2020-06-21: News Headlines

calvin deutschbein (2020-06-21). STEM workers join call to 'Strike for Black Lives'. workers.org On June 10, thousands of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educators and workers around the U.S. and worldwide organized the #ShutDownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia one-day work stoppage in solidarity with the ongoing Black uprising. Grassroots Black gender-oppressed STEM organizers galvanized their co-workers to join in the nationwide call for #AStrikeForBlackLives. . . . |

yenisafak (2020-06-21). British police say Reading stabbing attack treated as terrorist act. yenisafak.com British police on Sunday said that a stabbing attack in a southern English town that left three people dead and another three injured was being treated as a terrorist attack but that there was no intelligence on any further attacks."This was an atrocity," Britain's top counter-terrorism officer, Neil Basu, said, adding that unarmed police officers had tackled the attacker.Basu said that counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation and that the attack is not linked to the Black Lives Matter protest in the same park in Reading a few hours before Saturday's attack.

FRHKS (2020-06-21). WATCH: Heroes: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King (of the Angola 3). indybay.org Heroes: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King (of the Angola 3) is a short video being released at this time to highlight another dimension of the protests taking place around the world supporting Black Lives Matter and to draw attention to racism in criminal justice systems around the world.

Movement for Black Lives (2020-06-21). Friday 6/19: #SixNineteen: M4BL Juneteenth Livestream to Defend Black Lives (online). indybay.org Online livestream…

Movement for Black Lives (2020-06-21). Saturday 6/20: #SixNineteen: M4BL Juneteenth Restream to Defend Black Lives (online). indybay.org

R. Robertson (2020-06-21). BLM Demonstrators Calling for Racial Justice March on Facebook HQ. indybay.org On June 12, hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters demanded Facebook stop funding local police by marching on the social media giant's headquarters in Menlo Park.

Peter Maiden (2020-06-21). Street in Front of Fresno City Hall painted with "Black Lives Matter" indybay.org Over four hundred people came out to downtown Fresno June 18 to paint "Black Lives Matter" in twenty foot tall letters on P Street where it passes in front of City Hall.

Candice Bernd (2020-06-21). 911 Services That Dispatch Mental Health Counselors, Not Cops, Gain Traction. zcomm.org "Abolition of police in the current moment that we're talking about, around defunding the police, does not get rid of other systems of oppression that people face"

NAACP (2020-06-21). Friday 6/19: NAACP Juneteenth Black Family Reuinon & Virtual Town Hall (1pm & 3pm). indybay.org Online…

_____ (2020-06-21). Nuclear Rivals Clash in the Himalayas. strategic-culture.org Eric MARGOLIS | Last week, the world's most populous nations, India and China, both nuclear armed, clashed in the high Himalayan region of Ladakh. | At least 20 Indian troops died and 12 were reportedly taken prisoner before a cease-fire went into effect. So far, there were no reports of Chinese casualties. | Ladakh is one of the world's most remote, obscure and inhospitable places, a plateau averaging 4,200 meters altitude (about 14,000 feet) with frigid temperatures, scant oxygen, little rainfall, and howling winds. This bleak moonscape has long been called 'Little Tibet' because of its semi-nomadic ethnic Tibe…

_____ (2020-06-20). Oakland: Restraining Order Restricts Teargas, Flashbangs And Projectiles. popularresistance.org On June 18, 2020, at 1 pm, an Oakland judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Order to Show Cause against the Oakland Police Department. The order was filed by civil rights attorneys Dan Siegel and Walter Riley and National Lawyers Guild – San Francisco Bay Area attorney James Burch. | This initial victory is part of a larger lawsuit by the attorneys on behalf of two organizational plaintiffs, Anti Police-Terror Project and Community Ready Corps, and individual plaintiffs, Oakland Tech student Akil Riley and protestors Ian Mcdonnell, Nico Nada, Azize Ngo, and Jennifer Li on behalf of themselves and s…

