Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition and groups in Montgomery and in Prince George ’ s County .
And we have developed an electronic signature platform that we ’ re happily sharing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be able to sue in state court over this because it ’ s really a state issue .
The power to petition an amendment to a charter county , it comes out of the Maryland State Constitution , whereas the ability to affiliate with a political party of your choosing comes out of the first amendment of the Federal Constitution .
So our hope is that any decision that is favorable in our case will open the door for a favorable decision for them as well because it ’ s just simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baltimore City to get 10,000 signatures electronically between now and the deadline .
So again , we ’ re glad that they were able to get electronic signatures , but we think that they ’ re facing the same undue burden as a result of the COVID state of emergency as the parties are and we hope that state courts will weigh in on that and provide relief to them as well .
Jaisal Noor : All right .
Andy Ellis , co-chair of the Maryland Green Party , thanks so much for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abreast of developments in this story .
Andy Ellis : Thank you .
And we ’ ll let you know if anything changes .
Jaisal Noor : And thank you for joining us at The Real News Network .

Third parties are fighting for survival during the coronavirus pandemic.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Jaisal Noor: Welcome to The Real News. I’m Jaisal Noor. The COVID-19 pandemic has killed over 100,000 people across the United States and it’s changed the way political campaigns are run and made traditional canvasing impossible. For third parties like Greens and Libertarians, this could spell doom as collecting signatures are often a requirement for ballot access. Some states are taking action. Vermont waived signature requirements to be listed on their state ballot and a judge eased signature requirements in Illinois. Our next guest filed a federal lawsuit to get third party candidates on the ballot in Maryland. Andy Ellis is the co-chair of the Maryland Green Party. Thanks so much for joining us.
Andy Ellis: Thank you for the opportunity to talk about this. I’m glad to be here and spread the word about how we need to have choices in our democracy even during a pandemic.
Jaisal Noor: So talk about why you filed this lawsuit against the state of Maryland. I understand that you did this jointly with another third party, the libertarian party.
Andy Ellis: Yeah, so the state of Maryland requires 10,000 valid petition signatures from registered voters in order for a third party to be on the ballot in the general election. And the deadline for that is the beginning of August and because of the COVID state of emergency, as of March 5th, the Greens and Libertarians suspended all of their in-person petitioning efforts. And given that social distancing is likely to stay in place even as the road to recovery opens some things up, we’re not going to be able to go back out into the field to petition for signatures.
So functionally what the governor’s order did was, without warning and without statutory reference, he changed the deadline from August 3rd to March 5th. And so we believe that we have a first amendment right to seek to be on the ballot. And we believe that there is a pathway in Maryland law that allows us to do so, but the governor’s state of emergency basically obliterated that pathway. And now we need to have the state of Maryland provide relief for that, so that we can be on the ballot, so the candidates can run, and so the voters who so choose can affiliate with the party of choice.
Jaisal Noor: And so what are you proposing? I know the idea of e-signatures is sort of growing in popularity. There’s discussions around that. Would that be an adequate remedy?
Andy Ellis: So we asked for two things. So the first thing we asked for was the state Board of Elections to allow electronic signatures. And on April 22nd, they did do that. We also asked for the governor to lower the threshold for the number of signatures required because we simply think that while e-signatures are a good idea, they can’t be a replacement for in-person signatures. In the past, we’ve gotten the majority of our petition signatures from going to farmer’s markets, fairs, festivals, community gatherings, things like that where there are large groups of people. And we just don’t think that e-signatures will be a replacement for that. We do think it’s a good addition to have and hopefully something that the state continues to allow going forward so that the next signature campaign can do electronic signatures and in-person. But the lawsuit is because we don’t think that we can replace in-person petitioning with online petitioning, especially when we have no idea how it works or how many people are going to be receptive to it.
Jaisal Noor: And so we know Vermont waived the requirement for signatures to get on the ballot. What are other States doing? And we know courts have weighed in too. Can you give us a lay of the land where this stands across the country right now?
Andy Ellis: Yeah. So there’s some version of electronic signatures that is being adapted in some places. Minnesota allowed electronic signatures. Utah reduced the amount by a period of time that didn’t take into account the seasonality of gathering petition signatures, as if February was as good to gather them as May would be. And if we’re gathering them outside, we can imagine that February and May are just not equal. And Virginia and Pennsylvania have lawsuits right now in order to lower the signature threshold. It’s all across the board what states are doing because ballot access laws are all across the board and sort of each state, 50 states do it different ways, but it is some combination of lowering the threshold and electronic signatures. Vermont sort of stands out in putting parties on the ballot without any petitioning.
