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Creator is exactly
Drew Arrieta @itsdrw
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2021-04-02Who was George Floyd?
Who was George Floyd? If you live in the Twin Cities, myself (and countless others) have spent the last year thinking of him daily. It almost feels like he's watching us. As the Chauvin trial aims to paint Floyd negatively, I feel it's important to honor him and share what I've learned about his life. A short IG caption doesn't do enough to fully give Floyd's story justice, but these are pieces of his life I've been intrigued by and want to learn more about. If I'm missing or incorrect on something, please drop it in the comments. George Floyd was born in North Carolina and grew up in Houston, Texas' Third Ward, a predominantly Black neighborhood in the city. His mother, a single parent, moved the family to the Third Ward when he was 2, so she could find work. At 6 feet, 6 inches, Floyd developed as a star tight end for Jack Yates High School and played in the 1992 state championship game in the Houston Astrodome. With dreams of turning pro, he attended South Florida State College on a partial scholarship. After two years there, Floyd spent a year at Texas A&M University before returning to Houston and his mother’s apartment to find jobs in construction and security. While there, he ended up bouncing between jobs before serving nearly five years in prison. Floyd was also a musician, he occasionally was invited to rap with DJ Screw, a producer whose music is recognized as cementing Houston as a stronghold for hip-hop. He performed as a rapper using the stage name Big Floyd in a hip hop group, Screwed Up Click. As a father looking to provide for his five children and find a fresh start, Floyd moved to Minneapolis. One of his first jobs was working as a security guard at the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center -- the city’s largest homeless shelter. Floyd kept his connection to Houston, regularly returning to the Third Ward before his death. ✊🏽❤️ -
2020-05-27Community Solidarity Creates Resiliency
Community solidarity creates resiliency. Fed up and want to get involved? Follow these local orgs for updates and latest actions: @blackvisionscollective, @reclaimtheblock, @mpd_150, @mnfreedomfund -
2020-06-24Imagine being this fearful and demeaning to the community you're sworn to protect
"At the end of the day, if we live in the city, that means we have to shop where criminals that we arrest also shop,"MPD Police Union Director Sgt. Anna Hedberg responded in an interview with WCCO when asked if officers should live in the neighborhood they police. "And I don't know about you, but I don't want to go to Cub Foods with my two beautiful little girls and run into somebody that I've arrested for sex assault, shooting somebody, using heroin." Imagine being this fearful and demeaning to the community you're sworn to protect. -
2020-06-25Proud Boys Clash With BLM
"The Proud Boys, who claim to espouse "Western chauvinism," are a fratty, white power-y redux of the Men's Rights movement—except they say it's not about race, and that honoring a traditional patriarchal domestic structure isn't sexist. Less central to their beliefs but mostly just hilarious, their name comes from an Aladdin song called "Proud of Your Boy." They also happen to be led by mustachioed Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes. And if the rumors are true, their initiation proceedings include getting a tattoo and abstaining from masturbation, getting jumped in in a ritual, and beating up an antifascist." - Emma Grey Ellis, Wired -
2020-07-072020 can feel like a nonstop spectacle of grief and exhaustion led by a menacing villain.
2020 can feel like a nonstop spectacle of grief and exhaustion led by a menacing villain (think of the bad guy from @disneyaladdin) . One thing that helps me break free from this is taking a moment, putting on my favorite song, and dancing like no is watching. (think of the bad guy from @disneyaladdin) . One thing that helps me break free from this is taking a moment, putting on my favorite song, and dancing like no is watching. -
2020-07-09“And 12 civilized people said that was OK. That was OK.”
