End Mass Criminalization of Black and Brown Youth (89)
'Same Story Every Time': Baltimore Solidarity Actions Sweep U.S.
Written by Deidre Fulton | Common Dreams
Thousands marched—mostly peacefully—in cities including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Tensions Boil Over After Baltimore Police Call Protesters 'Lynch Mob'
Written by Lauren McCauley | Common Dreams
Demonstrators still seeking answers over the mysterious and troubling death of Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal injury while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department, circled City Hall on Thursday after Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that he had called in state troopers to help quell the protests.
Seizing on Latest Police Killing, National Protests Declare: 'This Must Stop!'
Written by Lauren McCauley | Common Dreams
Seizing on the growing backlash against police brutalization and discriminatory mass incarceration, people across the country on Tuesday took to the streets. With mass demonstrations, sit-ins, and blockades, protesters in 30 cities demanded an end to "business as usual" within the U.S. criminal justice system.
How our police became soldiers (and how we can change them back)
Written by Lael Henterly | The Seattle Globalist
Back in June, Seattle resident Oscar Perez Giron committed the most minor of crimes, and ended up dead.
When fare enforcement officers approached 23-year-old Giron and his two companions on the light rail and asked for proof of fare payment, they could only produce two valid ticket stubs.
‘It’s Racist As Hell': Inside St. Louis County’s Predatory Night Courts
Written by Erica Hellerstein | ThinkProgress
In 2004, Sean Bailey recalls, he was driving through the streets of St. Louis County en route to a party, when he saw a familiar black-and-white car out of the corner of his eye. He reached for his phone to warn the friend he was following to slow down, but it was too late; the cop blared his siren and pulled up behind him. Bailey, who had a warrant stemming from a failure to appear in court for unpaid traffic tickets, felt a familiar pang of anxiety. He knew exactly what was going to happen next.
Guilty of Being Poor
Written by Karen Dolan | Institute for Policy Studies
When a community issues arrest warrants for more offenses than it has residents, something's deeply wrong.
Nearly 200 Groups Urge President Obama to Take Executive Action Adopting Fair-Chance Hiring Reforms for People with Records
Written by Mitchell Hirsch | NELP
In a letter to be presented to the White House today, nearly 200 civil rights, faith-based organizing, criminal justice, and social justice reform groups are calling on President Obama to take immediate executive action to ensure that federal agencies and contractors remove unnecessary barriers to employment for qualified job candidates who have an arrest or conviction in their past.
From Crispus Attucks to Michael Brown: Race and Revolution
Written by Amy Goodman | Common Dreams
March 5 marks an important but oft-overlooked anniversary. On a winter’s day 245 years ago, in the year 1770, an angry crowd formed in Boston, then the capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. People were enraged by the extortionate taxes imposed by the British Parliament. In order to quell the public furor, the British sent troops, who violently quashed dissent.
We're marching in Selma next week so that one day, every kid can wear a hoodie and not get shot
Written by Andrea Miller
It was exactly three years ago today that Trayvon Martin made the fatal mistake of putting on his hoodie and walking to a Florida convenience store at dusk for a cold drink and a pack of Skittles.
Pot State US Congressmen Introduce Federal Marijuana Legalization Bills
Written by Phillip Smith | AlterNet
Marijuana is already legal in four states and DC, and 23 states have medical marijuana. Now, a pair of federal legalization bills are in the hopper. Two congressmen from two states where marijuana is already legal under state law today filed two separate bills to legalize marijuana at the federal level. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced a bill that would allow states to legalize marijuana without fear of federal intervention, while Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced a bill that would tax marijuana at the federal level, in addition to any state taxes. The bills were not yet available on congressional web sites as of this afternoon.
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Black in Alabama: Life in Prison for 2.5 Pounds of Marijuana
Written by Phillip Smith | AlterNet
A sentence handed down this week in Dothan, Alabama, raises questions about fairness and justice. And race. A Cowarts, Alabama, man was sentenced this week to life in prison—for being caught with 2 ½ pounds of pot. And yes, he is black.
Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected
Written by AAFP
Girls of color face much harsher school discipline than their white peers but are excluded from current efforts to address the school-to-prison pipeline, according to a new report issued today by the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School’s Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies.
Rep. Rodney Moore to propose Probation of Discrimination Bill
Written by Kendrea Mekkah | In These Streets
NC State Representative Rodney Moore (99th district), plans to introduce the Probation of Discrimination Bill “mid-February.” The name of the bill reflects the intent to go beyond racial profiling to address “discriminatory profiling in general” say Rep Moore.
NYPD Officer Indicted In Death Of Akai Gurley, According To Reports
Written by Christopher Mathias | The Huffington Post
A New York City police officer has been indicted in the shooting death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley, law enforcement sources told both NY1 and The New York Daily News on Tuesday.