Jaisal Noor: And of course that’s the home of Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders. So I guess that makes a lot of sense. I also wanted to ask you about ballot measures because ballot measures are an important way that voters can sort of bypass lawmakers to get initiatives passed. You know, in Maryland, we’ve seen a lot of progressive legislation on a local level happen through ballot measures. The public financing of elections was passed through ballot measures. An affordable housing trust fund was passed through ballot measures, things that lawmakers didn’t do that the voters took it in their own hands to do. We know in other places there’s been regressive policies passed through ballot measures. Where does that stand right now during this pandemic?
Andy Ellis: So they are facing the same thing the third parties and the unaffiliated candidates are facing. They can’t go collect signatures. It’s literally against the law to go out and petition and collect signatures up until a couple of days ago. And there’s still social distancing guidelines in place. So the petition process in the state of Maryland governs four things. It governs ballot measure, referendum of general assembly, unaffiliated candidates, and new parties. So everybody’s in the same boat to some degree. We’ve been in coalition with Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition and groups in Montgomery and in Prince George’s County. And we have developed an electronic signature platform that we’re happily sharing with them. I hope that they will be able to sue in state court over this because it’s really a state issue. The power to petition an amendment to a charter county, it comes out of the Maryland State Constitution, whereas the ability to affiliate with a political party of your choosing comes out of the first amendment of the Federal Constitution.
So our hope is that any decision that is favorable in our case will open the door for a favorable decision for them as well because it’s just simply impossible in the counties like Montgomery and Baltimore City to get 10,000 signatures electronically between now and the deadline. So again, we’re glad that they were able to get electronic signatures, but we think that they’re facing the same undue burden as a result of the COVID state of emergency as the parties are and we hope that state courts will weigh in on that and provide relief to them as well.
Jaisal Noor: All right. Andy Ellis, co-chair of the Maryland Green Party, thanks so much for joining us and we will certainly keep abreast of developments in this story.
Andy Ellis: Thank you. And we’ll let you know if anything changes.
Jaisal Noor: And thank you for joining us at The Real News Network.
Studio: Will Arenas
Production: Will Arenas
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therealnews--2020-06-03--Violence Towards Protesters Shows Why Many Want To Abolish Police

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Kim Brown : Welcome to the Real News .
I ’ m Kim Brown .
After several sustained days of protest in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd on May 25th , the epicenter of this latest uprising movement , Minneapolis , is experiencing an over militarized response with Minnesota National Guard troops joining alongside Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota State Police law enforcement agencies in attempting to quell the uprisings .
But organizers on the ground there are using their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts , plus providing a platform for the solution to the crisis of over-policing and brutality , get rid of the police altogether .
Well , joining me to discuss this today is Tony Williams .
Tony is an organizer and a police abolitionist in Minneapolis .
Over the past five years , he has worked with groups like MPD150 and Reclaim the Block .
Tony is joining us today from Minneapolis .
Tony , we appreciate you being here .
Thank you .
Tony Williams : Thank you so much for having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Kim Brown : So from the outside looking in , it ’ s sort of difficult to get a grasp on everything that ’ s been happening on the ground in Minneapolis over the past several days .
We ’ re just doing our best to piece it together through social media and mainstream cable news outlets , but you being there on the ground , can you share with us what you ’ re witnessing ?
Because it appears as though during the daytime , there ’ s a particular vibe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the streets advocating truly for justice for George Floyd , but at night time , there seem to be some other subversive elements that could be a media spin on this as well .
Can you give us your account of what you have witnessed ?
Who is protesting ?
Why ?
And what is going on in Minneapolis ?
Tony Williams : Absolutely .
So we ’ re now a week into the uprising that followed the killing of George Floyd .
I think that we ’ ve seen a mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of which has never existed here or nationally before , in some ways .
I mean the sheer amount of protests that are happening around the country in solidarity with what ’ s going on here are pretty remarkable .
We ’ ve seen the third police precinct burned down .
We ’ ve seen riots destroying property , and we ’ ve seen protests be criminalized and brutalized by the law enforcement agencies that were sent supposedly to keep them safe .
