End Mass Criminalization of Black and Brown Youth (89)
The grand jury has made its decision. Darren Wilson is no longer a police officer. The protests, in Ferguson, Missouri, at least, are starting to die down.
For African-American children, there’s no ‘Officer Friendly’
Written by Renee Graham | Boston Globe
Long troubled and tenuous, the relationship between police departments and African-American communities is now toxic, and its repercussions may be most visible in the wounded eyes of black children. Since Brown’s death in August, scores of parents have brought their kids, some barely out of kindergarten, to protests nationwide and sparking discussions with them about racial profiling, police brutality, and the sad, but necessary refrain that “Black Lives Matter.”
Poverty, Incarceration, and Criminal Justice Debt
Written by Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Jessica Eaglin | Talk Poverty
In today’s economy, overwhelming debt is an unfortunate reality for millions of Americans. From credit card debt to mortgage debt to student loan debt, Americans increasingly live off of borrowed money. But few realize how the criminal justice system imposes increasing debts on individuals. Worse still, criminal justice debt perpetuates mass incarceration.
Thousands Take Part in National Die-Ins, Demonstrations for Michael Brown
Written by Lauren McCauley | Common Dreams
At 1:01 PM on Monday afternoon thousands of individuals—a large portion of whom are college and high school students—stopped what they were doing. In acts of remembrance of slain black teenager Michael Brown, people across the country staged die-ins, demonstrations, and fell quiet for four and a half minutes—a protest which they say is "only the beginning."
Obama announces funding for 50,000 police body cameras
Written by Russell Brandom | The Verge
In an announcement today, the White House has pledged $263 million in new federal funding for police training and body cameras, including $75 million allocated specifically for the purchase 50,000 cameras for law enforcement officers across the country.
Deadly Force, in Black and White
Written by Ryan Gabrielson, Ryann Grochowski Jones and Eric Sagara | ProPublica
Young black males in recent years were at a far greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts – 21 times greater i, according to a ProPublica analysis of federally collected data on fatal police shootings.
NAACP chief: Ferguson civil rights march seeks justice for Michael Brown and systemic reform
Written by Oliver Laughland | The Guardian
Hundreds of protesters in Missouri have a begun a week-long long march organised by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in a move designed to inspire the spirit of the civil rights movement of 1950s and 60s, following a grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown.
17 Steps Civil Rights Groups Recommend to Prevent More Cop Killings and Stop Abusive Policing
Written by Steven Rosenfeld | AlterNet
What can be done to prevent more police killings like the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri? What can be done to dismantle institutional racism that encourages police to racially profile suspects and use overly aggressive tactics—including deadly force—and then protects abusive officers from facing criminal charges?
How Darren Wilson Demonized Michael Brown
Written by Sophia A. Nelson | The Root
For Michael Brown, the stereotypes that Darren Wilson believed proved to be deadly.
Militarization of Police in America – what does it mean for the nation?
Written by Dr. Gabriela Lemus
The events in Ferguson, Missouri this past week have been both shocking and traumatizing. We are a nation at war with ourselves and have been since the late 1980s when the terrible “war on drugs” began to take on a paramilitary tone – as defined by Webster’s dictionary “of or relating to a group that is not an official army but that operates and is organized like an army.”
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Ferguson Is a Wake-Up Call That We Are Not Post-Racial
Written by Peniele E. Joseph | The Root
Ferguson is ground zero for all Americans who are interested in a vision of social justice that transcends anything we have ever achieved.
Whether Darren Wilson Is Indicted or Not, the Entire System Is Guilty
Written by Mariame Kaba | In These Times
An indictment of the Ferguson police officer who killed Michael Brown would not prove that black lives matter in America.
Racial gap in U.S. arrest rates: 'Staggering disparity'
Written by Brad Heath | USA Today
When it comes to racially lopsided arrests, the most remarkable thing about Ferguson, Mo., might be just how ordinary it is.
How California’s Prison Reform Law Will Fight Overincarceration of Women
Written by Dani McClain | The Nation