Fight Back (2020-06-20). Milwaukee: Community members mourn the death of Tallahassee activist Oluwatoyin Salau. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of June 18, a vigil was held for Oluwatoyin "Toyin" Salau, a 19-year-old student and activist from Tallahassee, Florida. Oluwatoyin (who was displaced due to unjust living conditions) was abducted by a man, assaulted and murdered earlier this week. Toyin had been out at Black Lives Matter protests in Tallahassee every day, fighting for justice for Tony McDade and other victims of police crimes. | The vigil provided a space for people to gather, light candles and give offerings for Oluwatoyin's homegoing. There were many Black femmes, Black women, and Black non-men who spoke and shar…

Fight Back (2020-06-20). NYC marches for Juneteenth. fightbacknews.org New York, NY – At noon, June 19, several hundred gathered outside of City Hall Park to celebrate, rally and march for Juneteenth. It was the first of several dozen actions happening throughout the boroughs and was called by the December 12th Movement. | Dozens upon dozens of the red, black and green flags were waving in the hands of protesters, as music played. The organizers ensured that protesters were wearing masks and kept social distance by lining them up to march. | This year's Juneteenth has reached mainstream levels of attention as the country enters its 22nd day of protesting for Black lives. As protes…

Joanna Palmer (2020-06-20). [Comment] Framing health stories: Highlights 2020 photography competition open for submissions. thelancet.com The video and pictures of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, USA, as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck while he pleaded that he could not breathe, as well as photographs of subsequent anti-racism protests around the world, are some of the most powerful images this year. These pictures highlight the devastating impacts of structural racism and the deep inequities in our societies, and have given renewed urgency to the Black Lives Matter movement. This year has also brought moving and sometimes shocking photographs of health-care staff working in challenging conditions—too often…

Gloria Rubac (2020-06-20). Black Lives Matter in Bastrop, Texas. workers.org With the whole world exploding in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that is sweeping through large U.S. cities and small towns alike, Black Lives Matter may finally become a reality in Bastrop, Texas, for death row prisoner Rodney Reed. Outside court hearing for Rodney Reed, February 2015. WW . . . |

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-20). This Juneteenth, workers strike for black lives. peoplesdispatch.org This year on Juneteenth, all over the US, strikes were organized to mark the occasion. The biggest strike action was organized by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which stopped work for eight hours at all 29 ports of the West Coast of the US.

sputniknews (2020-06-20). BLM Demonstrators in St Andrews Square Demand Removal of Melville Monument. sputniknews.com The United Kingdom has, alongside the US, become embroiled in controversy surrounding statues of historic figures involved in Britain's former slave trade. Black Lives Matter protesters in Scotland have centered disapproval toward the Melville Monument in Edinburgh's St Andrews Square.

sputniknews (2020-06-20). At Least Three People Dead, Three Injured in Reading Park Stabbing, Murder Investigation Launched. sputniknews.com UK's top officials such as PM Boris Johnson, Interior Minister Priti Patel and others reacted to the stabbing that occured in Forbury Gardens, Reading on Saturday, where earlier a Black Lives Matter protests took place. However, according to BBC, the organizers behind the protests said that the incident was not linked to the demonstrations.

RT (2020-06-20). Tulsa police remove protester in 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirt from Trump campaign rally for trespassing. rt.com A Black Lives Matter activist has been removed from Donald Trump's campaign event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While the protester claimed to have a ticket to the event, police said letting people in was up to the organizers' discretion. | A woman wearing a black T-shirt reading 'I Can't Breathe' was removed from the grounds of the rally on Saturday. | The woman was sitting on the ground when police officers approached her and asked her to leave, footage from the scene shows. The protester said she had a ticket for the rally, yet she was promptly cuffed and led away. | "Somebody has to do this." | A peaceful protester…

RT (2020-06-20). 'THEY AIN'T NOTHING BUT DEVILS': Muhammad Ali's son says father would have HATED 'racist' BLM movement. rt.com Muhammad Ali's only biological son says his father would have despised the "racist" Black Lives Matter movement and endorsed all races, never singling "anyone out." | "My father would have said, 'They ain't nothing but devils.' My father said, 'all lives matter,'" Muhammad Ali Jr. told the New York Post. | The 47-year-old son of the legendary boxer, who is often noted as a cultural trailblazer for black Americans, did not stop at connecting his father to the "all lives matter" position. He also said Ali would have supported President Donald Trump — the late athlete endorsed both Democrat Jimmy Carter…