Things here on the ground in Minneapolis are very tense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big players are the protesters and white nationalists and law enforcement .
So what we ’ re seeing is that law enforcement has been escalating every single night the protests .
Again , I think a lot of the same people that are protesting during the day are the same people that are protesting at night and with a lot of the same tactics , but law enforcement are turning up on them in a way that is completely ridiculous and incredibly militarized at night .
We ’ re seeing journalists being shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they ’ re press .
We ’ re seeing black youth getting beaten up , getting tear gassed , getting shot at .
All kinds of crazy stuff is happening here .
And the governor and the mayor are only seeking to escalate the violence against protestors further .
So we ’ re very worried about that .
In addition , it ’ s become very clear that there are white supremacist elements that have come in that are purposefully trying to light fires at black and POC owned businesses , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in danger .
So we ’ ve had to respond to both of those things in real time .
So one of the things that ’ s happened is we ’ ve done a lot of community defense organizing where it ’ s clear that neighborhoods are coming together and friends are coming together in order to keep a watch out for white supremacist activity , as well as defend each other from the police .
So it ’ s a strange time here in Minneapolis .
Again , we ’ re no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of police brutality .
After Jamar Clark was killed , we occupied the fourth police precinct for 18 days .
After Philando Castile was killed in Falcon Heights next to St. Paul , many of us were involved in an occupation of the governor ’ s mansion .
Justine Damond was killed here .
Thurman Blevins was killed here .
And all of those prompted protests , but it ’ s clear that something has shifted and that we ’ re having conversations that are very different than they have before .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in favor of police reform .
We ’ re seeing people speak out in favor of abolition and defunding .
Kim Brown : And that is the crux of what organizations like MPD150 and Reclaim the Block are about .
For our viewers who are not familiar with the work of these organizations , would you mind briefly just bringing us up to speed ?
Tony Williams : Absolutely .
MPD150 came about in 2017 , in part in response to the murders of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile and the failure to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wake of massive , massive protest and uprising .
And really what it was , it became clear to a lot of us that the surface level reforms that were being advocated for by a large part of the protest movement weren ’ t actually moving the needle , and even when they were passed , weren ’ t changing the underlying conditions that lead to black folks being killed by police .
And so we decided it was time for us to draw on the wealth of abolitionist knowledge out there and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looks like .
So what that means to us is that we ’ re looking for a Minneapolis that is not reliant on armed safety patrols of people from outside our community , usually white folks , and usually folks deeply implicated in white supremacy .
We want to be able to keep our own community safe .
We want to be able to have enough resources to support people on the ground here in Minneapolis and make sure that they get their needs met .
If we do need crisis response , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis response , we want it to be trained folks from our communities who are not armed unless they absolutely have to be and who are really deeply dedicated towards the safety of all involved , rather than the criminalization of all involved .
So that ’ s what the police abolition movement is advocating for broadly .
MPD150 again , came together in 2017 and said , “ This conversation has been happening , but we need to give it a home .
We need to make the narrative more clear on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we put out this report , Enough is Enough : a people ’ s history of the Minneapolis police department , which you can find on our website at MPD150.com .
There ’ s also an audio book version of it .
And it ’ s three parts .
The first part of it is a past section .
It ’ s the first people ’ s history of the Minneapolis Police Department that ’ s ever been written .
We did hundreds of hours of research into primary sources to draw out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always been a part of the department since its founding .
In the present section of the report , we interviewed dozens of community members to talk about their relationships with the department today , and pretty much universally found that police escalate and make more dangerous situations where people feel in danger rather than protecting them .
And in the future section , we talk about the functions that police supposedly fulfill in terms of keeping our community safe and how every single one of those has alternatives that are either already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now .
So we really are talking about a gradual shift over to a completely different way of keeping our city safe .
Reclaim the Block , on the other hand , was formed in 2018 and has done mostly policy advocacy .
So we have been fighting for redirection of money from the police budget into other departmental budgets in Minneapolis .
The police department budget is larger than the health department budget , the office of violence prevention budget , the youth work budget and many more departments within the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 193 million be invested into the department every year , we want to see some of that money redirected .
So in 2018 , a bunch of council members agreed with us .
We got them to commit to a small amount , a million dollars being transferred from the department into the new Office of Violence Prevention .
And I think those conversations are still ongoing .
