therealnews--2020-06-15--Activists Paint ‘Defund Police’ In Front Of Baltimore City Hall

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Speaker 1 : Mychal Denzel Smith asked that question , “ What have the police been good for ?
” They have not prevented crime .
They have not reduced crime .
The prison populations have nothing to do with the levels of crime because crime rose , crime fell , the prison population massively expanded .
And so what we know is that policing has not made our community safer .
Jaisal Noor : On June 12th , activists painted ‘ defund police ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head of a committee hearing on the Baltimore Police Departments proposed a $ 509 million budget .
Speaker 1 : The City Council is voting on a $ 509 million investment into police at the expense of resources that are necessary to communities .
And so we want the Baltimore City Police Department to cut the police budget by $ 270 million and take that money and invest it in community-based solutions .
Speaker 3 : The process to abolition is actually a process that ’ s not going to happen overnight .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ their footprint in our city and redefining public safety is going to be a long process .
I ’ m willing to work with anyone who understands that , who actually wants to improve the city .
Jaisal Noor : Baltimore spends more per capita on its police than any other large city , more than it allocates for housing , health , civil rights , and its contribution to its local school system combined .
Activists with Organizing Black , say they want officials to spend half that money , over $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 : What has made our community safer are mental health counselors in schools , ensuring people have… youth have well-funded youth programs , that youth have summer jobs , that communities feel connected .
And there is space for communities to build together and be accountable together .
Jaisal Noor : The Baltimore City Council is scheduled to vote on its budget on June 15th .
Activists who target Appropriations and Budget Committee Chair Councilman Eric Costello , with an early morning car caravan on Friday , say they will maintain pressure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I know the Councilors have gotten thousands upon thousands of emails .
I know some Councilors that got visited at their house this morning , Councilor Costello was real upset .
I would tell him that if he did his job , hearing from your constituents is not bullying .
So if you do it , then get your constituents want , you probably would get left alone .
People are showing up at Brandon Scott ’ s house .
Jaisal Noor : Activists are also demanding an end to state control of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been long considered an impediment to oversight and reform .
With Cameron Granadino and Taylor Hebden , this is Jaisal Noor in Baltimore .

Black Lives Matter activists are demanding Baltimore cut half its police budget to fund schools and violence prevention programs.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Protestors : Whose streets?
Our streets!
Whose streets?
Our streets!
Speaker 1: Mychal Denzel Smith asked that question, “What have the police been good for?” They have not prevented crime. They have not reduced crime. The prison populations have nothing to do with the levels of crime because crime rose, crime fell, the prison population massively expanded. And so what we know is that policing has not made our community safer.
Jaisal Noor: On June 12th, activists painted ‘defund police’ in front of Baltimore City Hall, head of a committee hearing on the Baltimore Police Departments proposed a $509 million budget.
Speaker 1: The City Council is voting on a $509 million investment into police at the expense of resources that are necessary to communities. And so we want the Baltimore City Police Department to cut the police budget by $270 million and take that money and invest it in community-based solutions.
Speaker 3: The process to abolition is actually a process that’s not going to happen overnight. I know that removing the police in their footprint in our city and redefining public safety is going to be a long process. I’m willing to work with anyone who understands that, who actually wants to improve the city.
Jaisal Noor: Baltimore spends more per capita on its police than any other large city, more than it allocates for housing, health, civil rights, and its contribution to its local school system combined. Activists with Organizing Black, say they want officials to spend half that money, over $270 million on social programs.
Speaker 1: What has made our community safer are mental health counselors in schools, ensuring people have… youth have well-funded youth programs, that youth have summer jobs, that communities feel connected. And there is space for communities to build together and be accountable together.
Jaisal Noor: The Baltimore City Council is scheduled to vote on its budget on June 15th. Activists who target Appropriations and Budget Committee Chair Councilman Eric Costello, with an early morning car caravan on Friday, say they will maintain pressure on elected officials.
Speaker 3: I know the Councilors have gotten thousands upon thousands of emails. I know some Councilors that got visited at their house this morning, Councilor Costello was real upset. I would tell him that if he did his job, hearing from your constituents is not bullying. So if you do it, then get your constituents want, you probably would get left alone. People are showing up at Brandon Scott’s house.
Jaisal Noor: Activists are also demanding an end to state control of the Baltimore police force, which has been long considered an impediment to oversight and reform. With Cameron Granadino and Taylor Hebden, this is Jaisal Noor in Baltimore.
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therealnews--2020-06-16--Stir Crazy! Episode #54: Freedom is a Constant Struggle

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On today’s show: Director of K-12 policy for the Center for American Progress Dr. Khalilah Harris and author and organizer Jesse Myerson. Hosted by Kim Brown.
If you have questions/comments/suggestions for the show email us at stircrazy@therealnews.com
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therealnews--2020-06-16--Defund The Police Movement Gains Momentum As Police Killings Continue

“ What have the police been good for ?
” Samantha Master of Organize Black said .
“ They have not prevented crime.
” Organizing Black , the group she works with , had just shut down a street in downtown Baltimore , blocking it off with cars so that others could paint ‘ Defund the Police ’ in giant letters in front of Baltimore ’ s City Hall .
It was June 12 , and inside of City Hall , the city council was considering cuts to the police budget , interrogating Commissioner Michael Harrison and other members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s budget of more than half a billion dollars a year .
“ What we know is that policing has not made our community safer , ” Master added .
On June 15 , Baltimore City Council advanced a plan to cut $ 22 million from the Baltimore Police Department ’ s proposed $ 509 million dollar budget , $ 9.5 million from the city ’ s General Fund ( city tax dollars ) , leaving another $ 12.7 million unallocated , or money that ’ s expected from grants or other sources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just 4 % of the BPD ’ s requested budget , fall far short of what Organizing Black demanded .
Baltimore leads the US ’ s 12 largest cities in per capita police spending , according to a 2017 report by the Center for Popular Democracy .
Baltimore spends more on police than it spends on healthcare , housing , civil rights , and its contribution to its local school system combined ( Baltimore City Schools ’ FY20 budget was $ 1.1 billion , the majority of which is funded through the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want the Baltimore City Police Department to cut the police budget by $ 270 million and take that money and invest it in community-based solutions , ” Master said on Friday .
“ What has made our community safer are mental health counselors in schools , ensuring people have well-funded youth programs , and that youth have summer jobs.
” Activists have also called for more funding for Safe Streets , a violence prevention program credited with reducing shootings by over 50 % .
It faces a $ 225,000 budget shortfall , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could achieve much more if they were properly resourced .
Mayor Jack Young has rejected calls to shift funds cut by the council from the police budget into programs like Safe Streets .
Ralikh Hayes , also with Organizing Black , said on Friday that defunding the police won ’ t happen overnight .
“ I know that removing the police in their footprint in our city and redefining public safety is going to be a long process , ” said Hayes .
“ I ’ m willing to work with anyone who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improve the city.
” Organizing Black did not respond to a request for comment on June 15 .
As nationwide protests against police brutality and racism enter their third week after the police killing of George Floyd , the movement to defund the police continues to gain momentum in Baltimore and other cities across the country , even as police continue to kill unarmed African Americans .
Renewed protests erupted in Atlanta over the police killing Rayshard Brooks , who was shot in his own car after falling asleep in a Wendy ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who chased Brooks and fatally shot him in the back , was fired , and Atlanta ’ s police commissioner Erika Shields resigned in the wake of the shooting .
The Minneapolis City Council voted on June 12 to advance a proposal that would defund and dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a community-led public safety agency .
Los Angeles is considering cutting $ 150 million from the police budget and investing $ 250 million into Black communities .
The New York City Council has backed a plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 billion New York Police Department budget , and announced its plainclothes units—which have been involved in 31 % of fatal shootings since 2000 according to The Intercept—which the police commissioner called a “ seismic shift.
” ( Baltimore ’ s City Council , for comparison , cut funding for the city ’ s marine and mounted units . )
San Francisco announced it will stop using police to respond to non-criminal complaints , instead directing non-law enforcement agencies to connect those in need with community-based or city service providers .
The plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by barring the use of “ chemical weapons such as tear gas , bayonets , and tanks , ” against unarmed civilians .
In recent years , there has also been a push to introduce more private police forces to offset police budgets , and the idea has been floated in neoliberal circles as what should happen if police departments are defunded .
