activists

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, VIDEO REELS

To Fight Trolls ‘Hackbacks’ And Mutual Aid Are Used By Online Activists

Digital trans activist Clara Sorrenti found herself arrested at gunpoint at her home in London, Ont. Anti-trans trolls had falsely reported she had killed her mother and was planning a shooting at city hall. Sorrenti had been swatted. Swatting involves calling 911 to falsely report a high-risk emergency at their victim’s home, triggering deployment of a SWAT team. In some swatting cases, victims have died at the hands of police. Sorrenti’s experience is consistent with my findings in long-term research with intersectional global media activists. She is a new type of intersectional digital activist. These activists work on intersectional issues, drawing connections between systems of oppression including race, gender, sexuality, and so on. And a great deal of their activism takes place ...

Atlanta Black, Indigenous Activists Resist ‘Cop City’ Plans At Historic Park

5Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Atlanta Black, Indigenous Activists Resist ‘Cop City’ Plans At Historic Park

A plan to construct a $90 million police training center at the South River Forest in Atlanta is facing resistance from residents, who say “Cop City” would threaten the community in more ways than one. Residents say the facility would take away a beloved green space and historic site that plays a crucial role protecting the city from flooding. “This is going to be the largest urban warfare training facility for police in the country,” said Jasmine Burnett, organizing director of Community Movement Builders, which is supporting resident opposition to the facility. “And, what does that mean when, in 2020, people were actually asking to abolish the police?” The South River Forest sits on the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee Creek people, who were forcibly removed in the early 19th Century...

From Past Movements For Civil Rights – What America’s Social Justice Activists Can Learn

13Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

From Past Movements For Civil Rights – What America’s Social Justice Activists Can Learn

Anthony Siracusa, University of Colorado Boulder With Congress considering legislation to protect voting rights and address police accountability, it’s worth remembering that throughout U.S. history new civil rights laws have been followed by resistance and the stubborn persistence of racial inequity across American life. Still, these discussions in Congress come on the heels of millions of Americans calling for change. The demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s death belonged to a broader effort to reckon with white violence and discrimination in U.S. life. The historical roots of our contemporary racial injustice were documented in the 1619 Project, a New York Times undertaking that reexamined the legacy of slavery in the U.S. This year’s widespread commemoration of the Tulsa Ra...

They May Have Saved The Republic – Nonviolent Activists Laid The Groundwork To Oppose A Coup

20Jan

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POLITICS

They May Have Saved The Republic – Nonviolent Activists Laid The Groundwork To Oppose A Coup

Activists prepared for months, expecting Trump to steal the election. They were right, and he failed. Since President-elect Joe Biden’s decisive win in November, there has been understandable consternation at the efforts by President Trump and his supporters to steal the election. It is also important to understand why, so far, and despite the recent violence in Washington, his attempts have been unsuccessful. In the months leading up to the Nov. 3 election, many of us were warning that, even if the face of a clear Biden victory, Trump and the Republicans might attempt a de facto coup. We warned that Trump might declare victory on election night before all the votes are counted, that he and his supporters would make false charges of vote fraud, and that he would refuse to concede even af...

Companies are struggling to engage with today’s activists – a new survey explores why

5Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Companies are struggling to engage with today’s activists – a new survey explores why

Dozens of companies with no track record of activism have made statements in recent weeks in support of Black Lives Matter following what I believe is unprecedented pressure from racial justice protesters. It may have come as a surprise to some – given just a couple months ago corporate America showed little interest in the Black Lives Matter movement – but to me and my colleagues at the USC Center for Public Relations, it made sense. Earlier this year, we conducted a global survey on what we dubbed the “new activism.” At the time, we were aware that activism was a growing force in American society but couldn’t have predicted the topic would become so relevant so soon. Only a few months later, the brutal killing of George Floyd in late May sparked an eruption of activism on the streets o...

Will colleges embrace Black student activists In this era of protest over racism?

29Jun

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EDUCATION

Will colleges embrace Black student activists In this era of protest over racism?

In 2018, sociologist Ted Thornhill found that Black students who profess an interest in fighting racism were less likely to get a response from college admission officers than other Black students when inquiring about whether they would be a good fit for a particular college. In light of the nationwide anti-racism protests sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, when a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes, The Conversation reached out to Thornhill for his thoughts on whether Black activist students might be more welcome on campus now than before. The Q&A, edited for brevity, is below: Do you expect wider acceptance of Black activism on college campuses? Will some number of colleges and universities that did not embrace Black student ...

4Apr

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IN OTHER NEWS

Activists angry police who shoot can wait to face questions

Activists decry what they call the special treatment given to police officers who are involved in shootings. Police tape at the perimeter of a suspected blast scene in Austin, Texas [File: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post/Getty Images] After a police officer fatally shoots someone, it can take days or even weeks before the public or his supervisors hear the officer's version of what happened. In many states, that so-called "cooling off period" is carved out in state law or in a police department's contract. That opportunity to take some time before undergoing questioning by investigators angers community activists and others seeking reforms of police departments around the country who believe it gives officers time to reshape their story to justify a...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Activists want an investigation into Amber Guyger’s married lover/partner who killed an unarmed Black man 12 years ago

The Mothers Against Police Brutality coalition is demanding an investigation into a Dallas cop who was involved in murdering an unarmed Black man after it was found he helped Amber Guyger destroy evidence. Dallas police officer Martin Rivera had an affair with Guyger and is her former partner. He was involved in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old unarmed Black man 12 years ago. Rivera testified during Guyger’s case that he helped her delete evidence in the form of text messages after she shot and killed Botham Jean. READ MORE: Judge Tammy Kemp explains actions of Black bailiff who appeared to primp Amber Guyger in court Now the group believes they have just cause to call for his cases, especially the killing of Brandon Washington, to be reviewed, The Dallas News reports. “He’s on oath...