Leadership In the Civil Rights Movement

The Thin Line Between Good and Bad Leadership

On August 9, 2015 there was a memorial in Worcester remembering the police killing of Michael Brown. The event took place in Crystal (College) Park on the pond’s water edge. About 40 people came to the event.

Julius Jones a member of a group called “Black Lives Matter” organized the memorial. Denise Yancey who is a leader of the Boston Black Lives Matter group was a speaker. Carl Williams a member of the National Lawyer Guild and the ACLU also spoke. 

There was a moment of silence for Michael Brown and a libation for other people killed or murdered by the police.  A libation was held in which water from small bottles were poured into the pond.

Curiously there was something of a kerfuffle when Julius Jones and Denise Yancey told some of the demonstrators that their signs were not allowed. The demonstrators’ signs read “No Racist Police Murders”, and “Smash Racist Terror with Multiracial Unity.” The demonstrators were told that the event was not a political event.

The people with the signs who identified themselves as members of the Progressive Labor Party said that the murder of Michael Brown was the politics of racism and such racist murders should be stopped. The demonstrators kept their signs, but distanced themselves from Mr. Jones and Ms. Yancey. The memorial went on without further controversy.

Memorials for Michael Brow were held throughout the country, including Cambridge and Roxbury. The most militant memorial was in Ferguson MO. Make no mistake about it; these memorials were a part of a new civil rights movement that is not going away. 

The memorial in Worcester lagged behind the events in other parts of the country and state. The people who said “No Police Murders” were told in so many words that they were unwanted. The location of the event was far away from the public Main Street such that no one could see it; some people who attended had a hard time finding it. The speeches were politically weak. Ms. Yancey talked about her personal life. Mr. Jones talked of agape love. Mr. Williams talked about a Frederick Douglass’ moment when he felt most free.

There was no talk of a new civil rights movement to end the racist police murders that adversely affect all low income people, Black, Hispanic, and White.  No one spoke the need to end the school to prison pipeline.

Although well intended,  the event in Worcester lack the militant leadership needed to effectuate positive changes.

I wish the group being organized by Mr. Jones success, but that will only come from better leadership. The new civil rights movement needs it.

Talking Criminal Nonsense

                                         Courtesy B. Coleman

Talking Criminal Nonsense

On Wednesday July 29, 2015 there was a concerned citizens meeting regarding crime. The meeting was held at the Jewish Community Center in Worcester MA West Side. The West Side has traditionally been more White and affluent than the rest of Worcester. This was reflected in the racial composition of the attendees.

The JCC is about as far up Salisbury St. as a car can be driven without crossing into the neighboring town of Holden.  There is no bus route to the JCC so that people from other neighborhoods in Worcester could not easily attend. There are no sidewalks for many blocks.

The official reason for the meeting was to reassure the residents of the West Side that the armed home invasion on Flagg St. was targeted and not a general menace. While reassuring the residents some of the City and County officials said things that were nonsensical. Their comments were discouraging as they indicate that the officials do not really understand what is going on in Worcester in regards to criminality with the inference that they do not have a clue what to do.

The first nonsensical statement made by the government officials was that most victims of break-ins are gangster or drug dealers.  This statement has no foundation and; it is racist, albeit colorblind racism. It implies that the victims of crime are themselves criminals.

The second nonsensical statement is lumping together opiates use and marijuana use. Marijuana for personal use in Massachusetts is not a crime. There are no statistics linking it in a significant way to break-ins.

Police Chief Gemme rattled off some statistics about the number of break-ins in the City over a couple of decades. He said that there were over 4000 break-ins in the 1990s, and then it dropped significantly in the 2000s. More recently it has risen to 2200 per year average. The Chief did not say why there was a drop in break-in or why there was a rise. There is nothing but anecdotal evidence that drugs or gangs are significant factors. It is nonsensical to base a policy on the ignorance of the causal connections of the problem.

A speaker who I know to be a good person raised as a counter point that crime is caused by poverty. I know this to be nonsensical. Most poor people are honest people; we are more honest than the general population. Not all criminal are poor, but it is the poor who the most likely victims of crime.

The bias of the meeting could be seen when the so called facilitator would interrupt people who tried to criticize abusive police interactions with residents or the ineffectiveness of police policy.

There have been over 23 shootings in Worcester this year. Most of the shooting have occurred in less affluent neighborhoods. Unlike the quick reaction by the City and County to the concerns of the West Side, there has been almost no public response by the City to the problems of the less affluent neighborhoods. Last night August 3, 2015 a mother and her toddler were shot.

This might not be a surprise to some, as it seems that the City Manager, the Police Chief, and the City Council do not know the underlying causes of the shootings and therefore cannot articulate a credible policy.

