SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Under Banner of 'Black Women and Girls Matter,' Wave of Protests to Sweep Country
'The call is for anyone who cares about police violence against black people to also show up for black women and girls,' says organizer
May 20, 2015
Mya Hall. Aiyana Jones. Rekia Boyd. These are a few of the names that will be held up in Thursday's national day of action, slated to sweep at least 17 cities across the United States, demanding an end to "state violence against All Black Women and Girls," including those who are transgender.
Organized by Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), Black Lives Matter, Ferguson Action, and numerous community organizations, the wave of protests come amid a growing nation-wide movement for racial justice that many are calling Black Spring.
Organizers say now is a critical time to highlight the black women who are heavily impacted by police and vigilante violence--and who are at the forefront of organized resistance.
"This is about centering the narrative and political demands around black women and girls, making sure we lift up black queer and transgender people," Charlene Carruthers, National Director of black youth organization BYP100, told Common Dreams. "We want to make sure the narrative about how this impacts the black community is representative of the reality we face every day."
Carruthers explained that the day of action was initiated by young Chicagoans demanding justice for Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old unarmed black woman who was shot and killed in 2012 by off-duty Chicago police officer Dante Servin. In April, Servin was found "not guilty" for Boyd's death, sparking anger and protest in Chicago and beyond.
However, Carruthers said that Chicago-based organizers with BYP100, We Charge Genocide, Black Lives Matter, and other groups "didn't feel like the response was what it should have been and felt there was campaign work that needed to continue to happen."
So, under the leadership of BYP100, a national day of action took shape, with protests, vigils, and demonstrations scheduled across the country.
In Chicago, many of the groups behind the city's historic reparations win for survivors of police violence are planning a rally at the police headquarters "demanding justice for Rekia Boyd and all Black women and girls that are victims of State violence."
Protesters in Ann Arbor, Michigan will call for justice for black woman Aura Rosser, shot to death at the age of 40 by police last year. "In order to represent the silence and erasure of Black Women's and Girl's Lives, we will wear black duct tape to cover our mouths," reads an event announcement.
In New York, actions will kick off Wednesday with a vigil, to be followed Thursday by actions and marches, including a demonstration organized by the family of Kyam Livingston, a 37-year-old black woman who died in NYPD custody in 2013.
"The call is for anyone who cares about police violence against black people to also show up for black women and girls," said Carruthers.
The few studies that exist show that black women and girls are heavily impacted by such violence.
The report Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women--released Wednesday by the the African American Policy Forum, the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia University--highlights the stories of black women harmed by police violence, including sexual assault.
"When Black women do turn to the police for support, they often fail to secure safety from their abusive partners," states the study. "Even more disturbing, an alarming number of police killings of Black women take place in the context of police responses to domestic violence situations. Similarly, Black women's experiences of sexual or homophobic and transphobic violence--leading to death of almost 10 transgender women of color nationally in the first few months of 2015 alone and a total of 12 in 2014--fail to result in protection or prevention."
According to a study released in 2014 by the Black Women's Blueprint, police targeting of black women is on the rise, and "Sexual misconduct by police officers, or public officials, is the second most prevalent form of police crimes as noted by a 2010 annual report conducted by the CATO Institute."
Carruthers emphasized that resistance to such injustices "is not new work," and Thursday's actions are "reflective of organizing that has been going on for a long time."
But, said Carruthers, that story "is not told as often as it should be. Everyone needs to be dedicated to this work. Black Lives Matter is about all black lives."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Mya Hall. Aiyana Jones. Rekia Boyd. These are a few of the names that will be held up in Thursday's national day of action, slated to sweep at least 17 cities across the United States, demanding an end to "state violence against All Black Women and Girls," including those who are transgender.
Organized by Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), Black Lives Matter, Ferguson Action, and numerous community organizations, the wave of protests come amid a growing nation-wide movement for racial justice that many are calling Black Spring.
Organizers say now is a critical time to highlight the black women who are heavily impacted by police and vigilante violence--and who are at the forefront of organized resistance.
"This is about centering the narrative and political demands around black women and girls, making sure we lift up black queer and transgender people," Charlene Carruthers, National Director of black youth organization BYP100, told Common Dreams. "We want to make sure the narrative about how this impacts the black community is representative of the reality we face every day."
Carruthers explained that the day of action was initiated by young Chicagoans demanding justice for Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old unarmed black woman who was shot and killed in 2012 by off-duty Chicago police officer Dante Servin. In April, Servin was found "not guilty" for Boyd's death, sparking anger and protest in Chicago and beyond.
However, Carruthers said that Chicago-based organizers with BYP100, We Charge Genocide, Black Lives Matter, and other groups "didn't feel like the response was what it should have been and felt there was campaign work that needed to continue to happen."
So, under the leadership of BYP100, a national day of action took shape, with protests, vigils, and demonstrations scheduled across the country.
In Chicago, many of the groups behind the city's historic reparations win for survivors of police violence are planning a rally at the police headquarters "demanding justice for Rekia Boyd and all Black women and girls that are victims of State violence."
