Civil Rights Information

Ta-Nehisi Coates' House Testimony on Reparations

Mon, 22 Jul 2019 23:27:18 +0000

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Let us not forgot he testified on a colony where the citizens still have no voting rights with a majority Black residents.

Ta-Nehisi Coats spoke powerfully as he always does ... the tragedy of today is our fine words seem to be just that and in so, so many regards. Whether it’s reparations being paid to our Black citizens or using illegal immigrants for those labor until it becomes inconvenient.

Economic Morals with Protections for the Poorest Americans

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 22:37:39 +0000

Shortly before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. called for an economic revolution with protections for the poorest Americans. Half a century later, a group of religious and moral leaders are planning a revival of the Poor People's Campaign, with a wave of civil disobedience in Washington. Rev. William J. Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, joins Judy Woodruff for a conversation.

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Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is uniting people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality.

Poor People's Campaign | Martin Luther King, Jr

Martin Luther King announced the Poor People’s Campaign at a staff retreat for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in November 1967. Seeking a “middle ground between riots on the one hand and timid supplications for justice on the other,” King planned for an initial group of 2,000 poor people to descend on Washington, D.C., southern states and northern cities to meet with .

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When available, we provide all our content with a Spanish version in our public download section. You can find additional material from sources listed in all our articles.

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Malcolm X on the Media

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 18:36:53 +0000

55 Years Later Malcolm X Speaks on the Mainstream Media's Role

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.

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Malcolm X Audio

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Quotes

Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or who says it.

Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.

In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure.

I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment.

We do not condemn the preachers as an individual but we condemn what they teach. We urge that the preachers teach the truth, to teach our people the one important guiding rule of conduct -- unity of purpose.

Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world.

You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.

If you're not ready to die for it, put the word freedom out of your vocabulary.

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When available, we provide all our content with a Spanish version in our public download section. You can find additional material from sources listed in all our articles.

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NEW California Law Protect Victims of a Eurocentric View of Beauty and Professionalism

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 18:21:35 +0000

A New Jersey wrestler who had to cut his dreadlocks to compete in a match. Dreadlocks, cornrows and other natural hairstyles protected under California law

HIDDEN COSTS OF MASS INCARCERATION THROUGH THE EYES OF FAMILY MEMBERS AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE

Sun, 02 Jun 2019 19:47:18 +0000

Broken families, debt, and collateral costs push communities deeper into poverty

September 15th, 2015: Oakland, Calif. — Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families proves that the costs of locking up millions of people are much deeper than we think — when we lock up individuals, we also break apart their families and communities. This new report reveals the overwhelming debt, mental and physical ailments, and severed family bonds that are some of the hidden consequences of mass incarceration in the United States.

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Video: The True Cost of Incarceration on Families

Winning Justice: Prosecutor Accountability Squad

Sun, 02 Jun 2019 17:40:24 +0000

Every time we hold prosecutors accountable, we are transforming our criminal justice system and building power for our communities. The prosecutor accountability movement has developed a winning approach to ending the most unjust, unconstitutional, destructive and racist practices of prosecutors: money bail, over-charging, over-sentencing, over-policing, the drug war, attacking immigrants, sending our kids to adult prisons and keeping secrets about what’s really happening in their offices and in police departments. We are making real change. Learn more at #WinningJustice Learn more at WinningJustice.org

Video: Winning Justice - Taking on Prosecutors Narrated by Common

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Playlist: Flex Your Rights

Video Playlist Section

Downloads

Squads are using these resources to make real change.

Learn how to organize actions and events locally, and lead your Squad to a big win. We must take the fight to end mass incarceration and police violence into our own hands. It begins with starting a squad.

SQUAD RESOURCES

START A SQUAD
If you are reading this, you are the leader your community has been waiting for. Learn how to build an effective team—a Prosecutor Accountability Squad—that can rally people to action and take on your local prosecutor to make change. Download the Start a Squad guide. Go to the Start a Squad page to sign-up.
THROW A HOUSE PARTY
Learn all you need to know about hosting a great party that can bring your community together and start to get organized. Download the House Party guide.
6 DEMANDS FOR PROSECUTORS
Learn about the six specific changes that organizers just like you—all across the country—are forcing their local prosecutors to make. It’s a winning strategy to end mass incarceration and police violence. Download the 6 Demands Overview and the detailed 6 Demands Fact Sheet. Or read an overview online.
LAUNCH A PETITION
Learn how to use online petitions to create leverage, and force your local prosecutor to respond to your demands. Download the Petition Campaigns guide.
HOST A BLACK WOMEN’S BRUNCH
Bring some Black joy to your community. Use our toolkit to organize a fun and powerful experience that will educate, inspire and mobilize. Download the Black People’s Brunch toolkit.
MEET WITH YOUR PROSECUTOR
Learn how to get your Squad onto your prosecutor’s calendar, pay them a visit and ask the right questions. Download the Prosecutor Office Visit guide, including the Prosecutor Questionnaire.