In particular , campus police forces have been introduced—and opposed by those looking to reduce policing powers .
In Chicago , activists staged a 19-hour sit in at the University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its campus police force .
Last week , Baltimore ’ s Johns Hopkins University announced it was “ pausing ” the implementation of it ’ s armed , private police force that was approved by legislators in 2019 , but has been opposed by activists for years .
“ We want Johns Hopkins to be part of the conversation about what is possible for our city and country in rethinking the appropriate boundaries and responsibilities of policing , and to draw on the energies , expertise , and efforts of our community in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reform , ” a statement from the University said .
Activists who have opposed the private police force for years say they want Hopkins to abandon the police force all together .
In a statement , The Garland Sit-in and Occupation , which took over a campus building for a month in 2019 to oppose the private police force , cited a recent petition launched by 100 faculty members that ’ s received 6,000 signatures calling for “ the abandonment of all plans for an armed private police force at Johns Hopkins.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the reinvestment of the over $ 50 million dedicated to the private police plan , an immediate cut to all ties with BPD , and for the swift resignation of Ron Daniels and administrators who supported this offensive project , which would further endanger Black and Brown Baltimoreans , staff , and students .
”

“What have the police been good for?” Samantha Master of Organize Black said. “They have not prevented crime.”
Organizing Black, the group she works with, had just shut down a street in downtown Baltimore, blocking it off with cars so that others could paint ‘Defund the Police’ in giant letters in front of Baltimore’s City Hall. It was June 12, and inside of City Hall, the city council was considering cuts to the police budget, interrogating Commissioner Michael Harrison and other members of command about the Baltimore Police Department’s budget of more than half a billion dollars a year.
“What we know is that policing has not made our community safer,” Master added.
On June 15, Baltimore City Council advanced a plan to cut $22 million from the Baltimore Police Department’s proposed $509 million dollar budget, $9.5 million from the city’s General Fund (city tax dollars), leaving another $12.7 million unallocated, or money that’s expected from grants or other sources.
These cuts, which amount to just 4% of the BPD’s requested budget, fall far short of what Organizing Black demanded.
Baltimore leads the US’s 12 largest cities in per capita police spending, according to a 2017 report by the Center for Popular Democracy. Baltimore spends more on police than it spends on healthcare, housing, civil rights, and its contribution to its local school system combined (Baltimore City Schools’ FY20 budget was $1.1 billion, the majority of which is funded through the state and federal governments).
“We want the Baltimore City Police Department to cut the police budget by $270 million and take that money and invest it in community-based solutions,” Master said on Friday. “What has made our community safer are mental health counselors in schools, ensuring people have well-funded youth programs, and that youth have summer jobs.”
Activists have also called for more funding for Safe Streets, a violence prevention program credited with reducing shootings by over 50%. It faces a $225,000 budget shortfall, and supporters say such grassroots-based violence reduction programs could achieve much more if they were properly resourced. Mayor Jack Young has rejected calls to shift funds cut by the council from the police budget into programs like Safe Streets.
Ralikh Hayes, also with Organizing Black, said on Friday that defunding the police won’t happen overnight.
“I know that removing the police in their footprint in our city and redefining public safety is going to be a long process,” said Hayes. “I’m willing to work with anyone who understands that, who actually wants to improve the city.” Organizing Black did not respond to a request for comment on June 15.
As nationwide protests against police brutality and racism enter their third week after the police killing of George Floyd, the movement to defund the police continues to gain momentum in Baltimore and other cities across the country, even as police continue to kill unarmed African Americans.
Renewed protests erupted in Atlanta over the police killing Rayshard Brooks, who was shot in his own car after falling asleep in a Wendy’s parking lot. Officer Garrett Rolfe, who chased Brooks and fatally shot him in the back, was fired, and Atlanta’s police commissioner Erika Shields resigned in the wake of the shooting.
The Minneapolis City Council voted on June 12 to advance a proposal that would defund and dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a community-led public safety agency. Los Angeles is considering cutting $150 million from the police budget and investing $250 million into Black communities.
The New York City Council has backed a plan to cut $1 billion from the $6 billion New York Police Department budget, and announced its plainclothes units—which have been involved in 31% of fatal shootings since 2000 according to The Intercept—which the police commissioner called a “seismic shift.” (Baltimore’s City Council, for comparison, cut funding for the city’s marine and mounted units.)
San Francisco announced it will stop using police to respond to non-criminal complaints, instead directing non-law enforcement agencies to connect those in need with community-based or city service providers. The plan also calls to “demilitarize police” by barring the use of “chemical weapons such as tear gas, bayonets, and tanks,” against unarmed civilians.
In recent years, there has also been a push to introduce more private police forces to offset police budgets, and the idea has been floated in neoliberal circles as what should happen if police departments are defunded. In particular, campus police forces have been introduced—and opposed by those looking to reduce policing powers.
In Chicago, activists staged a 19-hour sit in at the University of Chicago to demand an end to its campus police force. Last week, Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University announced it was “pausing” the implementation of it’s armed, private police force that was approved by legislators in 2019, but has been opposed by activists for years.
“We want Johns Hopkins to be part of the conversation about what is possible for our city and country in rethinking the appropriate boundaries and responsibilities of policing, and to draw on the energies, expertise, and efforts of our community in advancing the agenda for consequential and enduring reform,” a statement from the University said.
Activists who have opposed the private police force for years say they want Hopkins to abandon the police force all together.
In a statement, The Garland Sit-in and Occupation, which took over a campus building for a month in 2019 to oppose the private police force, cited a recent petition launched by 100 faculty members that’s received 6,000 signatures calling for “the abandonment of all plans for an armed private police force at Johns Hopkins.”
The group added they are also demanding “the reinvestment of the over $50 million dedicated to the private police plan, an immediate cut to all ties with BPD, and for the swift resignation of Ron Daniels and administrators who supported this offensive project, which would further endanger Black and Brown Baltimoreans, staff, and students.”
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therealnews--2020-06-16--Civil Rights Activist Annie Chambers Is Marching Again Against Police Brutality

Reverend Annie Chambers marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King throughout the 60s .
This month she took to the streets to demand an end to police brutality when Baltimore City joined the nationwide movement calling for justice for George Floyd , a Black man killed by police in Minnesota .
The lifelong organizer says that while history repeats itself , racism is even worse than in her youth .
“ In the 50s and 60s we were taught to suffer .
We got beat and shot and attacked by dogs .
And you heard what Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Chambers said in a phone interview with The Real News on June 3 .
The President threatened to use dogs and weapons against protesters days before he tear gassed peaceful protesters to clear a path to pose with a bible outside St. John ’ s Church .
On June 4 , more than 80 House Democrats called for a special prosecutor to investigate the incident .
If the investigation is opened , its scope will be determined by Attorney General William Barr , who published a misleading interpretation of the Mueller investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia , erroneously claiming Mueller found Trump innocent of collusion .
“ Racism has put on a new face .
It can hide itself now .
It has been hiding for decades and now we see it openly again .
Now racism is here in a new way .
In the 50s and 60s , America would not have allowed the president that we have now , ” said Chambers .
“ Donald Trump does not believe that Black and poor people should have rights .
And the poor people that vote for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been taught these racist values.
” Chambers was born in 1942 in Richmond , Virginia .
“ I had a baby when I moved to Baltimore in May of 1955 .
I was a married child .
That ’ s how it was for us back then , ” she said .
Chambers has 25 children and 387 grandchildren .
The reverend participated in a youth-led march against police brutality through Baltimore City on June 2 .
She joined the crowd of thousands who passed by her house in Douglass Homes on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Central Bookings Correctional Facility and City Hall .
Baltimore City residents have participated in large-scale demonstrations every day since Floyd ’ s death on May 25 .
“ When that policeman [ Chauvin ] had that knee on that man ’ s throat [ Floyd ] , he did not think this would happen across the country , ” said Chambers .
The Real News spoke to Chambers outside the jail amidst a cacophony of protest songs , drums , and car horns , and followed up with her in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would meaningful reparations look like ?
A : Reparations are needed .
I don ’ t know if I will see them in my life .
We continue to fight the oppression , the injustice , the murders in this city .
I ’ m 78 years old , I want to see justice and freedom before I close my eyes .
So I will continue to fight .
We ’ re fighting a spiritual war .
Q : What policies and actions do you want to see from Baltimore City mayoral candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants to be the mayor needs to understand that right now we are fighting racism to get education and housing .
