October 12th
Twenty-two weeks ago, I wrote an email to a few dozen friends with the subject line: work from home for justice. We were all still reeling from the seeing the murder of George Floyd and many of us had been out in the streets, joining in the paroxysm of pain and anger. The murder of Breonna Taylor’s in March was not yet national news. The officers who shot and killed her in her home have not been charged. Louisville's biggest employers — UPS, Humana, Ford, and Kroger — continue to support the arming of Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, and their companies have employees on the board of the Louisville Metro Police Foundation. Please sign this petition calling on these private companies to divest from the Louisville Metro Police.
In August, I wrote about the NYPD’s provocative show of force as they tried to execute an arrest of Derrick Ingram without a warrant. Ingram, an activist with Warriors in the Garden, live-streamed the alarming events, fearing bodily harm or planted evidence if he opened his door. Amnesty International has compiled a report —for which they interviewed Ingram — documenting 125 incidents of human rights abuses by police in the U.S. over the course of one week of Black Lives Matter protests. Please sign this petition to New York District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. demanding that the investigation into the NYPD’s treatment of Derrick Ingram is prompt, impartial, independent, and transparent.
Few things are more important right now than defending our right to protest. It is more than obvious that we are going to need to continue to assert our basic rights in the streets. Last week, I wrote about how to meet violence when we encounter an armed response by police or other opposition. Just writing about that made me anxious. So now, I want to go back to the question of how we deter violence.
First, we lay the groundwork to build a massive response to a power grab, because the numbers are on our side. I wrote to my siblings and some friends in other states this weekend to ask them to call on their governors and the National Governors Association to stand up now and say that every vote must be counted before anyone claims an electoral victory. We will also be contacting the media, because the way they report on the election matters tremendously.
Here’s what I learned about choosing tactics that reduce our vulnerability: 1) declare non-violent discipline. Bob Moses, the leader of SNCC, made sure that everyone in Mississippi knew that they were unarmed. While there was obviously violence against SNCC, that public declaration helped to 2) avoid an invitation to rumble. While we must protest in large numbers, we should avoid a central meeting spot. BLM protest organizers did/do this brilliantly in NYC. Meeting spots are various, routes are not shared. 3) Include marshals and peacekeepers at all protests. You can attend trainings to be part of a peace team. 4) Protest with friends and make sure that other people know where you are.
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! If you are off from work, here are some ways to celebrate.
with love,
L