And council members are very close to being in full alignment with us around what we ’ re advocating for .
Kim Brown : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pivotal moment right now for a potential shift in American society and how we view policing at large and law enforcement .
But it seems like this could be a particularly critical moment for the police abolitionist movement .
Does it feel that way to you ?
Tony Williams : Absolutely .
I think the symmetry of this incident with the murder of Eric Garner in New York City is one thing that I ’ ve been thinking about a lot .
Both men were strangled by police .
Both men gave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Both men were being watched by community members who were demanding that the officers step off .
Both killings were filmed .
And I think what is happening right now is a deep response to the fact that in the years that Black Lives Matter has been a major political force in America , the underlying conditions of policing haven ’ t changed and there have been so many supposed reforms created to fix the problem and all of them have been universally ineffective .
And so I think it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are fed up .
People have recognized that reform is no longer an option or a possibility in any meaningful sense and that we need to be looking at defunding and abolition as the ways to move forward if we want to live in an America without police brutality , and indeed , if we want to live in an America , that ’ s safe for everyone , regardless of the color of their skin .
Kim Brown : Tony , I want to just circle back if we could , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past several days .
And clearly we are still in the throes of a global pandemic when it comes to COVID-19 , disproportionately affecting and infecting black and brown and indigenous communities .
We ’ ve had larger deaths in those communities , more so than in white communities .
What are organizers telling people that have participated in these protests over the past several days in regards to protecting themselves and their loved ones from COVID , given that social distancing is tough to do when you ’ re out there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Williams : Yeah .
We are doing our best to encourage people to obey social distancing protocols .
One of the things that we ’ ve seen a lot is people buying masks en masse , or en mask I suppose , in order to pass them out to protesters so that people have at least some protection from COVID , but it ’ s certainly a thing that we ’ re worried about .
But again , nobody is in charge of these protests .
And I don ’ t mean that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaotic and unsafe because I ’ ve seen a lot of support and mutual aid between protesters on the ground taking care of each other , but people are coming out spontaneously .
This is not the work of any organization or any charismatic elected official that ’ s telling us to come out and protest .
This is something that ’ s happening organically .
And so those of us who are in the movement need to make space for that and need to understand that people are choosing to make that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to try to keep each other as safe as possible .
Kim Brown : Talk to us about the mutual aid efforts in organizing that you ’ ve witnessed , because of some of the things I ’ ve seen on social media are , I guess I ’ d call them mutual aid stations where there ’ s food , there ’ s water available .
There are medical supplies .
If you have perhaps been injured , there are organizing efforts around bail funds to help get protesters who have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What have you witnessed over the past several days , how the community is providing resources and taking care of each other and itself ?
Tony Williams : Yeah , there ’ s so much happening .
And it ’ s hard for me to even fully describe all of the things that are happening because they feel so wild and real , and everything ’ s happening in real time .
I think the effort that … I mean , I went out the first night of the protest in order to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of medical supplies and brought them down to the protests near the third precinct before it was burned down .
And saw a lot of other folks doing the same medic work , saw a lot of folks buying supplies and making sure that everything was adequately staffed .
The North Star Health Collective is doing a lot of on the ground medic work , but then also a lot of our grocery stores and pharmacies have been closed down ever since property destruction started .
And so it ’ s become clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs met for food and other things like that in an easy way on a day to day basis .
So we ’ ve been seeing caravans of people from the suburbs , people from the city , going out to far ring suburbs and buying supplies and bringing them back in for distribution at various hubs .
The mutual aid effort that I ’ m actually the most impressed by is that a number of our community members commandeered a hotel .
We saw that a lot of homeless folks were experiencing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a lot of danger because of the way the police and the National Guard were escalating against people who were out on the streets after curfew .
And so organizers got to the Sheraton Hotel , which is maybe a mile from the epicenter of the protest , and talked to them and managed to convince them to house folks in 200 rooms for as long as it ’ s necessary .
So that ’ s become a particular hub where folks are being housed and where there ’ s also food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kim Brown : Wow .
That pretty stunning .
I wanted to circle back , if we could , to the police response and the Minnesota National Guard patrolling the streets now , supposedly given the authorization to use lethal force if necessary , in addition to the subversive elements of white supremacists , possibly coming to agitate and wreak their own version of havoc .
Are you fearful for people that are out as they continue these ongoing demonstrations ?
