@dewitty1 / dewitty1.tumblr.com
My favorite moment today was hearing Amanda Gorman read her original poem, “The Hill We Climb.” At just 23 years old, Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet ever, and with good reason. Her speech today stopped me cold in my tracks as I sat there and hung onto her every word as if it were my last breath. She represents the power of women, the power of Black people, the power of disabled people, the power of artists. Amanda Gorman today gave us so much today, and for those of us who are the intersection of all four (Black, disabled, women, and artists), she gave us more than we could have ever asked for.
As she said in her poem, “A skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.”
I’ve dropped the transcript for her entire poem below and the link to the video is in the sources of this post at the bottom! Please read/listen to it!
The boot lickers really like to correct two points:
Breonna Taylor was not sleep when she was shot: true, she was awoken by the battering ram used to crash her door in at 1am.
Police didn't shoot first: also true. Kenneth shot an officer in the leg when they entered and, naturally, because they're all scared incompetent knobs, they responded in a hail of bullets, eight of which entered Breonna.
The cops claim to have knocked and announced themselves. This is a lie. No neighbors heard them announce themselves. Furthermore, they obtained a no-knock warrant specifically for the sole purpose of carrying out a drug raid by catching a drug dealer off guard and forcibly entering without warning (such as a knock and announcement). They wanted that specific warrant so much they misrepresented evidence to a judge to get it. So they did all that and got a warrant saying they did not have to knock or announce themselves and then just went on ahead and did it anyway? Cause they're just so polite?
They were also in civilian clothing and either not wearing body cams or had them turned off. So I'm not even sure how their word was just taken on all that.
They have indicted ONE cop for something that had nothing to do with her murder, it was for endangering the lives of OTHER residents by opening fire inside of an apartment complex.
One ex-officer (who did NOT shoot Breonna Taylor) was indicted for wanton endangerment* of the life of the persons living next door after shots were blindly fired into their apartment.
(*wanton endangerment is a class D felony, the same as shoplifting or stealing mail…)
Breonna Taylor is NOT listed as a victim in the indictment.
There have been no charges made for the death of Breonna Taylor.
There is not, and will not be justice for Breonna Taylor
#NOJUSTICENOPEACE
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
Jacob Blake’s sister: ‘I’m not sad. I’m not sorry. I’m angry. And I’m tired. I haven’t cried one time. I stopped crying years ago. I am numb. I have been watching police murder people that look like me for years.’
Required watching.
[I am my brother’s keeper, and when you say the name Jacob Blake, make sure you say “father,” make sure you say “cousin,” make sure you say “son,” make sure you say “uncle,” but most importantly, make sure you say “human.” Human life. Let it marinate–in your mouth, in your mind. A human life, just like every single one of y’all… We’re human. His life matters. So many people have reached out to me telling me they’re sorry that this happened to my family. Well don’t be sorry, because this has been happening to my family for a long time. Longer than I can account for. It happened to Emmett Till. Emmett Till is my family. Philando. Mike Brown. Sandra. This has been happening to my family. And I’ve shed tears for every single one that it’s happened to. This is nothing new. I’m not sad. I’m not sorry. I’m angry. And I’m tired. I haven’t cried one time. I stopped crying years ago. I am numb. I have been watching police murder people that look like me for years. I’m also a Black history minor. So, not only have I been watching it in the thirty years I’ve been on this planet, but I’ve been watching it for years before we were even alive. I’m not sad. I don’t want your pity. I want change.]
say his name. no justice, no peace.
anytime i see a 'there's no more blm on my dash' posts that just lets me know op is not following any black ppl 😐 bc newsflash the 'normal' for black ppl is still calling out racism bc it doesn't go away once the hashtag stops trending
Artist: Bluecollards
Edit: thank you for letting me know who did the art
No justice no peace! Keep fighting, stay safe, stay informed, black lives matter!