RT (2020-06-20). 'A much dirtier game': Trump mulls making advertiser boycotts 'illegal'. rt.com US President Donald Trump wants to personally "get involved" with advertiser boycotts that have hit American conservative speakers and outlets amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests and make them illegal. | Trump touched upon the hot topic on Friday, speaking exclusively with the Daily Caller. The president accused activist groups calling for advertising boycotts of outlets they don't agree with of playing "a much dirtier game." | "A friend of mine bought a couple of conservative sites," Trump said. "And he said, anybody that advertises on the site is being harassed." | Trump added he perfectly understan…

The Canary (2020-06-20). Washington DC protesters topple statue of Confederate general Albert Pike. thecanary.co Black Lives Matter protesters have toppled the only statue of a Confederate general in the US capital and set it on fire on Juneteenth — the day marking the end of slavery in the US. | Cheering demonstrators jumped up and down as the 11ft statue of Albert Pike, wrapped with chains, wobbled on its high granite pedestal before falling backwards. | Protesters then set a bonfire and stood around it in a circle as the statue burned, saying "No justice, no peace!" and "No racist police!". | Eyewitness accounts and videos posted on social media indicated that police were on the scene but did not intervene. | Donal…

Milestone in History (2020-06-20). Columbus Statue Finally Removed from Telegraph Hill. indybay.org After decades of protest, going back in memory to 1992, the 500th Anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas, when we were able to move the Columbus Genocide Parade from Market to Fisherman's Wharf, the latest anti-racism movement, Black Lives Matter, finally moved the City & County of San Francisco to take down the Columbus monument outside Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill today.

Fraser Myers (2020-06-20). Every Brand Under the Sun Supports Black Lives Matter. Why? anti-empire.com It can't have escaped people's notice that the Social media were awash with black squares as every brand under the sun took part in #BlackOutTuesday in favour of the protests. Apple — the

Calvin Deutschbein (2020-06-20). Protesters blockade Central Prison in North Carolina. workers.org June 13 marked the beginning of the third week of protests in Raleigh, N.C., the state capital and home of the murderous Raleigh Police Department and more than 70 other law enforcement agencies. Different days have drawn different groups with varying goals, but not a day has gone by without . . . |

Lawrence Goldstone (2020-06-20). How the Supreme Court undermined the Black vote. nationofchange.org Black Americans braved police violence at Selma and galvanized support for the Voting Rights Act. Fifty years later, the Supreme Court's Shelby decision ushered in a new era of racially targeted voter suppression.

Ahmed Sule (2020-06-20). BAME cabinet ministers: modern-day courtiers or jesters? thecanary.co In every society, there are categories of people of a different race, colour, nationality, or cultural traditions that differ from the dominant population. In the UK, the term BAME is used to define the non-white population of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities. Immigration, colonialism, and slavery are some of the main drivers for the prevalence of ethnic minorities in the Anglo-American world. | From biblical times to the present, minorities living in countries with a history of oppression are sometimes elevated into political leadership positions. Modern-day Britain is not exempt from this trend. So…

Santa Cruz Police News (2020-06-20). "I Can't Breathe": Remembering David Cross, Killed by Corrections Officers in Santa Cruz County Jail. indybay.org David Cross, a 44-year-old local plumber, was killed on September 18, 2005 in Santa Cruz County Jail while experiencing a mental health crisis. Corrections officers who responded that day to address his health issues decided Cross needed to be restrained, so they sat on his back as he lay on his stomach and "hog tied" him on the floor of the jail. Cross screamed, "I can't breathe," "I'm going to die," and "Please get off me," before his body went limp after 3 1/2 minutes of being restrained. Fast forward to 2020, and it is likely that many will see the killing of David Cross in a new light. The world is currently…

Sam Bahour (2020-06-19). America's Intifada Must Dig Deeper. counterpunch.org Palestinians' sustained struggle for freedom and independence offers many lessons The murder of George Floyd and the White House's mishandling (to put it politely) of the COVID-19 pandemic may be providing the perfect toxic storm to fix America. The road to creating an equitable American society will be long and hard, but the U.S. civil rights