I feel as if this response to this incident of police brutality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Floyd is resulting in more police brutality against people who are in opposition to this ongoing systemic racism as demonstrated by law enforcement .
What do protesters have to fear right now ?
And COVID , for goodness sake .
Tony Williams : Yeah .
I mean , there ’ s a lot of danger out there right now .
I ’ m not going to play it safe .
Yesterday , a Semi barreled through a massive crowd of protesters on 35W in the middle of the day .
And thankfully , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get out of the way in time .
But I mean , I had my brother and his girlfriend were on that bridge .
I have neighbors who were on that bridge .
I have friends who were on that bridge .
And so it is a serious concern , safety on the ground right now here .
The police have been … We ’ ve seen images of police driving by and shooting people with rubber bullets while they sit on their porches outside after curfew .
We ’ ve seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalists , and one photographer in the movement lost her eye as a result of a less lethal round a few nights ago .
So , I mean , we ’ re seeing very , very serious violence against protestors , and white supremacists are certainly a part of that as well .
They ’ ve conducted drive-bys on community mutual aid stations .
They have been leaving potential explosive devices around Minneapolis .
They ’ ve been setting fires , again , in black and POC owned businesses .
So I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but I will also say that we are so much stronger than the repression that ’ s being directed against us right now .
All of the best efforts of both this state and white supremacists have proven completely incapable of stopping the protests and stopping people from advocating for the abolition of the police .
And I think that that ’ s what ’ s really important here .
Kim Brown : So what are we hoping for the best outcome out of this to be ?
In your opinion , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there something in particular that could bring this to a close with ongoing organizing efforts continuing , but an end to the protest , as we have seen them over the past several days ?
Tony Williams : I think if city officials here were willing to make a serious and measured statement about the need to [ inaudible 00:17:22 ] us from the police , defund the police and abolish the police , then we would be in a very different place than we are right now .
And I honestly think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around to that and are recognizing that reform is impossible .
I ’ ve had many calls with them over the past few days , but we ’ re not quite there yet .
And I ’ m not even sure that that would stop the protests if they happen , because I think people are just really fed up .
And this is not just about George Floyd .
It is about George Floyd and we mourn him , but it ’ s about so much more than that , and about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America .
So I think that the protest will continue until people feel sated , and people feel like their needs are being met .
And I hope that the country takes a real hard look in the mirror right now about how it can meet those needs , not just for the sake of stopping the protest and making sure that people are safe , but to create a positive sense of justice and peace rather than the negative sense of order and law that was present before .
Kim Brown : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activist and organizer Tony Williams .
He is a member of the groups MPD150 and Reclaim the Block .
These are police abolitionist organizations based in Minneapolis .
And we ’ ve been talking about the ongoing protest in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd , countless others in Minneapolis , and other victims of police brutality across the country , and Minneapolis has been a flash point for all of this uprising that it looks as though we could get some changes , substantial changes coming out of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making the time to speak with us so much .
Thank you .
Tony Williams : Yeah .
Thank you so much , Kim .
And once again , you can find our work at MPD150.com and ReclaimTheBlock.com .
I encourage anybody who ’ s interested in the ideas or even skeptical about them to head to our websites and check out what our platforms are about .
Kim Brown : Absolutely .
Go check them out and thank you for watching the Real News Network .

Minneapolis organizer Tony Williams speaks about the ongoing uprisings and how groups can work towards the strategic dismantling of the police.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Kim Brown: Welcome to the Real News. I’m Kim Brown. After several sustained days of protest in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd on May 25th, the epicenter of this latest uprising movement, Minneapolis, is experiencing an over militarized response with Minnesota National Guard troops joining alongside Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota State Police law enforcement agencies in attempting to quell the uprisings. But organizers on the ground there are using their ingenuity to coordinate mutual aid and redistribution efforts, plus providing a platform for the solution to the crisis of over-policing and brutality, get rid of the police altogether. Well, joining me to discuss this today is Tony Williams. Tony is an organizer and a police abolitionist in Minneapolis. Over the past five years, he has worked with groups like MPD150 and Reclaim the Block. Tony is joining us today from Minneapolis. Tony, we appreciate you being here. Thank you.
Tony Williams: Thank you so much for having me Kim. Happy to be here.