“He was murdered right here in this area, this nice, little area here where all the white folks say they got the best police department in the city,” Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile told the crowd. “ ‘Our police department is the best in the city!’ I say, ‘For who? For who?’ You don’t have to worry about driving down Larpenteur after it gets dark. “That man (St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez), shot my baby five times,” she continued. “Not once, not twice — he shot him five times. While he was seat-belted in his car. Can you, just for a moment, think about how Philando felt, starting down the barrel of a gun? Them bullets just ricocheted off every bone, every organ, just tore his body up inside. “And 12 civilized people said that was OK. That was OK.” -
2020-07-10The average life expectancy of BIPOC trans women in North and South America is 30 - 35 years old
The average life expectancy of BIPOC trans women in North and South America is 30 - 35 years old. In just the last week, six Black trans women were found dead in the US. Say their names: Bree Black (27), Shaki Peters (32), Draya McCarty, Brayla Stone (17), Merci Mack (22), and Tatiana Hall (22). BIPOC trans lives under the constant threat of violence + murder. We need to protect trans lives, speak out against these killings, and end the systematic devaluation of trans lives in our society, culture, and politics. Here are just a few orgs to get involved with and stay informed: @transjusticefp - a community-led funding initiative to support grassroots, trans justice groups run by and for trans people @forthegworls - assisting Black trans with rent + affirmative surgery @tgijustice - ending the human rights abuses committed against transgender, gender variant and intersex people in California prisons and beyond @blackxcollective - Black trans/Queer youth organizing using art, direct action & political education -
2020-07-15"Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it." - James Baldwin
"Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it." - James Baldwin -
2020-07-16I Came to the Protest to Defend Human Rights
"I came to the protest to defend human rights. This movement isn’t about race versus race, it’s about dissolving the negativity that our world is creating. The Black community is struggling, literally fighting for their lives, and everyone needs to stand with them to help bring a better world so Black people don’t walk the streets in fear of being a victim of the system." - Oz at the Roll4Justice rally on July 4, 2020 -
2020-07-18Police in the U. S. killed three people per day in 2019, for a total of nearly 1,100 deaths
Police in the U. S. killed three people per day in 2019, for a total of nearly 1,100 deaths. Those numbers are far higher than in other western countries. In England and Wales, three people were shot and killed by police last year. Roughly as many people were killed over the past decade in those countries as were killed by police in the U.S. in an average week (19). Despite the large number of police killings every year, police are almost never charged for excessive force. Between 2013 and 2019, 99% of killings resulted in no charges, according to Mapping Police Violence. -
2020-07-19This is What My Community Looks Like
“This is what my community looks like. We are a community and we support all the families that are here.” - Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, at Mother's March (6/12/20) -
2020-07-20Photos from Justice for Womxn Lost To State Violence protest
"Most rape and assault is never reported to law enforcement in the first place. Of the cases that are, less than 1 percent are referred to prosecutors, and even fewer result in convictions. There are currently hundreds of ongoing lawsuits against police departments across the country, alleging a culture of institutionalized negligence, antipathy, and outright hostility toward survivors. Beyond the structural violence endemic to policing, police themselves are four times more likely than the average person to be domestic abusers. These things are often framed as proof that policing is “broken,” but that again accepts the premise of the police on their own terms. Gender-based violence enabled by and within the criminal legal system is by design, and it is inseparable from the way that “crime” itself is construed: racialized, atomized, and alienated from broader social problems. Far from being protected, it’s under the guise of “fighting crime” that Black women, trans women, indigenous, undocumented, and poor women have been subjected to a system of violent policing that continually exposes them to gender-based harm at the same time as it hems them into the margins of society. This system is self-protecting—it conspires to conceal the means through which it reproduces and justifies itself, making it difficult to imagine an alternative." - Isabel Cristo, The New Republic Photos from Justice for Womxn Lost To State Violence protest, July 18, 2020 -
2020-07-21Photos from Remembrance of Philando Castile rally
