socialismartnature:

Nicole Colson reports on the killing of 13-year-old Darius Simmons—and what it says about the grip of racist violence in the U.S.

SHOT TO death while taking in his family’s trash cans.

The circumstances surrounding the murder of 13-year-old Darius Simmons don’t appear to be in question. On May 30, the Black Milwaukee teenager became another victim of racism in the U.S.

Darius and his family had lived in their home only a month before the teenager was fatally shot by his next-door neighbor, 75-year-old John Spooner. According to reports, Darius’ mother, Patricia Larry, had moved because she wanted her son to grow up in a safer neighborhood. According to family members, Darius was a funny, loving kid who rode his bike more than seven miles to school each day.

On May 30, Darius was home sick from school when he went outside to retrieve the family’s garbage cans from in front of their house. There, he was confronted by Spooner, who apparently believed Darius had been involved in a break-in of his home earlier in the week, during which several guns were stolen. According to his mother, Darius was in school when the break-in occurred.

Spooner confronted the teen, telling him he “wanted his shotguns back,” according to Darius’ mother, who watched the argument unfold. Spooner then pulled out a handgun and shot Darius twice—even as the teen held up his arms and tried to run away. When the police arrived on the scene, Spooner allegedly admitted, “Yeah, I shot him.”

Spooner has since been charged with first-degree homicide and is being held on $300,000 bond. Just an hour before he killed Darius, Spooner ate breakfast with local Alderman Bob Donovan, where he talked about the break-in.

Donovan told WISN reporter Marianne Lyles, “I asked [Spooner], ‘Did you call the police?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ but for whatever reason, seemed a little frustrated with that investigation. I don’t know the details of it.”

Donovan added, “He did say that ‘maybe there are other ways of dealing with this’”—suggesting the shooting may have been premeditated.

Compounding the tragedy, Patricia Larry says that she was detained for questioning in a squad car for two hours after the shooting and was unable to go the hospital to be with her son as he was dying.

And during the investigation of the crime, police reportedly decided to search Darius’ home—and arrested his older brother for truancy tickets.

socialismartnature:

The killer of Trayvon Martin may be behind bars, but the struggle to end the killing of African Americans by police and racists must continue to grow.

 … If an entire section of the population is criminalized under accepted and perfectly legal law enforcement policies, should it come as any surprise that police are prepared to shoot first and ask questions later?

The NYPD racks up more killings of unarmed Blacks and Latinos than other police forces because of its quasi-military character, its size and its quantity of armaments. But police across the U.S. follow the same pattern.

 … There’s no way to predict when and how a new anti-racist movement will take shape. But the elements are in place: a criminal justice system that continues to incarcerate African Americans on a mass scale; police who act as judge, jury and executioner in the streets; and now, thousands of activists across the U.S. who decided to take a stand for Trayvon Martin.

The struggle to win racial justice has a long history, and it has never been an easy one. But the murder of Trayvon Martin may well be the spark that ignites that movement once again.

socialismartnature:

Al Sharpton: “Had there not been pressure there would not have been a second look. This is not a night for celebration. This is a night that should not have happened in the first place.”

Family attorney: “We thank you to all those people who signed the petition to do something even if you didn’t know who Trayvon Martin…to all the high school students and young people who believed completely in justice, the idea, the dream, those are the people who are here today saying they can make a difference.”

Trayvon’s father: “Thank everyone once again…this is just the beginning and we will continue to have faith. From the first march we walked by faith. We will continue to march until the right thing is done.”

cheatsheet:

breakingnews:

Florida state attorney is expected to announce charges against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin shooting death case at 6 p.m. EDT. Watch live on breakingnews.com.

An official tells AP Zimmerman will be charged with second-degree murder.

Zimmerman has turned himself in and is in police custody, CNN reports.

Happening now. 

(via america-wakiewakie)

socialismartnature:

If you’re in Chicago, you need to be at this!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Over the last several weeks tens of thousands of people across the United States have taken to the streets to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. These protests have revived a desperately overdue discussion about the persistence of racism and discrimination in American society.

We will continue to demand justice in this case, but we also know this case highlights the continuing war against Black America. From police brutality and corruption to mass incarceration- from the school to prison pipeline, to disproportionately high unemployment and home foreclosures; racism is alive and well in the United States.

Join us to discuss how we can continue to build a fight against the New Jim Crow.

Co-Sponsored by Operation Rainbow PUSH,
 The International Socialist Organization
& The Campaign to End the Death Penalty
 
A panel discussion featuring the following speakers…
 
Ben Crump, Trayvon Martin family attorney will call into meeting to discuss important updates on the case following the grand jury proceedings on April 10.
 
Simeon Wright- cousin of Emmett Till and author of Simeon’s Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till
 
Rosalind Morgan, wife of Howard Morgan who was shot 28 times by four white Chicago cops and was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison for the attempted murder of those four cops.

Stephen Watts- father of Stephon Watts, 15 year old killed by Calumet City Police on February 1, 2012

Martinez Sutton- brother of Rekia Boyd, young woman killed by an off-duty Chicago police officer on March 21, 2012
 
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor- columnist for SocialistWorker.org
 
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition
 
and more…

nezua:

blkgirlblogging:

karnythia:

There’s a petition to get her job back. I signed, please consider doing so too.

i signed too. 

Done.

Submitted by Alice Pettway on April 6, 2012

• Keywords:
• Race and ethnicity

What do you do with a teacher who provides students with authentic learning opportunities? A teacher who invests her own resources to support students? A teacher who was voted Teacher of the Year two of the last three years?

If you’re Superintendent Jacqueline Cassell at the Pontiac Academy for Excellence Middle School in Pontiac, Mich., you fire her.

When Brooke Harris contacted us last week, her first concern was not her career—it was her students. She worried that she had let them down by not fighting harder for her job. She worried that their essays on Trayvon Martin would no longer be included in the school newspaper. She worried that the superintendent in charge of their education would continue to underestimate them.

We’re worried about Brooke’s students too. 

Last month Brooke Harris’ eighth-grade class asked her about the “kid who was killed over some skittles;” she seized the opportunity to bring her students’ lived experiences into the classroom—a strategy we and other experts advocate.

Brooke’s students identify with Trayvon Martin. Many of them are African American. Many have been stopped by police who thought they looked suspicious.

In fact, her students engaged so deeply with the issue that they asked to take it beyond essays and class discussions—they wanted to take action to help Trayvon’s family.

They, like many students across the nation, wanted to show their support by wearing hoodies. Each student who participated would pay $1. Proceeds would be donated to Trayvon’s family.

Again, Brooke saw a teachable moment. She and her students began the formal process of organizing a school event. Students wrote persuasive letters to the principal and superintendent. Brooke and a co-worker filed the necessary paperwork. The principal immediately signed off on the fundraiser.

Superintendent Cassell was less enthusiastic. She refused to approve the proposal, despite having supported many other “dress down” fundraisers. Brooke’s students took the disappointment in stride, but asked to present their idea to Cassell in person.

And that’s when things got weird.”

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