This time around , the working class , the poor people , will vote and fight .
Q : What did you see , hear , and feel while out protesting this week ?
A : I see a tremendous amount of restraint .
People are demonstrating very peacefully and being respectful .
I see very young people , teenagers , and even children showing how they will come out of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In America , and in Baltimore City especially , we don ’ t have any decent representation .
The mayor came out and he said very negative things .
He said nothing positive that could uplift our young people .
I must commend our young people for the restraint that they had .
More positive things came out of this demonstration and this crisis then I have seen in a long , long time .
I ’ ve seen young people coming together and having real conversations with each other and really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s a whole lot of homeless youth .
There are other youth helping them , talking to them so they know someone cares .
I ’ ve seen the youth willing to give up basic things they need , food , masks , clothes , to share .
Everybody has been helping us [ Douglass Homes ] with food donations , so even the homeless people that have moved in—we have been able to help feed them .
When we demonstrate , folks have had really good conversations with their kids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as young as five years old walk by and want to be a part of the demonstration .
His mother , who was just walking by , turned around and joined us .
He wanted to know what the signs mean , and she sounded out the words with him .
She taught him to read the words and explained why we have to fight for ourselves .
This is people saying “ We ’ re tired , we ’ ve had enough , but we won ’ t take it.
” This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give you respect , and we want that respect back.
” We are in spiritual warfare .
There is a spiritual revolution now .
Young people are ready for the battle .
We want change .
We demand change in this city , in this state , in this country .
Black and brown and minorities and working class people—we want to say that it ’ s not just a few bad apples .
While everyone who works for a police department isn ’ t a bad person , it ’ s an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They come into our communities and they ’ re ready to kill us , but they go to Roland Park and they can talk you down and make a calm arrest when people are fighting .
My message to Black and brown people is that you don ’ t have to prove yourself , that you ’ re a human .
Black women have been abused in this country from the day we came here and disrespected so we have to fight three times as hard .
Q : What does life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people you love ?
A : If we look at what ’ s going on around us , it ’ s very dark .
I fight for a future for the young people for them to have hope .
Life in this city right now is very , very dark .
The young people don ’ t think they have a future .
They say all the time “ I don ’ t think I ’ m going to get as old as you.
” They don ’ t look forward to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very sad .
And none of these politicians talk about how to give them a future .
They talk about how to lock us up , to keep us contained .
We ’ ve been denied so long , too long now .
It don ’ t look good for us right now but we can ’ t let that get us down .
We have to keep on fighting .
Q : How does the additional stress of a pandemic shape this protest movement ?
A : The homeless people don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children don ’ t look forward to the future .
They can ’ t even function .
This is a stressful time .
I just talked to one of my grandchildren—I said to him , “ I ’ m going to keep you with me , and pray for you , ” because he doesn ’ t feel like he has anything to live for .
He got sick [ with COVID-19 ] already .
He can ’ t work , there ’ s no job he can get .
Schools are closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to keep him busy , giving out food and taking care of each other .
This is what we got right now .
Q : How have you seen the police behave during the protests ?
A : When they ’ re agitating , especially the young people , small things could just be overlooked , like the kids had fireworks and they ran out after them shoving through everyone like it was a bomb , but they knew they were fireworks .
The temperature is so high right now , what we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come in with compassion and peace for the young people .
If they could come in and really talk to them , to handle the situation without it getting out of hand .
But they bark orders like “ Don ’ t stand over there !
” “ Don ’ t go near that store !
” when there ’ s no reason for it and the kids learn that ’ s their attitude towards them .
Q : What would real justice for George Floyd look like ?
A : There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers [ Derek Chauvin , Tou Thao , Thomas Lane , and J. Alexander Kueng ] just like there should be a conviction for father [ Gregory McMichael ] and son [ Travis McMichaell ] that killed a brother [ Ahmaud Arbery ] in Georgia .
I ’ m not advocating for the government murdering killers .
They should go away for a long , long time and have a chance to repent and learn and be rehabilitated .
That ’ s the kind of justice system we need for everyone in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the civil rights movement of the 60s and what hasn ’ t changed ?
A : Back then , racist people didn ’ t hide it .
Now because of business interests it is hidden in many places .
That ’ s what we ’ re fighting against .
That ’ s the difference to me now .
Q : What is your message to people who don ’ t understand what ’ s going on in Baltimore City right now ?
A : Unless the conditions get better the streets will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back anymore .
We need to see action right now or it will get no better .
The police department must respect us as human beings—Black and brown people and poor people—they must respect us the way they respect all the rich .

Reverend Annie Chambers marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King throughout the 60s. This month she took to the streets to demand an end to police brutality when Baltimore City joined the nationwide movement calling for justice for George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minnesota.
The lifelong organizer says that while history repeats itself, racism is even worse than in her youth. “In the 50s and 60s we were taught to suffer. We got beat and shot and attacked by dogs. And you heard what Donald Trump say—get the dogs out on them,” Chambers said in a phone interview with The Real News on June 3.
The President threatened to use dogs and weapons against protesters days before he tear gassed peaceful protesters to clear a path to pose with a bible outside St. John’s Church. On June 4, more than 80 House Democrats called for a special prosecutor to investigate the incident. If the investigation is opened, its scope will be determined by Attorney General William Barr, who published a misleading interpretation of the Mueller investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, erroneously claiming Mueller found Trump innocent of collusion.
“Racism has put on a new face. It can hide itself now. It has been hiding for decades and now we see it openly again. Now racism is here in a new way. In the 50s and 60s, America would not have allowed the president that we have now,” said Chambers. “Donald Trump does not believe that Black and poor people should have rights. And the poor people that vote for him, it’s because they have been taught these racist values.”
Chambers was born in 1942 in Richmond, Virginia. “I had a baby when I moved to Baltimore in May of 1955. I was a married child. That’s how it was for us back then,” she said. Chambers has 25 children and 387 grandchildren.
The reverend participated in a youth-led march against police brutality through Baltimore City on June 2. She joined the crowd of thousands who passed by her house in Douglass Homes on their way to demonstrate outside Baltimore City’s Central Bookings Correctional Facility and City Hall.
Baltimore City residents have participated in large-scale demonstrations every day since Floyd’s death on May 25.
“When that policeman [Chauvin] had that knee on that man’s throat [Floyd], he did not think this would happen across the country,” said Chambers.
The Real News spoke to Chambers outside the jail amidst a cacophony of protest songs, drums, and car horns, and followed up with her in a June 3 interview.
Q: What would meaningful reparations look like?
A: Reparations are needed. I don’t know if I will see them in my life. We continue to fight the oppression, the injustice, the murders in this city. I’m 78 years old, I want to see justice and freedom before I close my eyes. So I will continue to fight. We’re fighting a spiritual war.
Q: What policies and actions do you want to see from Baltimore City mayoral candidates right now?
A: Anyone who wants to be the mayor needs to understand that right now we are fighting racism to get education and housing. This time around, the working class, the poor people, will vote and fight.
Q: What did you see, hear, and feel while out protesting this week?
A: I see a tremendous amount of restraint. People are demonstrating very peacefully and being respectful. I see very young people, teenagers, and even children showing how they will come out of this march with respect for one and other.
In America, and in Baltimore City especially, we don’t have any decent representation. The mayor came out and he said very negative things. He said nothing positive that could uplift our young people. I must commend our young people for the restraint that they had.
More positive things came out of this demonstration and this crisis then I have seen in a long, long time.
I’ve seen young people coming together and having real conversations with each other and really helping each other. We know that there’s a whole lot of homeless youth. There are other youth helping them, talking to them so they know someone cares. I’ve seen the youth willing to give up basic things they need, food, masks, clothes, to share.
Everybody has been helping us [Douglass Homes] with food donations, so even the homeless people that have moved in—we have been able to help feed them.
When we demonstrate, folks have had really good conversations with their kids. I’ve seen a kid as young as five years old walk by and want to be a part of the demonstration. His mother, who was just walking by, turned around and joined us. He wanted to know what the signs mean, and she sounded out the words with him. She taught him to read the words and explained why we have to fight for ourselves.