Hindsight is 20/20. Unless you're Jeff Bezos, this year has likely been really difficult (and it might get worse). I'm trying to challenge myself to look back at 2020, not only remembering the injustice, corruptness, and trauma of it - but all the friends made, hugs shared, and inspiring moments I got to witness. Lots of love to everyone who has been cheering me on locally and beyond. It's made this year a bit easier. That being said, call your mom. Embrace seeing a therapist. Hit up that friend you've been meaning to catch up with. Photos from Remembrance of Philando Castile rally, July 6, 2020 -
2020-07-22Photos from Not Your Mascot Victory Dance
“One of our people in the Native community said the difference between white people and Indians is that Indian people know they are oppressed but don’t feel powerless. White people don’t feel oppressed, but feel powerless. Deconstruct that disempowerment. Part of the mythology that they’ve been teaching you is that you have no power. Power is not brute force and money; power is in your spirit. Power is in your soul. It is what your ancestors, your old people gave you. Power is in the earth; it is in your relationship to the earth.” - Winona LaDuke, Executive Director of Honor the Earth Photos from Not Your Mascot Victory Dance, July 14, 2020 -
2020-07-23Photos from March for Summer Taylor
Summer Taylor was 24 years old and lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. They died in the early hours of July 4th after marching and dancing with the nightly Black Femme March for Black Lives Matter. As it had for weeks, the protest entered the freeway and brought traffic to a stop. A driver in a white car sped toward the crowd, running into Summer and another activist, Diaz Love. Summer should be remembered as a hero who put their life on the line to make a difference, to stand with BLM, show solidarity with their community, and to disrupt an unjust system. When Summer's mother, Dalia, was asked about being concerned about children's safety attending protests, she responded, "I knew no matter how much I might want to ask them to stay safe during protests they would just say mom, if you are Black in this country it isn't even safe to be alive, and they were right." Photos from March for Summer Taylor, July 9, 2020 -
2020-07-26Photos from March for Elijah McClain
"I can’t breathe. I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain. That’s my house. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’m just different. That’s all. I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies! I don’t eat meat! But I don’t judge people, I don’t judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity, I’ll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Ow, that really hurt. You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work. Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to do that. I just can’t breathe correctly." These are the last words of Elijah McClain captured by a body cam of an Aurora Police officer before he died of a cardiac arrest. The police were responding to a 911 call saying he “looked sketchy” while wearing a ski mask and waving his arms. Elijah was a 23-year-old massage therapist who broke no law, didn't have a weapon, and posed no threat. While trying to handcuff him, an officer laid on top of him and put him in a carotid hold, which restricts blood to the brain to render someone unconscious. After 15 minutes medical responders arrived and paramedics injected him with ketamine, which body camera footage shows it made his body go limp. Elijah McClain should be alive today. Photos from March for Elijah McClain, July 18th -
2020-07-27Justice for Vanessa Guillen
"The lives of Latino soldiers should be just as valuable as the lives of any other soldier of any other ethnicity. Together we are going to move seas, and together even the heavens will hear us. Whether it be for Black Lives Matter, for Vanessa, for Sean, for George, for Breonna, for everybody, for Andreas. We are going to do it," said Samantha Varela, protesting for Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Details of Vanessa Guillen's death and disappearance are just beginning to be revealed. It still doesn't paint a full picture of the Army's negligence in preventing and responding to sexual assault and harassment. Follow @findvanessaguillen for the latest updates and national actions. Funds are currently being raised for a March in DC on July 30th to demand a Congressional investigation into her death. Photos from Justice for Vanessa Guillen, July 12, 2020 -
2020-07-31Bloomington March for Justice
If you are not careful, the newspapers (media) will have you hating the people who are oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” — Malcolm X Photos from Bloomington March for Justice, July 25, 2020 -
2020-08-03Food Service Workers Rally For Justice
