April, 27 2016, 04:00pm EDT
NAACP Statement on One Year Anniversary of Baltimore Unrest
The NAACP today released the following statement on the one year anniversary of Baltimore unrest:
"One year ago today, the NAACP and the nation watched in shock as police in riot gear confronted a mob of teenagers on the streets of Baltimore, sparking a series of fires and acts of violence that caused more than 200 arrests, and resulted in millions in damage to property in one night. It was hard to witness, as the streets of the city that is home to our national headquarters, became engulfed in chaos.
BALTIMORE, MD
The NAACP today released the following statement on the one year anniversary of Baltimore unrest:
"One year ago today, the NAACP and the nation watched in shock as police in riot gear confronted a mob of teenagers on the streets of Baltimore, sparking a series of fires and acts of violence that caused more than 200 arrests, and resulted in millions in damage to property in one night. It was hard to witness, as the streets of the city that is home to our national headquarters, became engulfed in chaos.
"The unrest of Baltimore on April 27, 2015 shocked many people, in Baltimore city and across the country, into confronting the history of segregation, racism, and indifference of the past, and its role in mass unemployment, crime, poverty and neglect that remain today.
"As has happened in Ferguson, in Chicago, in Minneapolis, Charleston and in hundreds of other towns and cities across the United States, the death of Freddie Gray has also sparked a birth of new civic advocacy in its wake and spurred a new dialogue on the state of racism in our nation.
That day of violence last year has quickly shifted to meaningful and nonviolent actions that turned the conversation to the future. Last night, more than 123,000 residents of Baltimore city turned out to elect new candidates for mayor and city council running on platforms of change and new opportunity. Thousands of people have joined together in efforts to rebuild and work to create a safer, healthier and more inclusive city.
"Under new leadership, the city police are working with the U.S. Department of Justice to implement long-overdue reforms to police tactics, training and policy, and reestablishing strained relations and trust within communities across Baltimore.
"The problems of poverty, crime, unemployment and neglect remain significant in Baltimore city and across this country. As we pause today to reflect on the life and death of Freddie Gray and the future of Baltimore and our nation, we hope that more people draw from the lessons of the events of a year ago, confront the mistakes of past policies and work to resolve the inequities caused by racial and geographic separation."
Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
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In a decision that the largest U.S. Muslim civil rights organization called "cowardly," the University of Southern California announced Monday that it would not allow a Muslim valedictorian to speak at its commencement ceremony, citing safety concerns.
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"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security."
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Several groups had called for Tabassum's removal as valedictorian entirely because they argued the link that she shared, a slideshow titled "Free Palestine," was antisemitic.
"Trojans for Israel strongly supports the right to free expression—including informed criticism of the Israeli government. However, rhetoric that denies the right of the Jewish people to self-determination or calls for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world must be denounced as antisemitic bigotry," a campus group wrote in a social media post calling on USC to choose a new valedictorian.
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Tabassum toldNBC Los Angeles that she had added the link to her Instagram bio five years ago—long before Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on Israel and Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza—and that she had not written the text herself.
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"The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement," Guzman said in the university announcement. "We cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses."
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The provost maintained that this was not a free speech issue.
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"Because I am not aware of any specific threats against me or the university, because my request for the details underlying the university's threat assessment has been denied, and because I am not being provided any increased safety to be able to speak at commencement, there remain serious doubts about whether USC's decision to revoke my invitation to speak is made solely on the basis of safety," Tabassum said.
Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles (CAIR-LA) executive director Hussam Ayloush also cast doubt on the university's motives in a statement.
"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security,'" Ayloush said. "Asna is an incredibly accomplished student whose academic and extracurricular accomplishments made her the ideal and historic recipient of this year's valedictorian's honor. The university can, should, and must ensure a safe environment for graduation rather than taking the unprecedented step of cancelling a valedictorian's speech."
"The dishonest and defamatory attacks on Asna are nothing more than thinly-veiled manifestations of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, which have been weaponized against college students across the country who speak up for human rights—and for Palestinian humanity," Ayloush continued.
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Ayloush argued that USC's decision to cancel Tabassum's speech "empowers voices of hate and censorship, violates USC's obligation to protect its students, and sends a terrible signal to both Muslim students at USC and all students who dare to express support for Palestinian humanity."
Washington Post columnist and Columbia adjunct Karen Attiah also saw the university's decision as a setback for academic freedom.
"What is happening at USC shows that the credibility/legitimacy of many liberal institutions died in Gaza," Attiah wrote on social media. "Western journalistic objectivity died in Gaza. True academic freedom died in Gaza. Do we see how much violence it takes to uphold an imperial status quo?"
Writer and editor Tom Gara called out the university for the discrepancy between its actions and its course offerings.
"Incredible story. USC offers a minor in 'resistance to genocide,' this girl minored in it, was named valedictorian, and then they cancelled her speech because she might talk about genocide," Gara said on social media.
CAIR-LA is calling on USC to reverse its decision and circulating a petition in support of this demand.
Tabassum, meanwhile, addressed her fellow students.
"As your class valedictorian, I implore my USC classmates to think outside the box—to work toward a world where cries for equality and human dignity are not manipulated to be expressions of hatred," she said. "I challenge us to respond to ideological discomfort with dialogue and learning, not bigotry and censorship. And I urge us to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people."
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