Kim Brown: So from the outside looking in, it’s sort of difficult to get a grasp on everything that’s been happening on the ground in Minneapolis over the past several days. We’re just doing our best to piece it together through social media and mainstream cable news outlets, but you being there on the ground, can you share with us what you’re witnessing? Because it appears as though during the daytime, there’s a particular vibe and element for people who are out on the streets advocating truly for justice for George Floyd, but at night time, there seem to be some other subversive elements that could be a media spin on this as well. Can you give us your account of what you have witnessed? Who is protesting? Why? And what is going on in Minneapolis?
Tony Williams: Absolutely. So we’re now a week into the uprising that followed the killing of George Floyd. I think that we’ve seen a mass mobilization from the community, the scale of which has never existed here or nationally before, in some ways. I mean the sheer amount of protests that are happening around the country in solidarity with what’s going on here are pretty remarkable. We’ve seen the third police precinct burned down. We’ve seen riots destroying property, and we’ve seen protests be criminalized and brutalized by the law enforcement agencies that were sent supposedly to keep them safe. Things here on the ground in Minneapolis are very tense right now. I would say the big players are the protesters and white nationalists and law enforcement. So what we’re seeing is that law enforcement has been escalating every single night the protests. Again, I think a lot of the same people that are protesting during the day are the same people that are protesting at night and with a lot of the same tactics, but law enforcement are turning up on them in a way that is completely ridiculous and incredibly militarized at night.
We’re seeing journalists being shot with non-lethal rounds, even after volunteering that they’re press. We’re seeing black youth getting beaten up, getting tear gassed, getting shot at. All kinds of crazy stuff is happening here. And the governor and the mayor are only seeking to escalate the violence against protestors further. So we’re very worried about that. In addition, it’s become very clear that there are white supremacist elements that have come in that are purposefully trying to light fires at black and POC owned businesses, as well as put people defending their communities in danger. So we’ve had to respond to both of those things in real time. So one of the things that’s happened is we’ve done a lot of community defense organizing where it’s clear that neighborhoods are coming together and friends are coming together in order to keep a watch out for white supremacist activity, as well as defend each other from the police.
So it’s a strange time here in Minneapolis. Again, we’re no stranger to civil unrest in the wake of police brutality. After Jamar Clark was killed, we occupied the fourth police precinct for 18 days. After Philando Castile was killed in Falcon Heights next to St. Paul, many of us were involved in an occupation of the governor’s mansion. Justine Damond was killed here. Thurman Blevins was killed here. And all of those prompted protests, but it’s clear that something has shifted and that we’re having conversations that are very different than they have before. We’re not seeing people speak out in favor of police reform. We’re seeing people speak out in favor of abolition and defunding.
Kim Brown: And that is the crux of what organizations like MPD150 and Reclaim the Block are about. For our viewers who are not familiar with the work of these organizations, would you mind briefly just bringing us up to speed?
Tony Williams: Absolutely. MPD150 came about in 2017, in part in response to the murders of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile and the failure to get justice for those men in the wake of massive, massive protest and uprising. And really what it was, it became clear to a lot of us that the surface level reforms that were being advocated for by a large part of the protest movement weren’t actually moving the needle, and even when they were passed, weren’t changing the underlying conditions that lead to black folks being killed by police. And so we decided it was time for us to draw on the wealth of abolitionist knowledge out there and start thinking about what a police-free Minneapolis looks like. So what that means to us is that we’re looking for a Minneapolis that is not reliant on armed safety patrols of people from outside our community, usually white folks, and usually folks deeply implicated in white supremacy.
We want to be able to keep our own community safe. We want to be able to have enough resources to support people on the ground here in Minneapolis and make sure that they get their needs met. If we do need crisis response, mental health crisis response, domestic violence crisis response, we want it to be trained folks from our communities who are not armed unless they absolutely have to be and who are really deeply dedicated towards the safety of all involved, rather than the criminalization of all involved. So that’s what the police abolition movement is advocating for broadly. MPD150 again, came together in 2017 and said, “This conversation has been happening, but we need to give it a home. We need to make the narrative more clear on the ground here in Minneapolis.”