Peter Blackmer (2020-06-19). Policing Protest: the Dangers of Media Bias During Urban Uprisings. counterpunch.org Peter Blackmer is a Research Fellow at the Detroit Equity Action Lab, an initiative of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School.

commondreams (2020-06-19). ACLU Urges Court to Deny Trump Effort to Block Bolton Book. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Karen Dolan (2020-06-19). The Movement for Black Lives Is a Small-Town Movement, Too. zcomm.org In small towns around the country, often the places you would least expect, people are having protests with signs that say "Black Lives Matter," "I Can't Breathe," and "Defund the Police."

John Feffer (2020-06-19). Conservatives Are Comparing Racial Justice Protestors to Maoists. zcomm.org Right-wing "intellectuals" uncomfortable with the Black Lives Matter movement have latched onto a dubious historical analogy.

Maria Young (2020-06-19). 'We move forward in our fight'. zcomm.org Local unions march from Oakland to Berkeley in support of Black Lives Matter…

commondreams (2020-06-19). Black Lives Matter Louisville, UltraViolet Respond to the Firing of Louisville Police Officer Responsible for Murdering Breonna Taylor. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Roger Harris (2020-06-19). Containing the Black Lives Matter Movement: Democrats and Republicans Play Good Cop/Bad Cop. counterpunch.org A long smoldering and now massive popular response to injustice has been catalyzed by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th. Even Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson concedes, "this was without precedent in the modern era." A broad consensus critical of the coercive police function of the US state is building.

Mnar Muhawesh (2020-06-19). Podcast: How the Democratic Party Unleashed Decades of Racial Injustice and Police Brutality on Communities of Color. mintpressnews.com Margaret Kimberly and Monique Cullars Doty join MintCast to discuss how Democrats attempt to save face by co-opting justice movements, including Black Lives Matter, and the party's roots in White supremacy.

_____ (2020-06-19). Juneteenth: Strike For Black Lives. popularresistance.org We are calling for disruptive actions aimed at shutting down the city: Strikes, sick-outs, blockades, occupations, and spontaneous marches. | We've watched a wave of grieving and rebellion take hold of the nation, and we say it's about time. We seek justice for Terrence Sterling, Jeffery Price, D'Quann Young, Marquees Alston, Miriam Carey, and Ralphael Briscoe, as well as the many hundreds of Black people who have been killed by MPD, ICE, or other white men with badges and guns. | We remember families separated by prison walls and by state borders. We mourn all the community members we've lost doing sex work, def…

_____ (2020-06-19). Scheer Intelligence: The Powerful Past, Present And Future Of Black Lives Matter. popularresistance.org Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 after the murder of Trayvon Martin highlighted the dangers Black children, women and men face daily because of the color of their skin. The grassroots movement has protested against police violence and anti-black racism since then, and advocated for policy changes to address racial injustices. Despite having been active for the better part of a decade now, Black Lives Matter was recently launched into the global spotlight after the police assassination of George Floyd rocked the world. | On this week's episode of "Scheer Intelligence," Dr. Melina Abdullah, one of the Black L…

_____ (2020-06-19). Solidarity Means Dismantling The System Everywhere. popularresistance.org A new solidarity movement is rising. From Los Angeles to Sao Paulo, Minneapolis to London, "Black Lives Matter" is a cry and a demand heard around the world. | The message of this movement is powerfully simple: stop killing black people — in their homes, on the streets, and traveling across the sea to safer shores. Yet in its simplicity, it contains the seed of a radical transformation in our planetary system, raging against a machine of racist dispossession to make room for collective and communal liberation everywhere. | The last decade has witnessed a sharp turn in two terrifying directions: turning in a…

_____ (2020-06-19). 'Black Lives Matter' Is International. popularresistance.org Corte Madera, California – The police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th was the spark that ignited the tinder of accrued injustice throughout the US and globally. This injustice has deep antecedents in the US and indeed in much of what is now called the Global South. There is a shared history of colonial conquest of the Indigenous and the abominable institution of the enslavement of African peoples. | What happened has its roots in systemic oppression that has resonated internationally. Just as the police suffocated George Floyd, US unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua,…