"Businesses always like to emphasize the family aspect of working in their space. However, they fail to recognize we can choose who we want to dedicate our time and energy to. Because even family can be toxic and unsuitable for our livelihoods. To be transformative in this industry, it shouldn't be 'here is 50% off your meal 'or 'pizza for working with us for 10 hours today'. Instead they should talk about how we can be a community. Cause in a community, we protect, we listen, engage, act justly, we care, and we work to be better." Brenda Montes, Waitress, Rival House Sporting Parlour Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota is demanding these collective protections for restaurant workers: Worker health and safety to come before profitability and customer expectations Livable and equitable wages for all staff across the industry: no more wage theft Cultural & structural change in the industry that fosters equity, inclusion, dignity for all workers Visit @rocmn612 for more information or to get involved. Photos from Food Service Workers Rally For Justice, July 28, 2020 -
2020-08-05Justice for Travis Jordan
“I expected an ambulance to come and convince him to get treatment at the hospital,” Tarin Vang said after calling 311 requesting a wellness check for her boyfriend, Travis Jordan. “I thought someone could come to save his life, calm him down and take him somewhere safe where he could get into a better frame of mind. I thought they would send someone who could help him come back to his senses.” Two police officers with less than 11 months of experience responded to her call, MPD Officers Ryan Keyes and Neal Walsh. After following the officers request to leave his home, a complying and dispirited Travis was shot 8 times by officers. Travis Jordan should still be alive today. Travis' family is demanding: Travis’ case be REOPENED along with all other cases related to police violence. Officers Neal Walsh and Ryan Keyes to be charged and prosecuted for the murder of Travis Jordan. For his belongings to be given back to the family. Mike Freeman refuses to give back Travis’ notebook and black leather bracelet even though the case is closed. This is ILLEGAL. Mental health professionals to be first responders on scene during a mental health crisis, NOT the police. Visit 'Justice for Travis Jordan' on Facebook to support the family and learn more. Photos from Justice for Travis Jordan - 38th Birthday Protest - July 31, 2020 -
2020-08-06"Joy is an act of resistance." - Toi Derricotte, Poet
"Joy is an act of resistance." - Toi Derricotte, Poet Photos from Emergency Response - Calling Woodbury on the Carpet, July 30, 2020 -
2020-08-13Demand Real Change from Minnesota Senate
Five weeks after Gov. Waltz called a special session to pass police reform, protestors gathered outside the Minnesota Senate demanding swifter and more comprehensive legislation from elected officials. On July 24, a couple days after this protest, Gov. Waltz signed a bill that would prohibit the use of chokeholds and warrior style training. Both of these items were already banned in Minneapolis, respectively in June 2020 and April 2019. The state legislation established a duty to intercede on officers who see a colleague using excessive force and requires excessive force incident reports. The bill fell far short of the transformational change demanded after the murder of George Floyd and represented 'low-hanging fruit' for reform policies. President Michelle Gross of the Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) shared, “It doesn’t do anything substantial to end violent policing. The legislators, frankly, are frightened of the law enforcement lobby.” The bill ignored CUAPB's recommendations such as lengthening the statute of limitations for wrongful death and civil rights violation lawsuits, community participation in collective bargaining agreements with police unions, and requiring police release body camera footage to families of victims within 48 hours. Photos from Demand Real Change from Minnesota Senate!, July 17, 2020 -
2020Protest Against Bob Kroll Wrongful Arrest and Excessive Force
Bob Kroll is the president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, the union for the city's police department. In his 31-year policing career, Kroll has been involved in three shootings, received 20 internal affairs complaints, and been the subject of lawsuits for wrongful arrest and excessive force. A 1995 lawsuit against Kroll alleged he used racial slurs while beating, choking, and kicking a handcuffed 15-year-old boy. In a letter to his police union members following the death of George Floyd (83 days ago), Kroll described him as a "violent criminal" and called the protests a "terrorist movement". Kroll is also a member of the City Heat motorcycle club, a group that is described as white supremacists by the Anti-Defamation League. Yesterday, protesters gathered outside Kroll's home in Hugo, MN and marched in his neighborhood demanding his resignation. Photos from Let’s Roll to KKKroll’s!, Aug 15, 2020 -
2020-08-18Reparations in America
"Reparations is very important. Here in America, Black women are saddled with the highest amount of student debt in the country. For Black women in Boston, their median net worth is $8. In Los Angeles, the median value of assets for Black families is $200. In St. Paul, according to ISIAH, Blacks are 120% more unemployed than their white counterparts." - Trahern Crews Protestors gathered at the Minnesota Governor's Residence on August 16th to demand the United States government pay reparations to American Descendants of Slavery for 400 years of slavery, redlining, lynching, mass incarceration, and discrimination in education, housing, and employment. Photos from Reparations Rally In Honor of George Floyd, August 16, 2020 -
2020-08-21Justice for Justin
"No one believed my story back then. I have an abundance of support now, where I didn't have none before. So I prayed for this day and prayed for each and every last one of you that's out here with me today. Saint Paul Police, your days of silencing me are over with. It's over with. To all the police in Minnesota and around the world. Your days of hurting our people are over with." - Toshira Garroway (@toshira_nicole ), Justin Teigen's fiance and mother to his child. Justin was found dead in a recycling center after an encounter with the St. Paul Police (SPPD) eleven years ago. His family is demanding the MN Attorney General Keith Ellison (@repkeithellison) opens an investigation into his death. Photos from Justice for Justin, August 19, 2020 -
2020-08-19George Floyd Memorial Zone
"The next thing I'm pissed off about is 38th and Chicago. I'm tired of Chicago. Why is not Floyd? When we were protesting at the beginning, what we said was 38th and Floyd." - Huda Yusuf (@justaskhuda) On August 6th, Minneapolis city employees informed community members and business owners they were planning to remove barricades surrounding the George Floyd Memorial Zone. This area extends in a four block radius and contains the site where Floyd was murdered by police on May 25th. The city's phased reopening has since been postponed to an undetermined future date. Community members have released a list of 24 demands before the area can open again for normal vehicular traffic. This includes recalling Mike Freeman (Hennepin County Attorney), ending qualified immunity, investing $400,000 in a youth jobs program, and firing four Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officials in leadership positions. Link in bio to the full list of demands. Photos from Sit-In at George Floyd Memorial, August 17, 2020 -
2020-08-29March on Washington 57th Anniversary
On the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, tens of thousands of people gathered to demand racial equality and an end to police brutality in the US. The rally was organized by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, the NAACP and the National Urban League. The families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake, shared stories and called for systemic change. Organizers reminded attendees to practice social distancing and wear masks throughout the program. 1. Rev Al Sharpton speaking with an attendee 2. George Clinton cooling off before his performance 3. Black Panther Party member overlooking the crowd 4. Young boy holding Black Lives Matter poster 5. Martin Luther King III giving advice to activist from Texas 6. View of the crowd from the Lincoln Memorial steps -
2020-08-29Get Your Knee Off Our Necks
More scenes from the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks. -
2020-09-02March on Washington
“Even though it looks dark, I want to tell you to be encouraged. . . . Stand up. We was built for this.” - Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, Get Your Knee Off Our Necks March -
2020-09-11Trump Failed 180,000 Died
This week, it was revealed President Donald Trump deliberately minimized the seriousness of COVID-19 to the public despite understanding its true danger and severity. About 190,000 Americans have died from the disease since the outbreak began earlier this year. This photo was taken during a Republication National Convention firework celebration of Trump's Presidential nomination. -
2020-09-12Candlelight Vigil Held at the Say Their Names Cemetery for George Floyd's Extended Family
Last night, a candlelight vigil was held at the Say Their Names Cemetery for George Floyd's extended family. Family members of Justin Teigen, Paul Castaway, and Demetrius Hill were also present to share stories of how they were killed at the hands of law enforcement. -
2020-09-13United We Stand & Patriots March for America
Yesterday, several hundred self-proclaimed patriots gathered at the Capital for the United We Stand & Patriots March for America. Throughout the program, speakers condemned Black Lives Matter as a terrorist movement and demanded Gov. Waltz resign for mandating masks to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Speakers included MN House Rep. Jeremy Munson and Rep. Eric Lucero. Throughout the event, there were several verbal and physical exchanges between rally goers and a group of counter protestors in support of Black lives. Two counter protestors were arrested when trying to bypass a State police perimeter for their bicycles. Pro-Trump rally goers cheered-on as multiple police officers piled on the counter protesters for arrest. They are currently being held in police custody with gross misdemeanor charges and likely will not be released until Monday. -
2020-09-19University of Minnesota Students Rallied
