A demonstrator protests recent grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at Boston Common in Boston on Thursday. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I am always trying to find a pony in the highest mound of filth. And the decisions in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City to not indict police officers who killed unarmed black men have given me much to work with. That the killers of Michael Brown and Eric Garner won’t even stand trial before a jury of their peers is offensive, not only to the deceased men’s families, but also to those of us who believe in the accountability that our criminal justice system strives for.

What has been thrilling to see, most notably after Monday’s decision in the Garner case, is that Americans of all stripes have been expressing their outrage wherever they can. What has warmed my aching heart this past week has been the faces and voices of the protesters. They aren’t just African Americans fighting for their lives and hoping someone will listen, let alone care. The protesters with their signs and chants of “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe” are the gorgeous mosaic of America and cut across every demographic.

The video of Garner’s chokehold death was as horrific as it was clarifying. It was a light-bulb moment, particularly for white Americans, about how the life of a black man could be taken for little reason and with little recourse. The #CrimingWhileWhite feed on Twitter is a stunning 21st-century confessional where contributors acknowledge privileges afforded them that no African American would ever think possible. I read antics by tweeters that literally made my jaw drop because of their brazenness and my head shake because of their ability to get away with it. Folks shoplifting (or “robbing” or “knocking over stores,” as some folks like to call it in Brown’s case), driving while drunk, assaulting officers, you name it — and then getting away with it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/12/05/black-lives-matter-to-everyone-finally/


Finally! Black Lives Matter!


http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/08/5_reasons_why_blacklivesmatter.html



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I Matter~



I Matter~


They Matter~


Fatherhood Matters~



This is my hope. And yes it will be revolutionary. Don't be afraid, embrace it. Black Lives Matter.

They aren’t just African Americans fighting for their lives and hoping someone will listen, let alone care. The protesters with their signs and chants of “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe” are the gorgeous mosaic of America and cut across every demographic.

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

~the gorgeous mosaic of America and cut across every demographic are standing up to say no more. Black Lives Matter! I am told this will fizzle and die. I am told this revolution will be a blood bath from both sides. Will some die, yes they will because the cops are out of control. Yet change is coming, mark my words.

Buffalo Springfield -Stop Children What's That Sound

there's something happinin here
what it is aint exactly clear
theres a man with a gun over there








telling me I have to beware.

i think it's time we stop, children
what's that sound
everybody look what's goin down











there's battle lines being drawn



nobody's right if everybody's wrong
young people speakin there minds

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getting so much resistance far behind
it's time we stop,
hey what's that sound
everybody look what's goin down

what a field day for the heat
a thousand people in the street
singin songs that they carry inside
mostly say hurray for our side

?

?





?

Ssssh, what's that I hear? It's time we heard it. Past time. This could be the Revolution of our lifetime.

Let's~ UNFUCK AMERICA!

For years now one of the things that has frustrated me about the "what have you done for me lately" Blackacademics has been their insistence that the Obama administration hasn't done anything for the African American community. That's why - back in 2011 - I started writing about DOJ's investigations into police brutality.

Today we learned that the investigation into Cleveland's Police Department has resulted in a finding that they have engaged in a pattern and practice of using excessive force. It is horribly sad that this finding comes too late to save the life of Tamir Rice. But perhaps we can take some small amount of comfort in the fact that previous investigations might have saved the lives of others. And hopefully this one will be part of finding justice for Tamir's death.

P.S. For those of you who - like me - are going to miss having Eric Holder as our Attorney General, this article about what he plans to do in the future is hopeful. And in 2 years, he's likely to have some company

But, I have to say; these are the kinds of issues that I’ve talked about with the President since his first days here in Washington, DC. I met him before he had been sworn in as a senator. We bonded over these criminal justice reform concerns and views of racial matters. We share a worldview...

http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/12/thank-you-ag-holder.html