Mel Packer: Yes, my nation is guilty of torture…
Yes, my nation is guilty of torture, of murder, of discrimination, guilty of waging wars to make campaign donors even richer, guilty of many crimes that I was told in … Continue reading
Mel Packer: Manifesto on Violence
We are being inundated by media and government condemnation of the “violence” committed in Ferguson in response to the Grand Jury’s failure to indict Darren Wilson for murdering Michael Brown. … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Report From Ground Zero, St. Louis
I’m reminded of a photograph I once saw of Hiroshima. Not the explosion, but the day after. That’s what today feels like in my St. Louis neighborhood. A few … Continue reading
BREAKING: Ferguson Grand Jury Will Not Indict Darren Wilson
Grand jury has decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, reports say. “For 108 days, we have been in a state … Continue reading
Sarah Lazare: Severe Racial Disparities In Arrests the Norm In America
At least 1,581 police departments across the country arrest black people at greater rates than in Ferguson, according to USA Today analysis. Ferguson, Missouri has become a flashpoint of anger … Continue reading
Video: Ferguson activists interrupt St. Louis Symphony with Requiem for Michael Brown
Attendees at Saturday night’s performance of the St. Louis Symphony were treated to an addition to the evening’s scheduled program when a flash mob of protestors serenaded the audience with … Continue reading
New Video of Michael Brown Shooting “Game Changer”
Construction workers who saw Brown shot corroborate earlier statements that he was surrendering. A screengrab from the video provided by CNN shows witnesses to Michael Brown’s shooting gesturing with raised … Continue reading
Who Polices the Police?
Originally posted on The Contrary Perspective:
Surplus MRAPs: Coming soon to a police force near you? (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Senior Master Sgt. George Thompson) S. and B. Lett Every day…
Tom Engelhardt: How America Made ISIS
Whatever your politics, you’re not likely to feel great about America right now. After all, there’s Ferguson (the whole world was watching!), an increasingly unpopular president, a Congress whose approval ratings … Continue reading
Camisha Jones: How to Save the Life of the Next Michael Brown.
We all must build a common understanding of race, become aware of the role we play in upholding systems of oppression, and get comfortable with vulnerability. I don’t want to … Continue reading
Naomi Shihab Nye: On growing up in Ferguson and Palestine
I grew up in Ferguson, Mo. No one ever heard of it, unless you lived elsewhere in St. Louis County. Then my family moved to Palestine – my father’s first … Continue reading
Robert C. Koehler: The Courage to Disarm
The Ferguson tragedy, like all those that preceded it and all that will follow — involving the trivial and panicky use of lethal force, by the police or anyone else … Continue reading
Clifford Thompson: Improvising America
For years, as an African-American, I sought to figure out my cultural identity. My manner and lifestyle went against what many think of as the way a “real” black person … Continue reading
Lauren McCauley: ‘The Alarm Bells are Ringing’ — From Athletes to Environmentalists, a Universal Call for Racial Justice Emerges
While the protests over deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown refuse to stand down, leading environmentalists, labor protesters and others show their solidarity saying: “These issues are not separate.” … Continue reading →