People who want justice, just like you, are forming local Squads to force their prosecutors to change their practices. Color Of Change supports local Squads and Squad leaders with the tools, training and knowledge they need to succeed, and connects Squads to local racial justice organizations so they can join forces and win. Squads across the country are getting fired up. Join a local squad or start one yourself!

Our criminal justice system is racist, violent and deeply unjust. It targets the people we love and the communities we live in. Its injustices makes us feel pain, anger and outrage. All the time.

We see Black, Brown and Native people brutalized and murdered by police. We see jails and prisons steal the future of the people we love. We see corporations drain our families of their wealth and resources.

We also see our community’s capacity for love, joy and power. We have realized that if we get organized and mobilized—and trust one another—we can end mass incarceration and police violence and take control of our communities. It begins with prosecutors, the single most influential people in the system.

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Public Downloads - Español (Spanish)

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Video Playlist Section

How To Safely Enroll In A Obamacare Plan

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is officially called The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and most often called, ObamaCare, is a US law that reforms both the healthcare and health insurance industries in America. President Obama's Statement on the Supreme Court Affordable Care Act Ruling — “I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.” The aim was simple: That every American could share in the promise of quality health care.

The Rapid Expansion of the U.S. Inmate Population

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

President Obama is the First Sitting U.S. President to Visit a Federal Prison, has commuted more sentences than any president since Lyndon B. Johnson, and more than the last four presidents combined

Income Inequality Begins At Birth

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Income inequality begins at birth and these are the stats that prove it Poor children face worse economic odds than low-income kids elsewhere

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First Lady Michelle Obama Michelle Obama Commencement Speech On Race

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

PEOPLE.com original

First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the graduating class of 2015 and an audience of nearly 4,000 at the historically black university, spoke about overcoming her own insecurities regarding her public perception – specifically during her husband President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008.

"As potentially the first African-American First Lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations; conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others," she said. "Was I too loud, or too angry, or too emasculating? Or was I too soft, too much of a mom, not enough of a career woman?"

Michelle Obama has made an indelible impression with her signature style and equally impressive resume.

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Obama referenced a July 2008 cover of the New Yorker, which featured a satirical illustration of the Obamas drawn by Barry Blitt. The caricature showed the future FLOTUS dressed as a Black Panther, first bumping with a turban-wearing Barack in front of portrait of Osama bin Laden.

"Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover – it was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and machine gun," Michelle said. "Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder, just how are people seeing me."

The fist bump emulated in the drawing was also cause for contention. The couple shared the sign of affection after Barack won the Democratic nomination in June 2008, something Michelle remembers being spun into a "terrorist first jab."

Michelle also addressed the various nicknames she's received and racial discrimination she's felt since her husband first took office.

"Over the years, folks have used plenty of interesting words to describe me. One said I exhibited 'a little bit of uppity-ism.' Another noted that I was one of my husband's 'cronies of color.' Cable news once charmingly referred to me as 'Obama's Baby Mama.' "

"All of this used to really get to me," she continued. "Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights, worrying about what people thought of me, wondering if I might be hurting my husband's chances of winning his election, fearing how my girls would feel if they found out what some people were saying about their mom.

"But eventually, I realized that if I wanted to keep my sanity and not let others define me, there was only one thing I could do, and that was to have faith in God's plan for me. I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself – and the rest would work itself out."

Michelle also touched on the recent events in Ferguson and Baltimore, saying that while those events might make young African-Americans feel "invisible," it's "not an excuse to lose hope."

Michelle continued, "To succumb to feelings of despair and anger only means that in the end, we lose."

Know Your Rights in the United States

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

The courts have made clear that police do not have to tell you about your right to refuse searches.

Modern Day Shackles: 25% of Blacks Compared to 1 in 15 Whites

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Being handcuffed creates a paper trail of police activity if your employer or potential employers does a background check. You can be demoralized even if you are not arrested.

VIDEO: US Defend Actions In Africa With Economics From 1794 Slave Trading Laws?

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

US foreign policy, demonstrating the lengths to which America will go to maintain stable relations in volatile west Africa.

President Obama Gives Eulogy At Charleston's Emanuel AME Church

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

President Obama travels to the College of Charleston in South Carolina to deliver a eulogy for Reverend Clement Pinckney and 8 other congregation members of Emanuel AME who were killed on June 17, 2015 at Charleston's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Attorney General Eric Holder Report - Ferguson Police Department

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 07:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice's investigation into the city of Ferguson, Missouri and the shooting death of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson.