Civil Rights

By Nimalan Yoganathan | – The police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have galvanized anti-racism protests throughout the United States, Canada and elsewhere. As a result, lawmakers have made pledges to divest from police and school districts have cut ties with law enforcement. The organizing of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and […]

Bill of Rights

“Defendant Shall Not Attend Protests”: In Portland, Getting Out of Jail Requires Relinquishing Constitutional Rights

ProPublica

By Dara Lind | – ( ProPublica ) – Federal authorities are using a new tactic in their battle against protesters in Portland, Oregon: arrest them on offenses as minor as “failing to obey” an order to get off a sidewalk on federal property — and then tell them they can’t protest anymore as a […]

African-Americans

John Lewis and C.T. Vivian belonged to a long tradition of religious leaders in the civil rights struggle

The Conversation

By Lawrence Burnley | – With the deaths of Rep. John Lewis and the Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian, the U.S. has lost two civil rights greats who drew upon their faith as they pushed for equality for Black Americans. Vivian, an early adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died July 17 at […]

African-Americans

George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery deaths: Racism causes life-threatening conditions for black men every day

The Conversation

By Shervin Assari | – High-profile police shootings and deaths of black men in custody – or even while out jogging – bring cries of racism across the country. The May 25 death of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis and the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. […]

African-Americans

The Revolution IS being Televised*

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – There is nothing like another outrageous tragedy to compound the initial tragedy. This is NOT to diminish the outrage that sparked these nationwide urban riots. George Floyd was not only murdered, but lynched and tortured for suspicion of passing a phony $20, and being black. We’ve all seen […]

African-Americans

Why cellphone videos of black people’s deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs

The Conversation

By Allissa V. Richardson | – As Ahmaud Arbery fell to the ground, the sound of the gunshot that took his life echoed loudly throughout his Georgia neighborhood. I rewound the video of his killing. Each time I viewed it, I was drawn first to the young black jogger’s seemingly carefree stride, which was halted […]

Civil Rights

Trump’s Supreme Court overturns Magna Carta (1215) and Montesquieu (1748) for Sultan Donald John

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US Supreme Court on Friday, by a 5-4 Republican Party majority, temporarily ruled to allow Trump to divert monies dedicated by Congress to the Defense Department budget to wall-building in the Southwest. If the court makes the ruling permanent, it will be attacking the principle of the “power of […]

Authoritarianism

Cop Arrests Nurse For Doing Her Job (TYT Video)

contributors

Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian and Maytha Alhassen | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “A police officer in Salt Lake City arrested a nurse because she refused to break the law. Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian and Maytha Alhassen of The Young Turks, break it down.” TYT: “Cop Arrests Nurse For Doing Her Job […]

Civil Rights

What can today’s Activists learn from the Summer of Love and the New Left?

contributors

Ira Chernus | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – It’s the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. What better place to celebrate than that fabled era’s epicenter, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, where the DeYoung Museum has mounted a dazzling exhibition, chock full of rock music, light shows, posters, and fashions from the mind-bending […]