So we put out this report, Enough is Enough: a people’s history of the Minneapolis police department, which you can find on our website at MPD150.com. There’s also an audio book version of it. And it’s three parts. The first part of it is a past section. It’s the first people’s history of the Minneapolis Police Department that’s ever been written. We did hundreds of hours of research into primary sources to draw out the truth that racism and brutality have always been a part of the department since its founding. In the present section of the report, we interviewed dozens of community members to talk about their relationships with the department today, and pretty much universally found that police escalate and make more dangerous situations where people feel in danger rather than protecting them. And in the future section, we talk about the functions that police supposedly fulfill in terms of keeping our community safe and how every single one of those has alternatives that are either already built or that we can start implementing now. So we really are talking about a gradual shift over to a completely different way of keeping our city safe.
Reclaim the Block, on the other hand, was formed in 2018 and has done mostly policy advocacy. So we have been fighting for redirection of money from the police budget into other departmental budgets in Minneapolis. The police department budget is larger than the health department budget, the office of violence prevention budget, the youth work budget and many more departments within the city combined. And so when we see $193 million be invested into the department every year, we want to see some of that money redirected. So in 2018, a bunch of council members agreed with us. We got them to commit to a small amount, a million dollars being transferred from the department into the new Office of Violence Prevention. And I think those conversations are still ongoing. And council members are very close to being in full alignment with us around what we’re advocating for.
Kim Brown: You know, this feels like such a pivotal moment right now for a potential shift in American society and how we view policing at large and law enforcement. But it seems like this could be a particularly critical moment for the police abolitionist movement. Does it feel that way to you?
Tony Williams: Absolutely. I think the symmetry of this incident with the murder of Eric Garner in New York City is one thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot. Both men were strangled by police. Both men gave indications that they couldn’t breathe. Both men were being watched by community members who were demanding that the officers step off. Both killings were filmed. And I think what is happening right now is a deep response to the fact that in the years that Black Lives Matter has been a major political force in America, the underlying conditions of policing haven’t changed and there have been so many supposed reforms created to fix the problem and all of them have been universally ineffective. And so I think it’s very clear at this moment that people are fed up.
People have recognized that reform is no longer an option or a possibility in any meaningful sense and that we need to be looking at defunding and abolition as the ways to move forward if we want to live in an America without police brutality, and indeed, if we want to live in an America, that’s safe for everyone, regardless of the color of their skin.
Kim Brown: Tony, I want to just circle back if we could, to the protests that have been happening over the past several days. And clearly we are still in the throes of a global pandemic when it comes to COVID-19, disproportionately affecting and infecting black and brown and indigenous communities. We’ve had larger deaths in those communities, more so than in white communities. What are organizers telling people that have participated in these protests over the past several days in regards to protecting themselves and their loved ones from COVID, given that social distancing is tough to do when you’re out there with thousands of other folks?
Tony Williams: Yeah. We are doing our best to encourage people to obey social distancing protocols. One of the things that we’ve seen a lot is people buying masks en masse, or en mask I suppose, in order to pass them out to protesters so that people have at least some protection from COVID, but it’s certainly a thing that we’re worried about. But again, nobody is in charge of these protests. And I don’t mean that to say that they’re totally chaotic and unsafe because I’ve seen a lot of support and mutual aid between protesters on the ground taking care of each other, but people are coming out spontaneously. This is not the work of any organization or any charismatic elected official that’s telling us to come out and protest. This is something that’s happening organically. And so those of us who are in the movement need to make space for that and need to understand that people are choosing to make that choice, and so we just need to try to keep each other as safe as possible.
Kim Brown: Talk to us about the mutual aid efforts in organizing that you’ve witnessed, because of some of the things I’ve seen on social media are, I guess I’d call them mutual aid stations where there’s food, there’s water available. There are medical supplies. If you have perhaps been injured, there are organizing efforts around bail funds to help get protesters who have been arrested, bonded out of jail. What have you witnessed over the past several days, how the community is providing resources and taking care of each other and itself?
Tony Williams: Yeah, there’s so much happening. And it’s hard for me to even fully describe all of the things that are happening because they feel so wild and real, and everything’s happening in real time. I think the effort that … I mean, I went out the first night of the protest in order to do medic work and got a bunch of medical supplies and brought them down to the protests near the third precinct before it was burned down. And saw a lot of other folks doing the same medic work, saw a lot of folks buying supplies and making sure that everything was adequately staffed. The North Star Health Collective is doing a lot of on the ground medic work, but then also a lot of our grocery stores and pharmacies have been closed down ever since property destruction started. And so it’s become clear that people can’t get their needs met for food and other things like that in an easy way on a day to day basis.