RT (2020-06-19). PANDERMONIUM: Snapchat yanks cringeworthy Juneteenth filter that asked users to 'smile to break chains'. rt.com Snapchat has removed a Juneteenth-themed that encouraged users to "smile" to break the chains of slavery, something that was quickly flagged by social media users as an offensive attempt to pander to Black Lives Matter activists. | If users chose to use the filter, they could photograph themselves in front of an African flag with the words "Juneteenth" and "Freedom Day" captioned. The user was then told to smile as chains appear and then suddenly break, a clear nod to the day being a celebration of the end of slavery in the US. | The filter was disabled after numerous complaints and removed from the service in…

Cat Davis, Dorian Warren (2020-06-19). Walmart Exploits Black Lives While Paying Lip Service to Black Lives Matter. commondreams.org A worker delivers groceries to a customer's vehicle outside a Walmart store in Amsterdam, N.Y., on May 15. (Photo: Angus Mordant / Bloomberg via Getty Images file) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/200615-african-american-walmart-worker-ew-254p_9e5257cfbaaf719574bf70569dbcb2f8.fit-2000w.jpg

RT (2020-06-19). PANDER-MONIUM: Snapchat yanks cringeworthy Juneteenth filter that asked users to 'smile to break chains'. rt.com Snapchat has removed a Juneteenth-themed that encouraged users to "smile" to break the chains of slavery, something that was quickly flagged by social media users as an offensive attempt to pander to Black Lives Matter activists. | If users chose to use the filter, they could photograph themselves in front of a Pan-African flag with the words "Juneteenth" and "Freedom Day" captioned. The user was then told to smile as chains appear and then suddenly break, a clear nod to the day being a celebration of the end of slavery in the US. | The filter was disabled after numerous complaints and removed from the service…

RT (2020-06-19). Beatles-glorified Penny Lane NOT actually named after slave trader, museum finds. rt.com There's no evidence linking the legendary Liverpool street Penny Lane to slave trader James Penny, the city's slavery museum has said. The street was recently vandalized, amid Black Lives Matter protests. | The widespread misconception that the road was named after an 18th-century slave merchant was debunked by the Liverpool-based International Slavery Museum (ISM) on Friday. | Penny Lane shot to international fame back in 1967, thanks to the Beatles song named after it, and its original street sign was included in the ISM's display when the museum first opened in 2007. Now, however, "comprehensive research" h…

RT (2020-06-19). EU Parliament meddles into US affairs as it condemns Trump's response to protests and declares 'BLACK LIVES MATTER'. rt.com A lengthy resolution by the European Union legislators denounced US President Donald Trump for wanting to use force against rioters and condemned the "appalling death of George Floyd" and arrests of journalists. | In a Condemning the "appalling death of George Floyd" — a Minneapolis,…

Sit.Walk.Listen. and SF Sanghas (2020-06-19). Sunday 6/21: Sit. Walk. Listen. Because Black Lives Matter. indybay.org Civic Center Plaza (Polk & McAllister)…

Palo_Alto_Action_4 _Justice (2020-06-19). Friday 6/19: Defend Black Lives Event in Palo Alto. indybay.org Palo Alto City Hall's King Plaza | 250 Hamilton Ave. | Palo Alto 94301…

_____ (2020-06-19). Heroless America Is Losing Ideological Ground Quickly. strategic-culture.org Right now, as statues across America and beyond are being defaced and/or destroyed by Black Lives Matter protestors it is a good time to reflect on who the heroes on our monuments should be and ask ourselves if we even need any of these pieces of brass and concrete at all in the 21st century. Why does seemingly every country on Earth bother with using public space for the secular worship of dead political and military figures? What point do monuments even serve? | Regarding heroes it seems very evident that children have over time moved from having historical heroes to fantasy ones. It is hard to imagine, that in…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-19). Detention of HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas is violation of rights, says top Turkish court. peoplesdispatch.org The Turkish constitutional court said the detention of Selahattin Demirtas is in violation of his rights to liberty and security provided by the country's constitution. He has been in jail since November 2016…