This is people saying “We’re tired, we’ve had enough, but we won’t take it.” This was people saying “We’ll give you respect, and we want that respect back.” We are in spiritual warfare. There is a spiritual revolution now. Young people are ready for the battle. We want change. We demand change in this city, in this state, in this country. Black and brown and minorities and working class people—we want to say that it’s not just a few bad apples. While everyone who works for a police department isn’t a bad person, it’s an attitude they have here in this city. They come into our communities and they’re ready to kill us, but they go to Roland Park and they can talk you down and make a calm arrest when people are fighting. My message to Black and brown people is that you don’t have to prove yourself, that you’re a human. Black women have been abused in this country from the day we came here and disrespected so we have to fight three times as hard.
Q: What does life look like right now for you and the people you love?
A: If we look at what’s going on around us, it’s very dark. I fight for a future for the young people for them to have hope. Life in this city right now is very, very dark. The young people don’t think they have a future. They say all the time “I don’t think I’m going to get as old as you.” They don’t look forward to growing old, and that’s very sad. And none of these politicians talk about how to give them a future. They talk about how to lock us up, to keep us contained. We’ve been denied so long, too long now. It don’t look good for us right now but we can’t let that get us down. We have to keep on fighting.
Q: How does the additional stress of a pandemic shape this protest movement?
A: The homeless people don’t have anywhere to go. The children don’t look forward to the future. They can’t even function. This is a stressful time. I just talked to one of my grandchildren—I said to him, “I’m going to keep you with me, and pray for you,” because he doesn’t feel like he has anything to live for. He got sick [with COVID-19] already. He can’t work, there’s no job he can get. Schools are closed down. So we’re trying to keep him busy, giving out food and taking care of each other. This is what we got right now.
Q: How have you seen the police behave during the protests?
A: When they’re agitating, especially the young people, small things could just be overlooked, like the kids had fireworks and they ran out after them shoving through everyone like it was a bomb, but they knew they were fireworks.
The temperature is so high right now, what we need right now is for police officers to come in with compassion and peace for the young people. If they could come in and really talk to them, to handle the situation without it getting out of hand. But they bark orders like “Don’t stand over there!” “Don’t go near that store!” when there’s no reason for it and the kids learn that’s their attitude towards them.
Q: What would real justice for George Floyd look like?
A: There should be a murder conviction for the officers [Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng] just like there should be a conviction for father [Gregory McMichael] and son [Travis McMichaell] that killed a brother [Ahmaud Arbery] in Georgia.
I’m not advocating for the government murdering killers. They should go away for a long, long time and have a chance to repent and learn and be rehabilitated. That’s the kind of justice system we need for everyone in this country.
Q: What has changed since the civil rights movement of the 60s and what hasn’t changed?
A: Back then, racist people didn’t hide it. Now because of business interests it is hidden in many places. That’s what we’re fighting against. That’s the difference to me now.
Q: What is your message to people who don’t understand what’s going on in Baltimore City right now?
A: Unless the conditions get better the streets will get worse. We will not stand back anymore. We need to see action right now or it will get no better. The police department must respect us as human beings—Black and brown people and poor people—they must respect us the way they respect all the rich.
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therealnews--2020-06-16--Climate Crisis: Trump’s Regulatory Attack, DNC On Climate, California Fires, And Brazil COVID Chaos

Welcome back to TRNN ’ s Climate Crisis News Roundup .
In recent weeks , this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis , and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps the world .
Add to that the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and eruption of protests across the country and it ’ s an understatement to say that we live in some crazy , scary , and historic times .
With that in mind , this space will continue report on and examine news from an environmental and climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general , get in touch with me at [ email protected ] or on Twitter at @ SteveAHorn .
You can read the previous edition here .
The National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) , the bedrock statute referred to by many as the “ Magna Carta of environmental law , ” is under attack again by President Donald Trump .
Trump has proposed a new Executive Order using the impetus of his COVID-19 national emergency order to suspend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
Trump ’ s order makes it clear that to him , infrastructure investments are a priority in spite of the pandemic .
NEPA is central to the practice of issuing permits on federal land , or interstate projects like highways and pipelines .
The law ensures that agencies take a “ hard look ” at the potential impacts projects could have on waters , land , and people .
That includes impacts on vulnerable people and people of color under the banner of environmental justice .
The executive order allows for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant environmental impacts without observing the regulations , ” reads Trump ’ s order as applied to NEPA , adding that “ agencies should take all reasonable measures to speed infrastructure investments.
” As previously reported by The Real News , the attack on NEPA is long in the making and has long sat at the top of the wish list of the fossil fuel industry .
President Trump already signed an executive order at the beginning of the year that would severely limit the scope of what gets examined for impacts during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not just Trump .
President Barack Obama helped pave the way for the assault on NEPA , too , by signing a bill into law in 2015 to hasten the NEPA review process .
That process involves an in-depth environmental impact statement analysis often hundreds of pages long , a public commenting period and/or public hearings for all proposed projects or regulations .
Unsurprisingly , the American Petroleum Institute , the top national lobbying voice of the oil and gas industry , which also lobbied for the 2015 Obama-era legislation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An efficient permitting process is critical to making new job opportunities a reality and advancing infrastructure development for industries across the economy , ” Robin Rorick , Vice President of Midstream and Industry Operations for API , said in a press release .
“ We are in an unprecedented time , and getting energy infrastructure projects approved and moving will go a long way in re-starting our economy while creating well-paying , middle-class sustaining jobs.
” Also unsurprisingly , the proposed emergency order was met with jeers by the climate justice groups , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The National Environmental Policy Act is one of our country ’ s fundamental public health and environmental protection tools , ” said Wenonah Hauter , executive director of the group .
“ Without it , air pollution and drinking water contamination would be rampant from coast to coast – to say nothing of over-the-cliff climate disaster .
Allowing the fossil fuel industry to dig , drill and frack unbounded by NEPA amounts to a targeted strike on people of color and low-income communities most likely to be impacted by these hazardous practices.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis , created in the aftermath of the DNC refusing to hold a climate-focused debate during the presidential primary cycle , has released a report laying out its proposals for a climate change policy platform for the Democratic Party .
The report came out the same day Trump signed the NEPA executive order .
The group ’ s proposals aim to influence the party ’ s 2020 platform , which will be finalized at the party ’ s national convention , set to be held virtually or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is an ambitious proposal , perhaps because its demands originated from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party .
Among other things , it calls for : • None A permanent ban on fracking and a move to 100 % renewable energy in electricity , transportation , and buildings by 2030 ; • None Undoing all of Trump ’ s attacks on environmental regulations ; • None Creating a federal “ Transition Task Force ” to help workers and communities transition away from a fossil fuel-centric economy ; • None Creation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Protection Agency ( EPA ) Office of Environmental Justice ; • None Shifting subsidies away from Big Ag and toward “ the growth of sustainable , regenerative agriculture powered by 100 % clean energy ” ; • None A 100 % shift toward electric vehicles by 2030 and a goal to “ Align transportation spending with goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled and increase public transit , walking , bicycling , and electric bicycle use.
” “ Our platform provides a blueprint for ambitious action to fight the climate crisis and advance climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Founder and Chair of the DNC Climate Council , said in a press release .
“ It ’ s a reality that in the United States , climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately harm Black , Brown and Indigenous communities .
These policies center environmental justice for frontline and vulnerable communities , urgent climate action , and worker empowerment.
” In many ways , the policy platform proposal resembles the Green New Deal resolution and the call for a COVID-19 economic crisis Green Stimulus package in that it goes beyond what is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For example , the document calls for universal health care and to abide by treaties signed between Native American Tribes and the U.S. government .
Friends of the Earth Action praised the policy package , particularly for focusing on agricultural practices .
“ Agriculture is often left out off of the climate policy table and we are excited to see the DNC Council propose robust recommendations for transforming our nation ’ s heavily polluting industrial agriculture system , ” Kari Hamerschlag , food and agriculture deputy director for the group , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not solve our climate crisis without a dramatic shift away from subsidies for energy intensive monoculture and factory farms and towards diversified , regenerative , organic farming practices.
” But the policy platform also offers a contradiction between the reality of the Democratic Party and the face of the party .
Though the platform calls for party elected officeholders not to accept campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry , the outlet Sludge recently reported that some of the DNC members who voted against a climate debate to begin with are actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also no ban on the revolving door , in which those who have worked for these industries leave and work as senior staffers for elected officials .
But in Washington , DC and in statehouses , it ’ s not only from whom one takes campaign money that determines policy outcomes , but also with whom one is friends .
