Hempstead, TX – Over 300 people gathered on August 9 in front of Waller County Jail, where Sandra Bland was murdered last month. The large crowd rallied to protest racist police brutality and remember its victims. An hour northwest of Houston, people listened to inspiring speeches and uplifting poetry, and then marched around the Waller jailhouse.
Jacksonville, FL – On August 2, more than 35 people from across Jacksonville attended a forum on institutionalized racism. Sponsored by the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC), the event featured a stack of speakers who addressed the Black Lives Matter movement, the struggle against police crimes and the fight against mass incarceration.
Minneapolis, MN – Attorneys appeared in court, August 5, before Judge Peter Cahill for a status conference in the #BlackLivesMatter demonstration case. Notably, Bloomington Prosecutor Sandra Johnson has dropped all substantive trespassing charges against the alleged organizers of the Black Lives Matter demonstration. The move came on the heels of motions to dismiss that were filed by lead attorneys Jordan Kushner and Bruce Nestor, who are representing 10 of 11 individuals identified as ‘ringleaders’ of the Black Lives Matter gathering at the Mall of America last December.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 200 protesters marched here, July 31, demanding justice for Sandra Bland. Bland’s death has come to the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement because of her suspicious jail cell death while in police custody.
La Alianza de Chicago Contra la Represión Racista y Política (CAARPR) está llamando a una marcha el 29 de agosto para exigir el control civil de la policía. Han escrito, además, legislación para crear un Consejo de Responsabilidad de la Policía Civil (CPAC), elegido por los votantes.
Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 activists and community members gathered here, July 26, to honor Sandra Bland. Bland, who supported the Black Lives Matter movement, became national news when she was found dead in her jail cell after being arrested for a minor traffic offense. Many doubt the official story that Bland committed suicide, especially after video evidence surfaced of Bland being handled roughly by the police.
Bloomington, MN – Over 25 community members and 15 members of the clergy gathered at the Mall of America, July 26, to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, to call for an end to the terrorization of people of color through police violence and mass incarceration and to urge Mall of America (MOA) to drop its charges against 36 organizers and bystanders stemming from last December’s MOA protest.
Cleveland, OH – About 700 activists came together here, for the Movement for Black Lives Convening, on the weekend of July 24 – 25. The gathering comes in the context of a growing struggle against racist discrimination and police terror.
Chicago, IL – In the last 11 days seven Black churches have been burned down. The first burning occurred within a week of the June 17 Charleston Massacre, where a self-proclaimed white, racist terrorist murdered nine Black people. Some of the burned down churches had “KKK” scrawled on their outside walls and investigators have concluded that three churches (Hills Seven-day Adventist in Knoxville, Tennesee; God’s Power Church of Christ in Macon, Georgia and Brian Creek Road Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina) were torched by arsonists.
Protesters calling on state attorney to indict two killer cops
Jacksonville, FL – More than 50 people gathered outside the Duval County courthouse to demand justice for D'Angelo Stallworth, the 28-year-old African American man murdered by Jacksonville police in May. The crowd assembled around noon, carrying signs and wearing t-shirts with the slogan “Justice 4 Dee.”