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Ferguson Police Racist, Unconstitutional, Justice Department Says
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Ferguson Activists Call Out Black Celebrities for 'Saying Nothing'
"You glorify being from the hood but do nothing for it," says hip-hop artist T-Dubb-O. "When they killing us, you stand by silent"
By Rolling Stone
Ferguson Activists Call Out Black Celebrities for 'Saying Nothing'
"You glorify being from the hood but do nothing for it," says hip-hop artist T-Dubb-O. "When they killing us, you stand by silent"
By Rolling Stone December 22, 2014
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Ferguson activists
Last week, Rolling Stone shared exclusive day-in-the-life video of four young freedom fighters from Ferguson, Missouri – Ashley Yates, co-creator of Millennial Activists United; T-Dubb-O and Tef Poe, both local hip-hop artists; and Tory Russell, cofounder of Hands Up United – as they visited New York to share their harrowing stories from the frontlines. While they were in the city, Yates, T-Dubb-O and Tef Poe, as well as video activist Bassem Masri, stopped by the Rolling Stone office for a no-holds-barred interview.
The four protestors pointed out that Michael Brown's death at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a pattern of systemic violence that threatens their lives and those of their friends and family on a daily basis. "We're not vying for political capital. We're not vying for a political position in the world to, say, let us vote, or let us have this," Yates explains in the video. "What we're vying for is actually our lives. So our level of commitment is what you would do to fight for your life."
That level of commitment becomes particularly apparent when T-Dubb-O launches into an impassioned rant on the subject of black celebrities who, he believes, are standing by silent. "We got all these black athletes, black rappers, all these one-percents, record label owners, CEOs that's not saying nothing, that's not bringing nothing to the community. You're bleeding the community dry," he says. "The shoes we buy, the clothes we buy, the music we play, the videos we watch. You glorify being from the hood but do nothing for it. You glorify being from the trenches but do nothing for it. When they killing us, you stand by silent. When you have this platform...we don't have a Rolling Stone in St. Louis we can go to. You get invited to these interviews daily, and you quiet. You quiet. You still on your tours, you still dropping your bull**** records that nobody believe. The streets don't believe you."
"Yeah, we're calling America to the table," Yates adds. "We're calling America to stand up and be the country that it says it is."
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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Clear Displays of Abuse of Power
As camera crews and citizen cellphone videos captured during the chaotic attacks on protesters in Ferguson, Ferguson officers had no problem abusing their power. The Department of Justice’s report confirmed this and gave several instances where police officers abuse their authority to unlawfully arrest and harass Black citizens. In one case, a man was questioned after sitting in his car after playing a game of basketball. The officer slapped the man with a string of bogus charges including a charge for making a false declaration after the man told the officer his name was Mike. The man’s name was Michael.Comment
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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Disproportionate Number of Arrests for Black Citizens
This finding was, unfortunately, not surprising and nowhere near unique to the city of Ferguson. In many cities across the U.S. where the police departments are predominantly white despite the community being predominantly Black, Black citizens tend to have disproportionately high rates for arrests. The Department of Justice’s report revealed that in Ferguson, Black people made up less than 70 percent of the population but accounted for 85 percent of the people pulled over by police. The report also revealed that Black citizens were twice as likely to have their cars searched after being stopped but more than 25 percent less likely to actually be in possession of any contraband.Comment
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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Every K-9 Unit Attack Had a Black Victim
It isn’t often that statistics on such cases actually reveal a 100 percent rate of a particular event occurring, but Ferguson police officers managed to do just that when it came to suspects being attacked by police dogs. The department’s report revealed that every single suspect who had been reported as being attacked by a police dog was Black.Comment
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A Plethora of Racist Emails
The Department of Justice’s report unveiled an incredible number of racist emails that were exchanged between Ferguson, Missouri, police officers and municipal court officials. The same group of people who were solely responsible for carrying out justice in the predominantly Black community were making racially charged jokes and exposing their racist beliefs to one another. One message from 2008 questioned how Barack Obama was elected president by asking, “What black man holds a steady job for four years.”Comment
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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It Was Rare for Officers to Arrest Residents Caring for Hurt Loved Ones — Unless They Were Black