It ’ s not quite wildfire season in California , and yet wildfire season has arrived .
Unseasonably hot early-June weather and unusually windy days for this time of year has created the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Diego County , Los Angeles County , Solano County and beyond .
The fires come after May was the hottest recorded in human history .
In San Diego County , over 8,600 acres ignited near Camp Pendleton on June 9 , one of the country ’ s largest naval bases located in the City of Oceanside .
Camp Pendleton , surrounded by hills rife with brush that is ripe staging ground for a fire , tweeted that no one was hurt in the fire .
The military base admitted that its own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fires .
In Los Angeles County , fires also happened at a familiar spot , in close proximity to the Getty Museum .
They burned 50 acres of land .
In early fall 2019 , an enormous wildfire nearly lit the nationally-renowned art museum on fire and the fire became known as the Getty Fire .
In the aftermath of the Getty Fire , The Real News went to Los Angeles County to examine the root causes of the fire .
The leading causes are the combination of long-term drought and powerful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they create the perfect conditions to ignite bone dry brush .
Climate change , scientists say , leads to those conditions and has extended what the typical wildfire season is to an extra month in length .
The conditions have also made the wildfires more intense and harder to fight .
Temperatures reached a record high of 98°F on June 9 , the day of the Getty-area fire coined the Sepulveda Fire , breaking the record of 94 degrees set in 1979 .
In nearby Anaheim , temperatures also rose to 103 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 92 degrees set in 1990 .
The fires serve as a terrifying forewarning of what likely looms in the months ahead : the novel coronavirus pandemic colliding with actual wildfire season .
At a June 9 hearing convened by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources , Amanda Kaster—Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the U.S. Department of Interior—said wildfire season could be brutal in 2020 .
“ Following a dry fall and winter , drought has emerged and expanded across California , Oregon , and Nevada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Mountain snowpack has melted at a faster than average rate .
Long-range forecast data predicts overall warmer and drier than average conditions this summer for the West .
The combination of these factors is expected to lead to an above normal wildland fire potential across the West this year , especially for Northern California and Oregon.
” Sen. Lisa Murkowski ( R-AK ) concurred , saying “ This is going to be a tough year if our predictions are right .
And usually those predictions are not too far off.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California Governor Gavin Newsom summed up the situation by stating “ The hots are getting hotter , the dries are getting drier , ” a trend recently reported in a Wall Street Journal article in comparing how this dry season was drier than those of the past two years .
The 2018 wildfire season saw record wildfires , including the literal destruction of the entire town of Paradise , California , killing 86 people and burning down close to 12,000 structures .
As of June 15 , 37 brush fires have already occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total of 17,042 acres of landscape .
And finally , Brazil .
My climate crisis beat colleague Aman Azhar has a new batch of reporting out on deforestation in Brazil ’ s Amazon Rainforest and what it means for future pandemics because of reckless environmental actions by the rightwing government of Jair Bolsonaro .
Authoritarianism is leading to a chaotic situation in South America ’ s largest country .
The country ’ s president , Jair Bolsonaro , is a climate change denier and has sought to defund and dismantle environmental agencies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruling the country with an iron authoritarian fist .
He also has downplayed the risk of COVID-19 by calling it a “ little flu.
” Yet , now the country is second only to the United States in the Americas as of June 12 for both cases and deaths , at over 772,000 and 39,000 , respectively .
Bolsonaro has also advocated fiercely for industrial-scale deforestation of the Amazon for agribusiness and the timber industry .
These things make not only the climate crisis worse , but also the coronavirus and the human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population .
In turn , the practices have led to the deaths of at least 178 Indigenous people who came into contact with these industrial actors .
Brazil ’ s tropical forest—the largest on Earth—is one of the biggest carbon sinks in the world .
That means it absorbs climate change-causing carbon greenhouse gas emissions , though large-scale wildfires in recent years have turned what was a net carbon sink into a net carbon emitter .
The industrial deforestation practices , clear-cutting at a rate unprecedented in the country ’ s history , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoke to several experts about these intersecting nightmares and the current sordid state of play in Brazil , piecing together a multimedia package combining written text with video interviews .
It ’ s well worth checking out .
And continue to follow Aman ’ s reporting here at The Real News Network and over on Twitter at @ TheAmanAzhar .

Welcome back to TRNN’s Climate Crisis News Roundup. In recent weeks, this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis, and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps the world. Add to that the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and eruption of protests across the country and it’s an understatement to say that we live in some crazy, scary, and historic times.
With that in mind, this space will continue report on and examine news from an environmental and climate justice lens.
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general, get in touch with me at steve@therealnews.com or on Twitter at @SteveAHorn. You can read the previous edition here.
Trump’s New NEPA Attack
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the bedrock statute referred to by many as the “Magna Carta of environmental law,” is under attack again by President Donald Trump. Trump has proposed a new Executive Order using the impetus of his COVID-19 national emergency order to suspend the law for an indefinite period of time. Trump’s order makes it clear that to him, infrastructure investments are a priority in spite of the pandemic.
NEPA is central to the practice of issuing permits on federal land, or interstate projects like highways and pipelines. The law ensures that agencies take a “hard look” at the potential impacts projects could have on waters, land, and people. That includes impacts on vulnerable people and people of color under the banner of environmental justice.
The executive order allows for the administration to “take actions with significant environmental impacts without observing the regulations,” reads Trump’s order as applied to NEPA, adding that “agencies should take all reasonable measures to speed infrastructure investments.”
As previously reported by The Real News, the attack on NEPA is long in the making and has long sat at the top of the wish list of the fossil fuel industry. President Trump already signed an executive order at the beginning of the year that would severely limit the scope of what gets examined for impacts during the NEPA review process.
But it’s not just Trump. President Barack Obama helped pave the way for the assault on NEPA, too, by signing a bill into law in 2015 to hasten the NEPA review process. That process involves an in-depth environmental impact statement analysis often hundreds of pages long, a public commenting period and/or public hearings for all proposed projects or regulations.
Unsurprisingly, the American Petroleum Institute, the top national lobbying voice of the oil and gas industry, which also lobbied for the 2015 Obama-era legislation, met the proposal with cheers.
“An efficient permitting process is critical to making new job opportunities a reality and advancing infrastructure development for industries across the economy,” Robin Rorick, Vice President of Midstream and Industry Operations for API, said in a press release. “We are in an unprecedented time, and getting energy infrastructure projects approved and moving will go a long way in re-starting our economy while creating well-paying, middle-class sustaining jobs.”
Also unsurprisingly, the proposed emergency order was met with jeers by the climate justice groups, including from Food & Water Action.
“The National Environmental Policy Act is one of our country’s fundamental public health and environmental protection tools,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the group. “Without it, air pollution and drinking water contamination would be rampant from coast to coast – to say nothing of over-the-cliff climate disaster. Allowing the fossil fuel industry to dig, drill and frack unbounded by NEPA amounts to a targeted strike on people of color and low-income communities most likely to be impacted by these hazardous practices.”
DNC Climate Crisis Council
The Democratic National Committee’s Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis, created in the aftermath of the DNC refusing to hold a climate-focused debate during the presidential primary cycle, has released a report laying out its proposals for a climate change policy platform for the Democratic Party.
The report came out the same day Trump signed the NEPA executive order. The group’s proposals aim to influence the party’s 2020 platform, which will be finalized at the party’s national convention, set to be held virtually or in-person—depending on the status of COVID-19—in August.
It is an ambitious proposal, perhaps because its demands originated from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party. Among other things, it calls for:
A permanent ban on fracking and a move to 100% renewable energy in electricity, transportation, and buildings by 2030;
Ending fossil fuel subsidies and exports;
Undoing all of Trump’s attacks on environmental regulations;
Creating a federal “Transition Task Force” to help workers and communities transition away from a fossil fuel-centric economy;
Creation of a well-funded and well-staffed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Environmental Justice;
Shifting subsidies away from Big Ag and toward “the growth of sustainable, regenerative agriculture powered by 100% clean energy”;
A 100% shift toward electric vehicles by 2030 and a goal to “Align transportation spending with goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled and increase public transit, walking, bicycling, and electric bicycle use.”
“Our platform provides a blueprint for ambitious action to fight the climate crisis and advance climate and environmental justice,” Michelle Deatrick, Founder and Chair of the DNC Climate Council, said in a press release. “It’s a reality that in the United States, climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately harm Black, Brown and Indigenous communities. These policies center environmental justice for frontline and vulnerable communities, urgent climate action, and worker empowerment.”