 Another issue is that there is little, if any, transparency about police policy now in place. Many in the less affluent neighborhoods have been treated in a disparately racist way by the City and the police. When people have tried to have our grievances addressed, we have been ridiculed, maliciously prosecuted, and retaliated against. After the Worcester Human Rights Commission meeting of August 3, 2015 it seems that our complaints will wind up in a file cabinet someway unread.

It is past time the City had an honest with the residents of Worcester about police policy. 

Black Lives Matter Is Not Going Away

                

                    Courtesy B.J.

Black Lives Matter Civil Rights Is Not  Going Away

On August 2, 2015 there was a gathering of people in the Peace 

Park in Worcester MA. People of all races came together to remember those who have died without justice, especially Blacks, Latinos, and Native Indians.

There is a Peace Circe within the Peace Park at which the gathering took place. The Peace Park was created several years ago by a multi racial group of women. It is a symbol and statement against all unjust violence, especially domestic abuse.

The event originally was organized to protest the racism that led to the deaths of five women, four Black women and one Native Indian woman including Sandra Graham. The event was organized as “Say Her Name” which also took place in several cities nationally.

As it often happens the event became more. After opening greetings and drumming by F. Abbey, there was a reading of names of 91 Black and Hispanic people killed by the police from 1999 to 2015. The total is much higher as over 600 people have been killed by the police in 2015 so far.

                                          Courtesy P.M.

There was a short ceremony in which the spirits of the ancestors were called upon to help us in our struggle for Justice. There was a libation for the dead.

P. Jones was the main speaker. She read the names and history and circumstances of the five women killed in police custody. The attendees were visibly moved by their tragic deaths. There was a call for an end to the racist killings by the police.

One of the attendees spoke of Michael Brown whose death at the hands of the police occurred one year ago and sparked militant actions in a new civil rights movement. Today police officers who commit murder are being indicted.

Everyone at the event committed themselves to fighting against economic disparities, racism, and economic disparities.

The Black (all) Lives Matter civil rights struggle is not going away as some of Worcester City bosses have hope it would in the face of malicious prosecution and retaliation. 

The Face of Worcester Future

                        

                                         Courtesy: Panama Foto

The Face of Worcester Future

The anti violence rally on July 26, 2015 is a harbinger of Worcester’s future.  The ralliers were mostly Black and Latino, although there were a few older people in attendance, most of the people were young.  New faces giving a political event a new flavor.

The rally was on the surface about the rash of violent acts, including shootings in Worcester. However the main element of the rally, that could have been easily missed, was the young people of all races, especially Black and Latino youth making a statement of a nascent political awakening.

Some people in Worcester will look at the Canal District or the Blackstone Visitor Center or Union Station condos as the future of Worcester. In a certain sense these and other projects are. What some people do not see is that value comes from people and not buildings. The demographics of Worcester has been on a continuous march to a majority population with dark skin and duo languages.

Although not true for my generation, to a large extent young people today seek models and wisdom from their elders. The solutions that many of the ralliers put forward were based on eclectic philosophies such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, and others. Everyone called for an end to self destructive youth violence and gang violence. I am sure that their solutions to the issue will be more sophisticated with practice and experience.

                                  Courtesy: Bill Coleman

Some older advocates passed out a flyer putting forward the ideas of the New Jim Crow racism and an end to Mass Incarceration of low income people, especially from the Black and Latino communities. The older advocates hoped that the young would be influence by those ideas as well as the need for police transparency and an end to the school jail pipeline.

The potential power of the young people in this rally might have frightened conservatives in Worcester as the ralliers are now being attacked with disingenuous allegations of criminality. These allegations are similar to the malicious prosecution of the Black Lives Matter protester by the City of Worcester.

The rally last Sunday is a sign that Worcester City Council might become more than an old boys club with its token colored person. There are several Black and Latino candidates running for City Council, including Bill Coleman and Sarai Rivera, who both came to the rally.

If not this election cycle, then in the near future the politically conscious young people of Worcester will change the look of Worcester government.

Worcester Deeply Divided

                                   

Worcester Deeply Divided

The Worcester City Council meeting of July 21, 2015 was further proof of a deeply divided City. For many in the community and several City Councillors the verbal gloves came off. Some City Councillors were disingenuous. Other Councillors resorted to name calling. The police was called to escort a Black man out of the Council Chambers.

There is some evidence that this deep divide between Black Lives Matter supporters and other people who consider themselves to be “colorblind” was exasperated by the Department of Justice Hearings earlier in the year. The bad blood churned up by the hearings, reached a flash point.