University of Minnesota students rallied yesterday to demand President Joan Gabel (@joan_gabel) create a Campus CPAC (Civilian Police Accountability Council) composed of elected students and community members to oversee the campus police department. In August, the University hired Cedric Alexander, a former police officer and director at the Department of Homeland Security to lead an internal review of the UMPD. Yesterday's protesters marched through campus as incoming freshmen moved into housing. -
2020-09-20Workers From Fiver Spyhouse Locations Went on Strike
Workers from five Spyhouse locations went on strike to demand recognition of their union, Unite Here Local 17, and improve COVID-19 safety conditions. Spyhouse owner, Christian Johnson, has hired a PR firm and lawyers with the intention of disrupting the unionization effort. The owner, through a PR firm, declined to comment on Saturday's strike. Spyhouse workers are part of a growing new labor movement of hospitality workers in Minnesota. In recent months, workers from Tattersall, Lawless, Surly, Fair State, and Stillheart have collectively organized into a union to create more equitable workplace environments. -
2020-09-01National Protests Against Police Violence
Minneapolis joined national protests against police violence and the lack of justice for those murdered or harmed by the police such as Daniel Prude, Breonna Taylor, and Miguel Vega. The national day of action was organized by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, a group opposing the unjust treatment of individuals for their racial or political beliefs. They emerged from the Committee to Free Angela Davis, a group that successfully defended Angela Davis and helped her receive a not-guilty verdict from an all-white jury for kidnapping and first degree murder charges in 1972. -
2020-09-21Protests against ICE, Forced Sterilization and Under Reporting of Covid-19 Cases in Detention Centers
Last Monday, Dawn Wooten, a nurse at an ICE detention center in Irwin County, Georgia, revealed doctors were performing unnecessary gynecological procedures, including hysterectomies, on immigrant women being held. She also revealed the facility was underreporting the number of positive of COVID-19 cases by failing to test detainees and neglecting their medical needs. These cases of forced sterilizations are far too common in American history. After sterilization became legal and provided to Puerto Rican women for free, approximately one-third of the female population was sterilized between the 1930s and the 1970s, making it the highest rate of sterilization in the world. Health workers encouraged the procedure through door-to-door visits and employers showed favoritism towards sterilized women. I highly recommend a short documentary called La Operación available online about this US-imposed sterilization policy in Puerto Rico. -
2020-09-22Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Passed Away
Last Friday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, passed away. During her tenure on the bench, she overcame multiple bouts with cancer and other health emergencies. Through it all, she never wavered in her commitment to the court as a vehicle for a more just and more equal America. -
2020-09-26This week, a grand jury indicted former Louisville Officer Brett Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing bullets that went into an apartment next to Breonna Taylor
This week, a grand jury indicted former Louisville Officer Brett Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing bullets that went into an apartment next to Breonna Taylor's during an attempted search of her home. The decision and Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s refusal to answer questions about the investigation is troubling. For instance, how could Hankison be charged with endangering Taylor’s neighbors but not with endangering Taylor herself? Was the grand jury even able to vote on whether the officers should be charged with homicide or was the judgement of self-defense determined by the Attorney General? -
2020-09-29The Oromo Community in Minnesota is Demanding the United States Help
The Oromo community in Minnesota is demanding the United States help bring an end to political violence and restore human rights in Ethiopia. In recent weeks, the country's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has jailed his political opponents and temporarily shut down the country's internet access. Abiy also indefinitely postponed Ethiopia’s general elections which were scheduled to occur this month. -
2020-10-09Derek Chauvin released on a $1 Million Bond
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, was released on a $1 million bond Wednesday. Under the terms of his release, he is forbidden to have contact with Floyd's family and must surrender any guns and firearms licenses. He was previously not allowed to leave Minnesota, but a judge reversed this decision due to "safety concerns". For the second night, demonstrators protested his release. @justicesquadmn, @fsfapv, @10kfoundation, @visualblackjustice are also demanding that all legal cases of police involved murders are to be re-open; a removal of the statute of limitations on these cases, and an end to qualified immunity for police officers. -
2020-10-13Statistics and Data