In many ways, the policy platform proposal resembles the Green New Deal resolution and the call for a COVID-19 economic crisis Green Stimulus package in that it goes beyond what is normally called a “climate” issue. For example, the document calls for universal health care and to abide by treaties signed between Native American Tribes and the U.S. government.
Friends of the Earth Action praised the policy package, particularly for focusing on agricultural practices.
“Agriculture is often left out off of the climate policy table and we are excited to see the DNC Council propose robust recommendations for transforming our nation’s heavily polluting industrial agriculture system,” Kari Hamerschlag, food and agriculture deputy director for the group, said in a press release. “We cannot solve our climate crisis without a dramatic shift away from subsidies for energy intensive monoculture and factory farms and towards diversified, regenerative, organic farming practices.”
But the policy platform also offers a contradiction between the reality of the Democratic Party and the face of the party. Though the platform calls for party elected officeholders not to accept campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, the outlet Sludge recently reported that some of the DNC members who voted against a climate debate to begin with are actually fossil fuel industry lobbyists. There is also no ban on the revolving door, in which those who have worked for these industries leave and work as senior staffers for elected officials. But in Washington, DC and in statehouses, it’s not only from whom one takes campaign money that determines policy outcomes, but also with whom one is friends.
California Fires
It’s not quite wildfire season in California, and yet wildfire season has arrived. Unseasonably hot early-June weather and unusually windy days for this time of year has created the fuel for fires in places ranging from San Diego County, Los Angeles County, Solano County and beyond. The fires come after May was the hottest recorded in human history.
In San Diego County, over 8,600 acres ignited near Camp Pendleton on June 9, one of the country’s largest naval bases located in the City of Oceanside. Camp Pendleton, surrounded by hills rife with brush that is ripe staging ground for a fire, tweeted that no one was hurt in the fire. The military base admitted that its own training exercises (emphasis mine) caused the fires.
In Los Angeles County, fires also happened at a familiar spot, in close proximity to the Getty Museum. They burned 50 acres of land. In early fall 2019, an enormous wildfire nearly lit the nationally-renowned art museum on fire and the fire became known as the Getty Fire.
In the aftermath of the Getty Fire, The Real News went to Los Angeles County to examine the root causes of the fire. The leading causes are the combination of long-term drought and powerful winds amidst hot weather days. Together, they create the perfect conditions to ignite bone dry brush. Climate change, scientists say, leads to those conditions and has extended what the typical wildfire season is to an extra month in length. The conditions have also made the wildfires more intense and harder to fight.
Temperatures reached a record high of 98°F on June 9, the day of the Getty-area fire coined the Sepulveda Fire, breaking the record of 94 degrees set in 1979. In nearby Anaheim, temperatures also rose to 103 degrees, shattering the prior record of 92 degrees set in 1990.
The fires serve as a terrifying forewarning of what likely looms in the months ahead: the novel coronavirus pandemic colliding with actual wildfire season. At a June 9 hearing convened by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Amanda Kaster—Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the U.S. Department of Interior—said wildfire season could be brutal in 2020.
“Following a dry fall and winter, drought has emerged and expanded across California, Oregon, and Nevada,” she said in her testimony. “Mountain snowpack has melted at a faster than average rate. Long-range forecast data predicts overall warmer and drier than average conditions this summer for the West. The combination of these factors is expected to lead to an above normal wildland fire potential across the West this year, especially for Northern California and Oregon.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) concurred, saying “This is going to be a tough year if our predictions are right. And usually those predictions are not too far off.”
At a May 13 press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom summed up the situation by stating “The hots are getting hotter, the dries are getting drier,” a trend recently reported in a Wall Street Journal article in comparing how this dry season was drier than those of the past two years. The 2018 wildfire season saw record wildfires, including the literal destruction of the entire town of Paradise, California, killing 86 people and burning down close to 12,000 structures.
As of June 15, 37 brush fires have already occurred in California in June, burning a total of 17,042 acres of landscape.
Brazil’s COVID Chaos
And finally, Brazil. My climate crisis beat colleague Aman Azhar has a new batch of reporting out on deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest and what it means for future pandemics because of reckless environmental actions by the rightwing government of Jair Bolsonaro. Authoritarianism is leading to a chaotic situation in South America’s largest country.
The country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, is a climate change denier and has sought to defund and dismantle environmental agencies and regulatory safeguards to benefit industrial-scale agribusiness, ruling the country with an iron authoritarian fist. He also has downplayed the risk of COVID-19 by calling it a “little flu.” Yet, now the country is second only to the United States in the Americas as of June 12 for both cases and deaths, at over 772,000 and 39,000, respectively.
Bolsonaro has also advocated fiercely for industrial-scale deforestation of the Amazon for agribusiness and the timber industry. These things make not only the climate crisis worse, but also the coronavirus and the human rights of the country’s Indigenous population. In turn, the practices have led to the deaths of at least 178 Indigenous people who came into contact with these industrial actors.
Brazil’s tropical forest—the largest on Earth—is one of the biggest carbon sinks in the world. That means it absorbs climate change-causing carbon greenhouse gas emissions, though large-scale wildfires in recent years have turned what was a net carbon sink into a net carbon emitter. The industrial deforestation practices, clear-cutting at a rate unprecedented in the country’s history, could make that even worse.
Aman spoke to several experts about these intersecting nightmares and the current sordid state of play in Brazil, piecing together a multimedia package combining written text with video interviews. It’s well worth checking out. And continue to follow Aman’s reporting here at The Real News Network and over on Twitter at @TheAmanAzhar.
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therealnews--2020-06-17--Stir Crazy! Episode #55: Gonna Be A Hot Summer

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therealnews--2020-06-17--Florida Wants To Reinstate A ‘Poll Tax’ For Ex-Felons

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Eddie Conway : Welcome to this episode of Rattling the Bars .
I ’ m Eddie Conway , your host , coming to you from Baltimore .
We have been following so voting rights situation for ex-felons in Florida for the last couple of years .
Over 1.4 million people that has been through the Florida prison system and released have lost their right to vote .
A couple of years ago , they organized a campaign .
The campaign was successful .
They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the ballot .
They won by a overwhelming majority , and then the state of Florida state government decided to limit who could actually exercise their right to vote by putting funds and other restrictions on them .
To talk about this issue in Florida is Phil Telfeyan , founding director of Equal Justice Under the Law .
Thank you for joining me , Phil .
Phil Telfeyan : Thank you , Eddie , thank you for having me on .
Eddie Conway : Around this voting right issue , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Can you update us and tell us what that means ?
Phil Telfeyan : Absolutely .
Voting rights for people in Florida dates back all the way to the Civil War , when Florida , as well as many other Southern states were really trying to figure out really diabolical ways to restrict the rights of former slaves to vote .
And what you saw in most of the Southern states , going back to the 1800s , were laws that prevented people from voting if they had prior felony convictions .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a whole lot of former slaves and descendants of slaves as the generations passed , were really not able to vote .
Florida was one of only four states that permanently prevented people with prior felony convictions from voting .
Well that all changed by ballot initiative .
People with prior felony convictions got together in Florida and passed the ballot initiative by a super majority .
64 % of Floridians said , “ Hey , when you ’ re done serving your prison sentence , when you ’ re done with probation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote again .
It ’ s not a lifetime bar.
” That measure passed overwhelmingly , and the Florida legislature , which is dominated by Republicans , wasn ’ t happy .
They didn ’ t want to see a lot of people with prior felony convictions voting .
And so the Florida legislature passed what you could really call an amendment to the amendment .
The legislature said , “ Okay , finish your prison sentence , finish probation and parole , but also you ’ ve got to pay back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fines , court fees , restitution , any kind of court debt that might ’ ve been attached to your conviction .
And for those who can ’ t pay their court debt under the legislature ’ s vision , you can ’ t vote .
It really amounted to a poll tax .
Well , a lot of civil rights groups got together and sued in federal court to challenge this poll tax .
The federal district court agreed and said , A , it ’ s racist , B , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violates the constitution .
You can ’ t charge a poll tax .
You can ’ t effectively prevent people from voting just because they ’ re too poor to pay court debts .
That case was appealed , and the appellate court also agreed .
And so , as it stands right now , the courts are unanimous that in Florida , your inability to pay court debt should be no barrier to voting .
