More Than A Magazine, A Movement
More than six months after Breonna Taylor was fatally shot in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, sparking national outrage and protests, a Jefferson County grand jury has concluded that none of the officers involved are criminally responsible for her death.
A new billboard in Times Square demands that the New York Police Department (NYPD) be held accountable for instances of brutality, and for $300 million worth of lawsuits paid by taxpayers over the past five years. The sign is positioned across from the NYPD station, where officers can see the video directly.
Fueled by zero tolerance policies, school districts across the country frequently push kids out of school and toward the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The presence of police officers in schools makes a bad situation worse, too often punishing students who are Black, Latinx, LGBTQ and/or have disabilities.
Our children need more nurses and counselors, more social workers and school psychologists—not more police.
On Friday, 12 anti-abortion extremists in Sterling Heights, Mich., formed an unyielding blockade in front of a Michigan abortion clinic. Those involved were in direct violation of the Freedom of Access Clinic Entrances (F.A.C.E.) Act.
Yet when (maskless) police arrived on the scene, they allowed the (maskless) anti-choice protesters to continue to sit in front of the clinic doors and sympathized openly with the blockade.
Exactly 57 years after the first March on Washington and 65 years after the murder of Emmett Till, demonstrators are coming together once more to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination.
You’ve probably seen the images on TV or social media or in the newspaper. Portland is in chaos. Portland is being destroyed nightly by rioters and looters. According to right wing media, Portland needs federal intervention because local officials have lost control of the city.
But what’s actually happening on the ground in Portland?
Since their arrival in Portland, the federal officers deployed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have sparked national attention and outrage. The officers, along with the Trump administration, have entirely disregarded the desires of local officials, and have threatened the safety of numerous Portland protesters.
“We don’t have a secret police in this country. This is not a dictatorship” said Gov. Kate Brown (D-Ore.). “And Trump needs to get his officers off the streets.”
This week: Trump wishes Ghislaine Maxwell—a sex trafficker and close associate of Jeffrey Epstein—well. And says Epstein—a man accused of raping girls as young as 14 and operating a sex trafficking ring—is a “terrific guy” and “a lot of fun to be with.”
Republicans argue unemployment aid deters individuals from returning to work (at their jobs that no longer exist).
And Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) is retiring this year, leaving his misogynist comments as a final goodbye.
As protesters continue to demand reform and accountability for officers, it is increasingly important and necessary to understand the legal right citizens and the press have to record and publish videos of police activities.
Cue: The NYU First Amendment Watch last month released “A Citizen’s Guide to Recording Police”—which breaks down the legal precedent behind our right to record law enforcement officers.
Sandra Bland died five years ago. Breonna Taylor died four months ago. Why has so little changed?