Protesters in Ann Arbor, Michigan will call for justice for black woman Aura Rosser, shot to death at the age of 40 by police last year. "In order to represent the silence and erasure of Black Women's and Girl's Lives, we will wear black duct tape to cover our mouths," reads an event announcement.
In New York, actions will kick off Wednesday with a vigil, to be followed Thursday by actions and marches, including a demonstration organized by the family of Kyam Livingston, a 37-year-old black woman who died in NYPD custody in 2013.
"The call is for anyone who cares about police violence against black people to also show up for black women and girls," said Carruthers.
The few studies that exist show that black women and girls are heavily impacted by such violence.
The report Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women--released Wednesday by the the African American Policy Forum, the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia University--highlights the stories of black women harmed by police violence, including sexual assault.
"When Black women do turn to the police for support, they often fail to secure safety from their abusive partners," states the study. "Even more disturbing, an alarming number of police killings of Black women take place in the context of police responses to domestic violence situations. Similarly, Black women's experiences of sexual or homophobic and transphobic violence--leading to death of almost 10 transgender women of color nationally in the first few months of 2015 alone and a total of 12 in 2014--fail to result in protection or prevention."
According to a study released in 2014 by the Black Women's Blueprint, police targeting of black women is on the rise, and "Sexual misconduct by police officers, or public officials, is the second most prevalent form of police crimes as noted by a 2010 annual report conducted by the CATO Institute."
Carruthers emphasized that resistance to such injustices "is not new work," and Thursday's actions are "reflective of organizing that has been going on for a long time."
But, said Carruthers, that story "is not told as often as it should be. Everyone needs to be dedicated to this work. Black Lives Matter is about all black lives."
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Mya Hall. Aiyana Jones. Rekia Boyd. These are a few of the names that will be held up in Thursday's national day of action, slated to sweep at least 17 cities across the United States, demanding an end to "state violence against All Black Women and Girls," including those who are transgender.
Organized by Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), Black Lives Matter, Ferguson Action, and numerous community organizations, the wave of protests come amid a growing nation-wide movement for racial justice that many are calling Black Spring.
Organizers say now is a critical time to highlight the black women who are heavily impacted by police and vigilante violence--and who are at the forefront of organized resistance.
"This is about centering the narrative and political demands around black women and girls, making sure we lift up black queer and transgender people," Charlene Carruthers, National Director of black youth organization BYP100, told Common Dreams. "We want to make sure the narrative about how this impacts the black community is representative of the reality we face every day."
Carruthers explained that the day of action was initiated by young Chicagoans demanding justice for Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old unarmed black woman who was shot and killed in 2012 by off-duty Chicago police officer Dante Servin. In April, Servin was found "not guilty" for Boyd's death, sparking anger and protest in Chicago and beyond.
However, Carruthers said that Chicago-based organizers with BYP100, We Charge Genocide, Black Lives Matter, and other groups "didn't feel like the response was what it should have been and felt there was campaign work that needed to continue to happen."
So, under the leadership of BYP100, a national day of action took shape, with protests, vigils, and demonstrations scheduled across the country.
In Chicago, many of the groups behind the city's historic reparations win for survivors of police violence are planning a rally at the police headquarters "demanding justice for Rekia Boyd and all Black women and girls that are victims of State violence."
Protesters in Ann Arbor, Michigan will call for justice for black woman Aura Rosser, shot to death at the age of 40 by police last year. "In order to represent the silence and erasure of Black Women's and Girl's Lives, we will wear black duct tape to cover our mouths," reads an event announcement.
In New York, actions will kick off Wednesday with a vigil, to be followed Thursday by actions and marches, including a demonstration organized by the family of Kyam Livingston, a 37-year-old black woman who died in NYPD custody in 2013.
"The call is for anyone who cares about police violence against black people to also show up for black women and girls," said Carruthers.
The few studies that exist show that black women and girls are heavily impacted by such violence.
The report Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women--released Wednesday by the the African American Policy Forum, the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia University--highlights the stories of black women harmed by police violence, including sexual assault.
"When Black women do turn to the police for support, they often fail to secure safety from their abusive partners," states the study. "Even more disturbing, an alarming number of police killings of Black women take place in the context of police responses to domestic violence situations. Similarly, Black women's experiences of sexual or homophobic and transphobic violence--leading to death of almost 10 transgender women of color nationally in the first few months of 2015 alone and a total of 12 in 2014--fail to result in protection or prevention."
According to a study released in 2014 by the Black Women's Blueprint, police targeting of black women is on the rise, and "Sexual misconduct by police officers, or public officials, is the second most prevalent form of police crimes as noted by a 2010 annual report conducted by the CATO Institute."
Carruthers emphasized that resistance to such injustices "is not new work," and Thursday's actions are "reflective of organizing that has been going on for a long time."
But, said Carruthers, that story "is not told as often as it should be. Everyone needs to be dedicated to this work. Black Lives Matter is about all black lives."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.