Eddie Conway : Okay , I understand that the state of Florida is probably going to challenge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Where do they go ?
Is this the highest court in Florida ?
Do they go to the federal court next or what ’ s up ?
Phil Telfeyan : So , the case originally started in federal court .
The voters , the people with prior felony convictions actually won in the trial court .
They ’ ve already won once on appeal .
The appellate court agreed with the trial court and said the proceedings can continue .
What happened then was the trial court continued the proceedings , actually held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , in April , and issued an opinion agreeing with all the voters , agreeing that folks who have finished serving their prison sentence but are just too poor to pay court debt can register to vote and can vote in this year ’ s elections , upcoming this November .
The state has promised to appeal again .
So the state is going to appeal .
They ’ re going to be going to the federal appellate court , which is called the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including Alabama , Georgia , Florida .
It ’ s not just limited to Florida .
It ’ s a federal court .
And the law is very clear .
A state can not condition the right to vote on wealth .
Voting is not a privilege that ’ s only supposed to be accessible to those with money .
Voting is universal .
Rich , poor , and otherwise , everyone should be able to vote .
And I think the 11th Circuit Federal Court will agree with the trial court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that what the former legislature is trying to do in restricting the ability of people who have finished serving prison time from voting , is illegal .
The final step the state is to go to the U.S. Supreme Court , where I think they will also lose .
And I think the state is not a stupid enough , frankly , to try that move .
So , the state is running out of options .
Court after court has told them , “ What you ’ re trying to do is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials realize you can ’ t prevent people who have finished serving their time from voting solely based on poverty .
Eddie Conway : What about those exceptions ?
Are those exceptions that they tried to put in there going to be effective ?
People with prior murder convictions or rape convictions , are they separating those individuals out or did this case cover everyone ?
Phil Telfeyan : No , it ’ s a great question , Eddie .
Unfortunately , the case does not cover everyone .
The law has two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those convicted of murder .
But the other is huge .
It ’ s not just rape , actually .
The second exception is any sex offense .
It ’ s an extremely broad exception .
And sex offenses as defined by the Florida state legislature include an entire range of things .
Of course , you ’ d have first degree rape at the extreme end , but many , many other offenses that are a lot less serious , that still qualify as sex offenses .
But what you ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10s of thousands of people , who are convicted of what the state considers a sex offense , who will never be able to vote in Florida even if they ’ ve finished serving all of their prison time , even if they ’ ve finished serving all their probation and parole , they ’ ve repaid their debt to society .
That exception was built into the original law , unfortunately .
Unfortunately , in my opinion .
Now , of course , voters approved the law .
The exceptions are still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , those who have been convicted of murder , still can ’ t vote in Florida .
Eddie Conway : Is right now , because the state ’ s going to file an appeal , all the ex-felons that would be eligible to vote , are they in limbo now until this appeal is filed and heard and resolved or what ?
Phil Telfeyan : Well , what I would say for the future is it depends on mobilization .
Right now , the current state of affairs is the federal trial court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barred from voting solely because of their inability to pay court debt .
So folks who have finished serving their prison time should go ahead and register .
I think the appellate court will affirm that ruling , but what ’ s important now is to go and register .
The ruling is currently saying , folks have the right to vote , so that should happen .
Now , the appellate court could take some time .
It ’ s very likely they ’ ll resolve it before November .
Courts understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming up , they want to get some finality here .
There is a little bit of limbo , but the current status quo is go register to vote .
The issue is there are more than a million people in Florida who have prior felony convictions and the law in Florida doesn ’ t just cover convictions in Florida .
If you have a felony conviction from another state , and it may be decades old , it may have been 30 , 40 years old , and you may have finished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even if it ’ s from another state , you were barred from voting in Florida .
So there ’ s quite a lot of folks who are now eligible to vote , should register to vote , and should vote in November .
As you know , Eddie , it ’ s a turnout question .
There ’ s many , many other ways that powerful forces try to prevent folks from voting , especially in a state like Florida .
I mean , Florida has a very , very , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done many things , not just disenfranchisement , to try to prevent , not just people with convictions , but also racial and ethnic minorities from getting to the ballot box .
This is just one barrier , but at the time being this barrier is out of the way , and the court ’ s ruling is favorable .
Eddie Conway : Well , if you had something to say to the public , to those million people that are eligible to vote right now , and I heard you say they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have any other advice for them ?
Phil Telfeyan : I think there ’ s two things .
First is register to vote and vote in November .
And the second is , get rid of the legislators in Florida .
I mean , they are really working in Florida to deny the right to vote .
The legislature knows that the vast majority of the court debt that ’ s out there is uncollectible .
I mean , when you think about it , when someone finishes serving a prison sentence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no apartment .
If they have family or friends , maybe they can find a place to stay , but a lot of folks are in very unstable housing situations .
Repaying court debt , which for the majority of folks is over a thousand dollars , is almost impossible .
The state knows that this court that will never be repaid .
The state ’ s not trying to get the money .
They ’ re actually just trying to prevent people from voting , and that ’ s the problem with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t want to see people voting .
When that happens , you ’ ll see a legislature whose interests are contrary to the interests of the voters .
Those legislators need to be taken out of office .
So my reaction to this is that people should vote and people should realize their legislature is trying to deny the right to vote .
That ’ s not what you want to see in a legislature , and it ’ s time to find some elected officials who actually support the rights of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ updates or whatever happens next , can you please get in contact with us so we can cover it ?
Phil Telfeyan : I absolutely will , Eddie .
This is such an important piece , because it ’ s affecting over a million people in Florida .
Anyone in doubt right now , should know the current state of the law is go vote .
Go register , be ready to vote , until told otherwise , but I ’ ll absolutely keep you and your viewers updated .
Eddie Conway : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida is a key state .
What happens in Florida in most cases affects the way in which the national elections turn out , and that ’ s how we ended up with George Bush or somebody .
Eddie Conway : And so yes , I would encourage anybody that is eligible to get out there and to do it , to go vote .
Eddie Conway : Thanks for joining me … Oh , go ahead , Phil .
Phil Telfeyan : I was just going to add , I mean , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old enough to remember in 2000 , when the election turned between Al Gore and George Bush on Florida , and it was only by a few hundred votes .
They had to do recounts , the Supreme Court got involved .
I mean , those of us who were alive remember what was happening in Florida then .
Florida is a key swing state .
It ’ s still a very close swing state in every presidential election , not to mention Congress and the Senate .
It ’ s going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side folks are voting on , it ’ s really important for people to get out to vote , but particularly folks with prior felony convictions .
People with felony conviction have been denied the right to vote in Florida for way too long , and finally , finally , the state of Florida has decided enough is enough , we want to see our citizens actually voting .
Let ’ s take them up on that and get out to the voting box .
Eddie Conway : Okay .
Thank you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so much , Eddie .
Eddie Conway : And thank you for joining this episode of Rattling the Bars .

The state’s appeal to require payment of court fees before voting access is restored would amount to a poll tax, says Phil Telfeyan.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Eddie Conway: Welcome to this episode of Rattling the Bars. I’m Eddie Conway, your host, coming to you from Baltimore. We have been following so voting rights situation for ex-felons in Florida for the last couple of years. Over 1.4 million people that has been through the Florida prison system and released have lost their right to vote. A couple of years ago, they organized a campaign. The campaign was successful. They’ve got the voting rights initiative put on the ballot. They won by a overwhelming majority, and then the state of Florida state government decided to limit who could actually exercise their right to vote by putting funds and other restrictions on them. To talk about this issue in Florida is Phil Telfeyan, founding director of Equal Justice Under the Law. Thank you for joining me, Phil.
Phil Telfeyan: Thank you, Eddie, thank you for having me on.
Eddie Conway: Around this voting right issue, and it seems like there was a win. Can you update us and tell us what that means?
Phil Telfeyan: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
Eddie Conway: And [inaudible 00:01:22]?
Phil Telfeyan: Absolutely. Voting rights for people in Florida dates back all the way to the Civil War, when Florida, as well as many other Southern states were really trying to figure out really diabolical ways to restrict the rights of former slaves to vote. And what you saw in most of the Southern states, going back to the 1800s, were laws that prevented people from voting if they had prior felony convictions. That combined with racist police practices, meant a whole lot of former slaves and descendants of slaves as the generations passed, were really not able to vote. Florida was one of only four states that permanently prevented people with prior felony convictions from voting.