This is our generation's civil rights movement. Time to stand up, and stand together. ✊✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
Source:Brittany on tiktok
5/26 4 officers fired for murdering George Floyd 5/27 Charges dropped for Kenneth Walker (Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, who police accused of killing her) 5/28 University of Minnesota cancels contract with police 5/28 3rd precinct police station neutralized by protesters 5/28 Minneapolis transit union refuses to bring police officers to protests or transport arrested protesters 5/29 Activists commandeer Minneapolis hotel to provide shelter to homeless 5/29 Former officer Chauvin arrested and charged with murder 5/29 Louisville Mayor suspends “no-knock” warrants 5/30 US Embassies across Africa condemn police murder of George Floyd 5/30 Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison takes over prosecution of the murdering officer 5/30 Transport Workers Union refuses to help NYPD transport arrests protesters 5/30 Maryland lawmakers forming work group on police reform, accountability 5/31 2 abusive officers fired for pulling a couple out of their car and tasing them - Atlanta, GA 6/1 Minneapolis public schools end contract with police 6/1 Confederate monument removed after being toppled by protesters - Birmingham, AL 6/1 CA prosecutors launch campaign to stop DAs from accepting police union money 6/1 Tulsa Mayor agrees to not renew Live PD contract 6/1 Louisville police chief fired after shooting of David Mcatee 6/1 Congress begins bipartisan push to cut off police access to military gear 6/1 Atlanta announces plans to create a task force and public database to track police brutality in metro Atlanta area 6/2 Minneapolis AFL-CIO calls for resignation of police union president Bob Kroll, a vocal white supremest 6/2 Pittsburgh transit union announces refusal to transport police officers or arrest protesters 6/2 Racist ex-mayor Frank Rizzo statue removed in Philadelphia 6/2 6 abusive officers charged for violence against residents and protesters - Atlanta, GA 6/2 Civil rights investigation of Minneapolis Police Dept launched 6/2 San Francisco resolution to prevent law enforcement from hiring officers with history of misconduct 6/2 Survey indicates that 64% of those polled are sympathetic to protesters, 47% disapprove of police handling of the protests, and 54% think the burning down of the Minneapolis police precinct was fully or partially justified 6/2 Trenton NJ announces policing reforms 6/2 Minneapolis City Council members consider disbanding the police 6/2 Confederate statue removed from Alexandria, VA 6/3 Officer fired for tweets promoting violence against protesters - Denver, CO 6/3 Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art cut ties with the MPD 6/3 Chauvin charges upgraded to second degree murder, remaining 3 officers also charged and taken into custody 6/3 Richmond VA Mayor Stoney announces RPD reform measures: establish “Marcus” alert for folks experiencing mental health crises, establish independent Citizen Review Board, an ordinance to remove Confederate monuments, and implement racial equity study 6/3 County commissioners deny proposal for $23 million expansion of Fulton County jail 6/3 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board unanimously votes to sever ties with MPD 6/3 Seattle withdraws request to end federal oversight/consent decree of police department 6/3 Breonna Taylor’s case reopened 6/3 Louisville police department (Breonna Taylor’s murderers) will now be under review from an outside agency, which will include review on training, bias-free policing and accountability 6/3 Colorado lawmakers introduce a police reform bill that includes body cam laws, repealing the “fleeing felon” statute, and banning chokeholds 6/3 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announces plans to reduce funding to police department by $150M and instead invest in minority communities 6/4 Virginia governor announces plans to remove Robert E. Lee statue from Richmond 6/4 Portland schools superintendent discontinues presence of armed police officers in schools 6/4 MBTA (Metro Boston) board orders that buses wont transport police to protests, or protesters to police 6/4 King County Labor Federation issues ultimatum to police unions: admit to and address racism in Seattle PD, or be removed 6/5 City of Minneapolis bans all chokeholds by police 6/5 Racist ex-mayor Hubbard statue removed - Dearborn, MI 6/5 NFL condemns racism and admits it should have listened to players’ protests 6/5 California Governor Gavin Newsom calls for statewide use-of-force standard made along with community leaders and ban on carotid holds 6/5 2 Buffalo officers suspended within a day of pushing 75 year old protester to the ground, and lying about it 6/5 2 NYPD officers suspended after videos of violence to protesters 6/5 The US Marines bans display of the Confederate flag 6/5 Dallas adopts a “duty to intervene” rule that requires officers to stop other cops who are engaging in excessive use of force 6/5 Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax releases an 11-point action plan for immediate police reforms 6/6 Statue of Confederate general Williams Carter Wickham torn down - Richmond, VA 6/6 2 Buffalo officers charged with second-degree assault for shoving elderly man 6/6 San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces effort to defund police and redirect funds to Black community 6/7 Frank Rizzo mural removed, to be replaced with new artwork - Philadelphia, PA 6/7 Minneapolis City Council members announce intent to disband the police department, invest in proven community-led public safety 6/7 Protesters in Bristol topple statue of slave trader Edward Colston, throw it in the river 6/7 NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio vows for the first time to cut funding for NYPD, redirect to social services 6/7 A Virginia police officer faces charges after using a stun gun on a black man 6/8 NY State Assembly passes the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act 6/8 Democrats in Congress unveil a bill to rein in bias and excessive force in policing 6/8 Black lawmakers block a legislative session in Pennsylvania to demand action on police reform 6/8 France bans police use of chokeholds 6/8 Seattle council members join calls to defund police department 6/8 Boston reevaluates how it funds police department 6/8 Honolulu Police Commission nominees voice support for more transparency, reforms 6/8 Rights groups and Floyd’s family call for a UN inquiry into American policing and help with systemic police reform
No, it’s not enough, but this is only the beginning. Keep fighting!!!
(I adapted this list from this blog post and added sources and new entries. Please reblog with additions.)
This is our generation's civil rights movement. Time to stand up, and stand together. ✊✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
Source:Brittany on tiktok
No Justice, No Peace. Quote from Emiliano Zapata