Federal officials admitted that it’s key to maintain control of any hostile situation in law enforcement, which is why many people are ordered to stay back even after their loved one has been shot or otherwise injured by officers or during an altercation. Even when these orders to stay back are violated, however, it is rare that the traumatized loved one is then arrested for rushing to the aid of their friend or family member. That wasn’t the case for Black citizens in Ferguson. Even when there was no hostile situation at hand, officers arrested citizens who were trying to help an injured loved one, the report revealed. In one case, a man was arrested after he refused to leave his girlfriend’s side after she had been injured in a car accident. The report alleged that officers treated the man rudely when they made it to the scene and then arrested him.Comment
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cheat sheets cah mi kno a latt aff blakk too lazee fe read da whole reportOriginally posted by blugiant View Post
Arresting Citizens for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights
Ferguson police officers never displayed much respect for Black citizens’ First Amendment rights, according to the report’s findings. On many occasions, citizens were punished for “talking back to officers” when they questioned why they were being arrested. The report also revealed that the police officers frequently intimidated bystanders who tried to record their excessive use of force and violated the rights of peaceful protesters.Comment
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cheat sheets cah mi kno a latt aff blakk too lazee fe read da whole reportOriginally posted by blugiant View Post
Certain Charges Were Nearly Exclusive to Black Residents
Certain charges were almost exclusively pressed against Black citizens. These charges included manner of walking in roadway and failure to comply. Black residents in Ferguson made up 95 percent of the first charge and 94 percent of the latter. Even speeding tickets targeted Black citizens. The reported revealed that 80 percent of the tickets handed out based on officers’ personal observation were given to Black citizens.Comment
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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Eliminating Tickets for Mayors and Employees of the Court
While the Black citizens of Ferguson were being pelted with tickets, many of which they didn’t deserve, mayors and employees of the court were having their tickets handled. “Court records and emails show City officials, including the Municipal Judge, the Court Clerk, and FPD supervisors assisting friends, colleagues, acquaintances and themselves in eliminating citations, fines and fees,” the report revealed. One example from 2011 revealed an email sent to a court clerk with a request to “fix a parking ticket.” It wasn’t long before the clerk replied with, “It’s gone baby!” Another clerk alerted a friend that their “ticket of $200 has magically disappeared!”Comment
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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Focus on Making Money, Not Serving the Community
All of the Department of Justice’s findings reveal that Ferguson police were not interested in helping the community, but they also gave evidence that the real focus was on getting money — even if it meant violating the pockets of an already financially struggling community. The report found that the municipal court “primarily uses its judicial authority as the means to compel the payment of fines and fees that advance the City’s financial interests” in a way that was in clear violation of citizens’ rights. The report also confirmed that such practices disproportionately impacted Black residents in Ferguson and low-income families struggling to pay off various fines and tickets that were wrongfully issued to them.Comment
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cheat sheets cah mi kno a latt aff blakk too lazee fe read da whole reportOriginally posted by blugiant View Post
Focus on Making Money, Not Serving the Community
All of the Department of Justice’s findings reveal that Ferguson police were not interested in helping the community, but they also gave evidence that the real focus was on getting money — even if it meant violating the pockets of an already financially struggling community. The report found that the municipal court “primarily uses its judicial authority as the means to compel the payment of fines and fees that advance the City’s financial interests” in a way that was in clear violation of citizens’ rights. The report also confirmed that such practices disproportionately impacted Black residents in Ferguson and low-income families struggling to pay off various fines and tickets that were wrongfully issued to them.Comment
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Originally posted by blugiant View Post
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Officers Weren’t Writing Up Reports; Supervisors Weren’t Checking
In another display that simply exemplified how corrupt the police department was, the report found that Ferguson officers were not only failing to write up their reports but that supervisors weren’t concerned with checking to ensure reports were properly filled out. Instead, the focus was on “the number of citations and arrests officers produce.” No consideration seemed to be given to figuring out whether or not those citations and arrests were “lawful or promote public safety” or if they were yet another racially charged attack on the Black community in Ferguson.
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