In the Blog
MID-WEEK ROUND UP: AUGUST 12
Illustration: Erin McPhee
August 9 marked one year since Michael Brown was shot and killed by police at the age of 18 in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting launched widespread protests across the US and around the world, drawing attention to police violence against Black people. Vox has created an interactive map of some of the police killings in the US since Michael Brown’s death.
More on Ferguson, police violence against Black people, and Black Lives Matter
- Journalist Whitney Curtis returns to Ferguson to report on what has changed (and what has not)
“I’m trying to be hopeful that there will be change coming out of this after all of the unrest. I’m hoping that there’s change coming out of such a tragic event, but it’s hard sometimes, and being a resident of St. Louis, I’m not that optimistic.”
On August 9, Christian Taylor, an unarmed 19-year-old Black man, was shot and killed [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/08/08/christian-taylor-killed_n_7959440.html] by police in Dallas, Texas
Jason Parham writes on Protest and the Politics of Civility:
“Call it the politics of civility. It is the practice (and the person-to-person negotiation of this practice in relation to others) of being told how to properly act or express yourself by some one who does not inhabit the same cultural space as you.”
Tunette Powell’s piece “My son has been suspended five times. He’s 3.” demonstrates how discrimination against Black people begins early in life:
“A recent study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that the subjects — mostly white, female undergraduates — viewed black boys as older and less innocent than their white peers. When photos of children were paired with descriptions of crimes, the subjects judged the black children to be more culpable for their actions than their white or Latino counterparts and estimated that they were an average of 4.5 years older than they actually were.”
The next Canadian federal election will be held on October 19. This Indigenous guide lists the Indigenous candidates running for election, as well as each major party’s platforms on issues facing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.
Amnesty International has voted to support the decriminalization of sex work around the world. Secretary General Salil Shetty says:
“Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse. Our global movement paved the way for adopting a policy for the protection of the human rights of sex workers which will help shape Amnesty International’s future work on this important issue.”
Make sure to listen to our latest Shameless Talks podcast episode on Environmental Justice.