Councillors Gaffney and Rosen filed an order for the audit of Mosaic, an organization that helps newly released prisoners (mostly Black and Hispanic) reintegrate into society. Mosaic allowed the use of its building for some Black Lives Matter meetings. The two councilors denied that their order was retaliatory.  Councillors Gaffney and Rosen said the audit was fiduciary due diligence. This proved to be a pretext as they did not seek in their order the auditing of the other ten organizations that received the same block grant as does Mosaic.

                                    

Several supporters of Mosaic called Councillors Gaffney and Rosen “racists”. Councillor Rosen became upset and demanded more respect and said that he was not a racist. Curiously Councillor Rosen later in the meeting demeaned a City employee in such a way that the City Manager cautioned Councillor Rosen that the authority of the Council did not extend to City employees and that he should be more respectful.

Partially due to the elections in November 2015 all eleven City Councillors voted to have the audit, even though there are Councillors who said that Mosaic was doing a good job and sat on Mosaic’s board.

Another deep divide in the City was revealed when City Council softened the enforcement of the ordinance prohibiting dogs from public parks. Personally I like doggies and think there should be a dog park. The racial issue is the perception that the White people in Paxton and their dogs are treated better than the Black people of Worcester.

Earlier in the year there was a protest at Kelly Square in Worcester seeking to pressure the City of Worcester to become more transparent in its police accountability. The City charged the protester with disturbing the peace, despite the police not witnessing the protest and the fact the City has no evidence that is admissible in court. The City brought the charges in retaliation for the protest. There is evidence of the retaliation being malicious prosecution.

Compare this to the White privileged people in Paxton with their dogs. They have openly violated the dog ordinance for years. They erected an unauthorized barrier to prevent City employees from entering a public park. The dog people in Paxton gave police reports saying that they broke the law. Instead of bringing charges against the White people in Paxton like it did against the Black people in Worcester, the City Council has sided with the White people in Paxton and will not enforce the dog ordinance.

At the City Council meeting one person from Paxton saWorcester Deeply Divided

The Worcester City Council meeting of July 21, 2015 was further proof of a deeply divided City. For many in the community and several City Councillors the verbal gloves came off. Some City Councillors were disingenuous. Other Councillors resorted to name calling. The police was called to escort a Black man out of the Council Chambers.

There is some evidence that this great divide between Black Lives Matter supporter and other people who consider themselves to be “colorblind” was exasperated by the Department of Justice Hearings earlier in the year. The bad blood churned up by the hearings, reached a flash point carried.

Councillors Gaffney and Rosen filed an order for the audit of Mosaic, an organization that helps newly released prisoners (mostly Black and Hispanic) reintegrate into society. Mosaic allowed the use of its building for some Black Lives Matter meetings. The two councilors denied that their order was retaliatory.  Councillors Gaffney and Rosen said the audit was fiduciary due diligence. This proved to be a pretext as they did not seek in their order the auditing of the other ten organizations that received the same block grant as does Mosaic.

Several supporters of Mosaic called Councillors Gaffney and Rosen “racists”. Councillor Rosen became upset and demanded more respect and said that he was not a racist. Curiously Councillor Rosen later in the meeting demeaned a City employee in such a way that the City Manager cautioned Councillor Rosen that the authority of the Council did not extend to City employees and that he should be more respectful.

Partially due to the elections in November 2015 all eleven City Councillors voted to have the audit, even though there are Councillors who said that Mosaic was doing a good job and sat on Mosaic’s board.

Another deep divide in the City was revealed when City Council softened the enforcement of the ordinance prohibiting dogs from public parks. Personally I like doggies and think there should be a dog park. The racial issue is the perception that the White people in Paxton and their dogs are treated better than the Black people of Worcester.

Earlier in the year there was a protest at Kelly Square in Worcester seeking to pressure the City of Worcester to become more transparent in its police accountability. The City charged the protester with disturbing the peace, despite the police not witnessing the protest and the fact the City has no evidence that is admissible in court. The City brought the charges in retaliation for the protest. There is evidence of the retaliation being malicious prosecution.

 Compare this to the White privileged people in Paxton with their dogs. They have openly violated the dog ordinance for years. They erected an unauthorized barrier to prevent City employees from entering a public park. The dog people in Paxton gave police reports saying that they broke the law. Instead of bringing charges against the White people in Paxton like it did against the Black people in Worcester, the City Council has sided with the White people in Paxton and will not enforce the dog ordinance.

At the City Council meeting one person from Paxton said that he knew he was breaking the law and challenged the City to do something about.

                                         

It is clear now that Black Lives Matter civil rights movement is not going away. So in order to end this deep division in the City, the colorblind City Councillors will have to be voted out of office and the City Manager will have to enter into serious discussions with the Black and Hispanic communities. Whether this is done this year or in the near future, the changing demographics of the City will compel this change in the political leadership of the City.

