The Real “Ferguson Effect”

Laquan McDonald

As we know, institutional racism is still a problem in many police forces across Britain and the U.S.A.  

Many young Black people believe they will die before they reach the age of 21.  

We need to equip our young people - and adults - with the skills to be able to transform violent situations.  NVC (Nonviolent Communication) is transformative.  We need to be focusing on solutions.  

For more about NVC, click here for my interview with Ike Lasater, author of From Conflict to Connection.  

And this article about NVC. 


Plus click here for books about NVC.  

Check out the original article: This is the real “Ferguson effect”: Black death, white “safety” & the growing hopelessness among young people of color.  

Black Success: We Need Solutions that Work

Trayvon's funeral

Listen below for my audio, "We Need Solutions That Work".  

I am tired of having my heart broken. 

I am tired of hearing about our Black men, boys, women and girls being killed by the authorities.  I'm sure you are, too. This stuff is happening on both sides of the Atlantic.

I watched the films I talked about in my recent blog on Deaths in Police Custody and I despaired.  

Listen here for more. Then check out Success Strategies for Black People.

Click here for more Black Success audios.

Please share this with your networks, and please comment below. 

 

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Filmmaker Ken Fero on Deaths in Police Custody

Joy Gardner

There's a reason why everyone in my neighbourhood in South London knows who Trayvon Martin was.

A few months ago, a local public meeting was held. The posters all featured a photo of Trayvon. No caption, no explanation. But everyone in this area knows that similar things happen here.

I know Trayvon was not killed by the police, but his killing was sanctioned by the courts.

BFI London South Bank recently held a day on deaths in police custody, as part of the African Odysseys ongoing film series.

Filmmaker Ken Fero, director of numerous documentaries including the multi-award-winning Injustice, spoke in the morning and screened clips from his films. In the afternoon, two of those films were screened.

Injustice chronicles the fight for justice of seven families whose members died in police custody. None of the police officers involved in these killings have been prosecuted or disciplined. Six of the families are Black (African Caribbean), the seventh is Irish. An Irishman was gunned down as he walked through Brixton carrying a wooden table leg. The police stated they thought he was armed with a gun.

All of these families are still continuing to fight for justice.

Injustice has never been shown on UK television. When it was first released in 2001, every time it was due to be shown in cinemas, the police would phone the cinema about 15 minutes before the screening was due to start, threatening legal action. They claimed the film “might be libellous”.

Ken Fero, filmmaker

However, as Fero explained at the BFI, the audience inevitably contained someone who owned a business or ran a community centre or another venue. So the audience would decamp down the street, and the film would be screened.

Like a lot of people, I was very keen to see the film, and I saw it in a barbershop in South London. All I can say is, if you haven't seen Injustice, you need to see it.

Fero has made many other films about human rights abuses committed in Britain and other European countries, notably Germany and France. It was, frankly, disturbing to hear him say how many times he has filmed some of the same families. For example, the family of Joy Gardner, a Jamaican citizen who died in police custody in 1993.

Joy Gardner suffocated whilst in police restraints. The press labelled her an illegal immigrant and, as Fero pointed out, ignored the fact that other labels could equally be applied to her. Like “student” and “mother”.

He also said that, between 2001 and 2011, another 1,000 people died in police custody. This is an escalation, as more than 1,000 deaths in police custody had occurred in the previous 30 years.

Fero said he makes these films in order to inspire people and educate them about how to take action. He told me that he doesn't want to continue to make these films but, as I am sure he would agree, it is vital that he does.

And while we are collectively mourning Michael Brown, Eric Garner and all the others, we are aware that these things also happen here.

Please join us for the International Summit on Nonviolence today.

See also: Deaths in Police Custody.

President Obama on the Ferguson Situation

"Hands Up Don't Shoot" Protest at Howard University

President Obama's statement last night on the situation in Ferguson was largely a recap - albeit with more brevity - of what the Attorney General Eric Holder had already said in his press conference earlier.

The local FBI in Ferguson are conducting an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.  The Justice Department are also conducting an investigation, in which they are co-operating with the FBI.

Over 200 witness statements have already been taken, and more are continuing to be taken.  (Does this mean Michael Brown was shot in front of more than 200 witnesses?  Maybe this is not what they mean by "witness statements".)  

Crucially, the President mentioned that "too many Black men are being left behind" and spoke about the importance of addressing and including cities and communities that have been left behind.  

The President also explained that he would not, himself, be going to Ferguson, because the investigations have to be seen to be independent.  However, the Attorney General will visit Ferguson tomorrow.   

Meanwhile, violence, shooting and rioting continue in Ferguson and in St. Louis, Mo.  The National Guard has been called out.  Now they are using teargas.  It's as if everyone is going crazy.

Inflict enough racist violence on people and they WILL go crazy.

The thing is, we always react to these things AFTER THE FACT.  These conditions have existed for many years. 

There have been peaceful protests in NYC, LA and San Francisco.  Check out my blog: "Hands Up Don't Shoot Protest in NYC". 

There was a protest in London as well, in front of the U.S Embassy, but, like many people, I did not find out about it until after the fact.

One result of people and communities being left behind is that our people are being killed.  Black people are being killed by the police and nobody is being held accountable.  When are they going to stop killing our young people?

Check it out:  Deaths in Police Custody.

Check out this very interesting article by Paul B. Raushenbush at the Huffington Post:  What White People Can Do about the Killing of Black Men in America.  But they're not just men and it's not just in America. 

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  We MUST end the violence.

"Hands Up Don't Shoot" Protest in NYC

It is so moving and upsetting to see people chanting "Hands Up Don't Shoot".    Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was shot dead by police in Ferguson, MO last Saturday the 9th of August.

Since then, there have been protests and riots in many places across the country.  President Obama called it a "tragedy" and called on the police to respect peaceful protests. 

The longer he is in office, the more he has to keep making these statements as more and more young Black men are killed by the police.

This rally was held in Times Square in the heart of Manhattan and reportedly was followed by rioting.  Many of the killings have taken place in NYC.  

How many more of our youth are they gonna kill?  This has upset me so much.

One more reason Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.

Unfortunately, this will not be the last one of these blogs I shall be posting.  

See also:  Deaths in Police Custody.