Well that all changed by ballot initiative. People with prior felony convictions got together in Florida and passed the ballot initiative by a super majority. 64% of Floridians said, “Hey, when you’re done serving your prison sentence, when you’re done with probation and parole, you should be able to vote again. It’s not a lifetime bar.” That measure passed overwhelmingly, and the Florida legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, wasn’t happy. They didn’t want to see a lot of people with prior felony convictions voting. And so the Florida legislature passed what you could really call an amendment to the amendment. The legislature said, “Okay, finish your prison sentence, finish probation and parole, but also you’ve got to pay back any court debts.” These could be fines, court fees, restitution, any kind of court debt that might’ve been attached to your conviction. And for those who can’t pay their court debt under the legislature’s vision, you can’t vote. It really amounted to a poll tax.
Well, a lot of civil rights groups got together and sued in federal court to challenge this poll tax. The federal district court agreed and said, A, it’s racist, B, it’s discriminatory, C, it violates the constitution. You can’t charge a poll tax. You can’t effectively prevent people from voting just because they’re too poor to pay court debts. That case was appealed, and the appellate court also agreed. And so, as it stands right now, the courts are unanimous that in Florida, your inability to pay court debt should be no barrier to voting.
Eddie Conway: Okay, I understand that the state of Florida is probably going to challenge that. What does that mean? Where do they go? Is this the highest court in Florida? Do they go to the federal court next or what’s up?
Phil Telfeyan: So, the case originally started in federal court. The voters, the people with prior felony convictions actually won in the trial court. They’ve already won once on appeal. The appellate court agreed with the trial court and said the proceedings can continue. What happened then was the trial court continued the proceedings, actually held a trial on the issue earlier this year, in April, and issued an opinion agreeing with all the voters, agreeing that folks who have finished serving their prison sentence but are just too poor to pay court debt can register to vote and can vote in this year’s elections, upcoming this November. The state has promised to appeal again. So the state is going to appeal. They’re going to be going to the federal appellate court, which is called the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. That’s a court that oversees multiple states, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida. It’s not just limited to Florida. It’s a federal court.
And the law is very clear. A state cannot condition the right to vote on wealth. Voting is not a privilege that’s only supposed to be accessible to those with money. Voting is universal. Rich, poor, and otherwise, everyone should be able to vote. And I think the 11th Circuit Federal Court will agree with the trial court, will agree with the prior appeal that what the former legislature is trying to do in restricting the ability of people who have finished serving prison time from voting, is illegal.
The final step the state is to go to the U.S. Supreme Court, where I think they will also lose. And I think the state is not a stupid enough, frankly, to try that move. So, the state is running out of options. Court after court has told them, “What you’re trying to do is unconstitutional.” And I hope the state officials realize you can’t prevent people who have finished serving their time from voting solely based on poverty.
Eddie Conway: What about those exceptions? Are those exceptions that they tried to put in there going to be effective? People with prior murder convictions or rape convictions, are they separating those individuals out or did this case cover everyone?
Phil Telfeyan: No, it’s a great question, Eddie. Unfortunately, the case does not cover everyone. The law has two exceptions that you noted. One, those convicted of murder. But the other is huge. It’s not just rape, actually. The second exception is any sex offense. It’s an extremely broad exception. And sex offenses as defined by the Florida state legislature include an entire range of things. Of course, you’d have first degree rape at the extreme end, but many, many other offenses that are a lot less serious, that still qualify as sex offenses. But what you’ll see in Florida is literally thousands, 10s of thousands of people, who are convicted of what the state considers a sex offense, who will never be able to vote in Florida even if they’ve finished serving all of their prison time, even if they’ve finished serving all their probation and parole, they’ve repaid their debt to society.
That exception was built into the original law, unfortunately. Unfortunately, in my opinion. Now, of course, voters approved the law. The exceptions are still there. So those with sex offenses, those who have been convicted of murder, still can’t vote in Florida.
Eddie Conway: Is right now, because the state’s going to file an appeal, all the ex-felons that would be eligible to vote, are they in limbo now until this appeal is filed and heard and resolved or what?
Phil Telfeyan: Well, what I would say for the future is it depends on mobilization. Right now, the current state of affairs is the federal trial court has said that people can not be barred from voting solely because of their inability to pay court debt. So folks who have finished serving their prison time should go ahead and register. I think the appellate court will affirm that ruling, but what’s important now is to go and register. The ruling is currently saying, folks have the right to vote, so that should happen.
Now, the appellate court could take some time. It’s very likely they’ll resolve it before November. Courts understand society, they know the election is coming up, they want to get some finality here. There is a little bit of limbo, but the current status quo is go register to vote. The issue is there are more than a million people in Florida who have prior felony convictions and the law in Florida doesn’t just cover convictions in Florida. If you have a felony conviction from another state, and it may be decades old, it may have been 30, 40 years old, and you may have finished serving your time a long time ago, even if it’s from another state, you were barred from voting in Florida. So there’s quite a lot of folks who are now eligible to vote, should register to vote, and should vote in November.
As you know, Eddie, it’s a turnout question. There’s many, many other ways that powerful forces try to prevent folks from voting, especially in a state like Florida. I mean, Florida has a very, very, very long history of racism. Its done many things, not just disenfranchisement, to try to prevent, not just people with convictions, but also racial and ethnic minorities from getting to the ballot box. This is just one barrier, but at the time being this barrier is out of the way, and the court’s ruling is favorable.
Eddie Conway: Well, if you had something to say to the public, to those million people that are eligible to vote right now, and I heard you say they need to get out, would you have any other advice for them?
Phil Telfeyan: I think there’s two things. First is register to vote and vote in November. And the second is, get rid of the legislators in Florida. I mean, they are really working in Florida to deny the right to vote. The legislature knows that the vast majority of the court debt that’s out there is uncollectible. I mean, when you think about it, when someone finishes serving a prison sentence, they have no job, they have no apartment. If they have family or friends, maybe they can find a place to stay, but a lot of folks are in very unstable housing situations. Repaying court debt, which for the majority of folks is over a thousand dollars, is almost impossible. The state knows that this court that will never be repaid. The state’s not trying to get the money. They’re actually just trying to prevent people from voting, and that’s the problem with the state legislature. They don’t want to see people voting. When that happens, you’ll see a legislature whose interests are contrary to the interests of the voters. Those legislators need to be taken out of office.
So my reaction to this is that people should vote and people should realize their legislature is trying to deny the right to vote. That’s not what you want to see in a legislature, and it’s time to find some elected officials who actually support the rights of people in Florida.
Eddie Conway: Any updates or whatever happens next, can you please get in contact with us so we can cover it?
Phil Telfeyan: I absolutely will, Eddie. This is such an important piece, because it’s affecting over a million people in Florida. Anyone in doubt right now, should know the current state of the law is go vote. Go register, be ready to vote, until told otherwise, but I’ll absolutely keep you and your viewers updated.
Eddie Conway: Yes. And I will comment that Florida is a key state. What happens in Florida in most cases affects the way in which the national elections turn out, and that’s how we ended up with George Bush or somebody.
Phil Telfeyan: Yeah.
Eddie Conway: And so yes, I would encourage anybody that is eligible to get out there and to do it, to go vote.
Phil Telfeyan: [inaudible 00:11:54].
Eddie Conway: Thanks for joining me … Oh, go ahead, Phil.
Phil Telfeyan: I was just going to add, I mean, Eddie, you and I are both old enough to remember in 2000, when the election turned between Al Gore and George Bush on Florida, and it was only by a few hundred votes. They had to do recounts, the Supreme Court got involved. I mean, those of us who were alive remember what was happening in Florida then. Florida is a key swing state. It’s still a very close swing state in every presidential election, not to mention Congress and the Senate. It’s going to be a close race. And whichever side folks are voting on, it’s really important for people to get out to vote, but particularly folks with prior felony convictions. People with felony conviction have been denied the right to vote in Florida for way too long, and finally, finally, the state of Florida has decided enough is enough, we want to see our citizens actually voting. Let’s take them up on that and get out to the voting box.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Thank you, Phil.
Phil Telfeyan: Thank you so much, Eddie.
Eddie Conway: And thank you for joining this episode of Rattling the Bars.
Studio: Cameron Granadino
Production: Cameron Granadino, Ericka Blount Danois
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