Additionally the City Manager will have to end his harassment of the activist and the political stunts, such as the criminal charges and the Department of Justice hearings. 

Race, Immigration, Trump, and Sanders

                                          SIM rally outside Statehouse

Immigration, Race, Trump, and Senator Sanders

There are about eleven million undocumented workers in the USA. Some are from Ireland and are found mostly in Boston and New York City. Some are from Mexico and a large number of immigrants are found in California and Texas. Most working people, whether we have papers or not, are hard working and civil to our neighbors. There is criminal element or Lumpenproletariat is so small that racists like Donald Trump have to remind us of its existence.

There are too many people to be deported without mahor disruption of the economic and social fabric of this coutnry.

Donald Trump is now leading the Republican Party’s polls for the nominee for its presidential candidate. This is not surprising given the number of racists such as the Tea Partiers, Ku Kluxers, and racist others in the Republican Party. What is a surprise is that not one of the supposedly “moderate” Republicans have challenged the racist rants of Donald Trump. For that matter not one of the Democratic Party nominees have challenged Donald Trump’s racism.

Both Democratic contenders, Clinton and Sanders, have remained silent on the issues of race and immigration. Jill Stein running for the nomination of the Green Party US has made statements against mass incarcerations of and police brutality against low income people, especially young Black men.

President Obama has set up a program, for kids brought as youngsters to the USA, to gain some temporary legal status. The program will likely end when President Obama leaves office as it was established with Executive Order. Neither Clinton nor Sanders has made it known what they intend to do with this program.

In Massachusetts there are also proposed programs to help undocumented students such as no in-state tuition for Massachusetts residents regardless of status. There was a rally and hearing at the Statehouse on July 15, 2015 sponsored by Student Immigrant Movement.

                            Tuition Hearings : Courtesy of Italo Fini

The lack of support or even public statements by candidates and other politicians is especially disappointing as Senator Sanders has called himself a “socialist” and he has gone to Selma in the old Civil Rights movement. Former Secretary of State Clinton is known for her opportunism and I really don’t expect to see any courageous principled stands from her.

Now is the time for the so called leaders to oppose Donald Trump’s racism. His rants are setting the environment for race hatred acts as allegedly perpetrated by Dylan Roof in South Carolina.

Senator Sander’s supporters with whom I have spoken do not know what his positions on race and immigration are. His supporters just seem to parrot the same ineffectual and tired line that Senator Sanders was an activist in the old Civil Rights movement.

At one time I though Clarence Thomas would move to the left, but that time never came.

DOJ Hearings, The Rise of the the Golden Calf

Worse Than Before, The Rise of the Golden Calf

On July 8, 2015 there was a meeting at the YWCA of some people in the community about problems with the Department of Justice hearings on race relations. This meeting’s discussion was mostly focused on the failure of the hearings to deal in a substantive way on issues affecting the low income communities, especially the Black and Brown communities. Other issues brought out in this meeting were the inaccuracy of the hearing notes and how some meeting notes were missing. The lack of a plan on how to use the information that was provided at the hearings was a concern.

Additionally there was also criticism of the effectiveness of the so called Committee on Hate and Bias and the Clergy and Police Committee. Some people at the July 8, 2015 said that they would meet with Jana Turchek of the City manager office to discuss the problems.

The organization of Department of Justice hearing of July 13, 2015 was supposedly the result or non result of the communities’ concerns. It turned out to be a political stunt for some and a photo opportunity for others. The politicians, Attorneys Generals, and other bosses spoke of how they were on the side of the people, especially Black people, while being a part of the Prison Industrial Complex.

The Department of Justice bosses U.S. Attorney Ortiz gave the same old tired speech about law enforcement without offering any remedy about how to end racial profiling or police murders.

                                       Joseph Early Jr. Worcester DA

                                    

What was most disappointing was how many people in the community could not see the conflict of interest between us who are trying to get the government to change their policies of New Jim Crow racism and the bosses who run the government. Have we been blinded by the golden calf of the photo opt and the ephemeral “contact” or political connection?

                                  The author at the DOJ Hearings  

One group, the Progressive Labor Party, disrupted what one attendee called the “love fest” with the bosses who are partly responsible for the New Jim Crow racism. It called for an end to police brutality and the start of police transparency,an end to the school to prison pipeline, and more good jobs. For full disclosure I am a member of Progressive Labor Party.

                                            

There is a lesson to learn from the old Civil Rights Movement that the ministers of Black Churches never took money from White bosses. They only lived on the money raised by their congregation. They learned that when you take money from the Man, people get confused who they are working for.