So we’ve been seeing caravans of people from the suburbs, people from the city, going out to far ring suburbs and buying supplies and bringing them back in for distribution at various hubs. The mutual aid effort that I’m actually the most impressed by is that a number of our community members commandeered a hotel. We saw that a lot of homeless folks were experiencing a high degree of repression and were in a lot of danger because of the way the police and the National Guard were escalating against people who were out on the streets after curfew. And so organizers got to the Sheraton Hotel, which is maybe a mile from the epicenter of the protest, and talked to them and managed to convince them to house folks in 200 rooms for as long as it’s necessary. So that’s become a particular hub where folks are being housed and where there’s also food and supplies being redistributed as well.
Kim Brown: Wow. That pretty stunning. I wanted to circle back, if we could, to the police response and the Minnesota National Guard patrolling the streets now, supposedly given the authorization to use lethal force if necessary, in addition to the subversive elements of white supremacists, possibly coming to agitate and wreak their own version of havoc. Are you fearful for people that are out as they continue these ongoing demonstrations? I feel as if this response to this incident of police brutality and murder that was committed upon George Floyd is resulting in more police brutality against people who are in opposition to this ongoing systemic racism as demonstrated by law enforcement. What do protesters have to fear right now? And COVID, for goodness sake.
Tony Williams: Yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of danger out there right now. I’m not going to play it safe. Yesterday, a Semi barreled through a massive crowd of protesters on 35W in the middle of the day. And thankfully, nobody was seriously injured. People managed to get out of the way in time. But I mean, I had my brother and his girlfriend were on that bridge. I have neighbors who were on that bridge. I have friends who were on that bridge. And so it is a serious concern, safety on the ground right now here. The police have been … We’ve seen images of police driving by and shooting people with rubber bullets while they sit on their porches outside after curfew. We’ve seen instances of police purposely aiming rounds at journalists, and one photographer in the movement lost her eye as a result of a less lethal round a few nights ago.
So, I mean, we’re seeing very, very serious violence against protestors, and white supremacists are certainly a part of that as well. They’ve conducted drive-bys on community mutual aid stations. They have been leaving potential explosive devices around Minneapolis. They’ve been setting fires, again, in black and POC owned businesses. So I will say that those things are all issues, but I will also say that we are so much stronger than the repression that’s being directed against us right now. All of the best efforts of both this state and white supremacists have proven completely incapable of stopping the protests and stopping people from advocating for the abolition of the police. And I think that that’s what’s really important here.
Kim Brown: So what are we hoping for the best outcome out of this to be? In your opinion, will these protests be sustained or is there something in particular that could bring this to a close with ongoing organizing efforts continuing, but an end to the protest, as we have seen them over the past several days?
Tony Williams: I think if city officials here were willing to make a serious and measured statement about the need to [inaudible 00:17:22] us from the police, defund the police and abolish the police, then we would be in a very different place than we are right now. And I honestly think that a lot of them are coming around to that and are recognizing that reform is impossible. I’ve had many calls with them over the past few days, but we’re not quite there yet. And I’m not even sure that that would stop the protests if they happen, because I think people are just really fed up. And this is not just about George Floyd. It is about George Floyd and we mourn him, but it’s about so much more than that, and about 400 years of white supremacy in North America.
So I think that the protest will continue until people feel sated, and people feel like their needs are being met. And I hope that the country takes a real hard look in the mirror right now about how it can meet those needs, not just for the sake of stopping the protest and making sure that people are safe, but to create a positive sense of justice and peace rather than the negative sense of order and law that was present before.
Kim Brown: We’ve been speaking today with activist and organizer Tony Williams. He is a member of the groups MPD150 and Reclaim the Block. These are police abolitionist organizations based in Minneapolis. And we’ve been talking about the ongoing protest in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, countless others in Minneapolis, and other victims of police brutality across the country, and
Minneapolis has been a flash point for all of this uprising that it looks as though we could get some changes, substantial changes coming out of this one. Tony, we appreciate you making the time to speak with us so much. Thank you.
Tony Williams: Yeah. Thank you so much, Kim. And once again, you can find our work at MPD150.com and ReclaimTheBlock.com. I encourage anybody who’s interested in the ideas or even skeptical about them to head to our websites and check out what our platforms are about.
Kim Brown: Absolutely. Go check them out and thank you for watching the Real News Network.
Studio: Taylor Hebden
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