In 2019, the Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department released arrest data from 2013 to 2017. The data showed Black individuals were 47% of D.C.’s population but 86% of its arrestees. During this time, Black residents were arrested at 10 times the rate of white ones. -
2020-10-15Demand to Pass the American Dream and Promise Act
Last night, protestors marched from Senator Amy Klobuchar's (@amyklobuchar) office in downtown Minneapolis to the Hennepin County jail to demand she take leadership in helping pass the American Dream and Promise Act. The bill would provide permanent protections for many undocumented immigrant youth, but also for the more than 400,000 people with temporary protected or deferred enforced departure statuses who live and work in the United States. This bill passed the House of Representatives in June 2019 and has been held up in the Senate. -
2020-10-23Dance to Express Grief
It's been 39 days since Dawn Wooten, a nurse at a Georgia ICE facility, exposed mass hysterectomies were being performed on women for unexplained reasons. This week, 19 women at this facility came forward confirming Dawn's complaints and sharing doctors performed, or pressured them to undergo “medically unnecessary” surgery without their consent, including procedures that limit their ability to have children. In these photos, Ananya Chatterjea, Founder of the Ananya Dance Theatre, shares a dance piece expressing grief and resilience. -
2020-10-26Protesters Denounce Inhumane Conditions at ICE Detention Facilities
On Saturday, protesters marched through the Mill District of Minneapolis and visited the residence of James Stolley, Chief Counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota. Marchers denounced inhumane conditions at ICE detention facilities locally. In the last few weeks, ICE has been criticized nationally for pressuring detainees to have invasive surgeries (including sterilizations) and underreporting the number of positive of COVID-19 cases by failing to test detainees. -
2020-11-05DC activists and community hosted a day of artistic expression demanding every vote is counted
With the Presidental election looming over the city, DC activists and community hosted a day of artistic expression demanding every vote is counted. Towards the event's conclusion at Black Lives Matter plaza, DC police and Health Department warned the organizers that they were in violation of a local health code that does not allow for food and aerosol spray cans to be within a specific distance from each other. After a tense standoff, the police retreated after the activists started to assemble for a potential escalation. -
2020-11-06Protesters in DC Cautiously Celebrate Victory
As Biden inched closer to 270 projected electoral college votes, protesters in DC cautiously celebrated a victory and demanded every vote should be counted. With a potential defeat in sight, yesterday President Trump doubled-down on false claims of massive election fraud without providing any evidence. -
2020-11-07The People's Dancers Dance Troupe (@thepeoplesdancers) is DC-based group that uses dance as a nonviolent response technique.
I love the bodily expression and freedom of dance. Even when choreographed, it creates space to break free from the rigid and often constraining way we're taught to move our bodies. The People's Dancers Dance Troupe (@thepeoplesdancers) is DC-based group that uses dance as a nonviolent response technique. They aim to bring joy to dark spaces with creative movement and healing. -
2020-11-08270 Electoral College Votes and a Nation Divided
Pennsylvania became the state that helped Biden cross the winning threshold of 270 Electoral College votes to become the next President. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials in the state sorted through a historical number of mail-in votes that delayed processing. During Biden's acceptance speech he struck a conciliatory tone, but on the ground it looked like the country was staggering forward as bitterly divided as ever. -
2020-11-15Trump Supporters and BLM Clash
Yesterday, thousands of Donald Trump supporters rallied in Washington DC to dispute the Presidential election results. Among those attending were white nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and alt-right activists. Throughout the day, Trump supporters violently clashed with BLM and abolitionist activists. I've had Trump supporters came at me a couple of times now. My favorite shots are the moments before they decide to make a move on me. Photo #9 is seconds before a woman decided to shove her bike in my direction. -
2020-11-16Militarization of Police
The militarization of America's police first came in reaction to riots occurring in cities during the 1960s. These events were often in reaction to discrimination, poverty, high unemployment, inadequate schools, poor healthcare, limited housing options, and police brutality. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The Act created the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which made available grants to local governments to develop and purchase military-type resources to suppress riots. The money expedited the development of SWAT and other heavily armored police forces in cities to counteract uprisings.