Tag Archives: Civil Rights

InCity Voices

CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH! KNOW YOUR HISTORY TO KNOW YOURSELF!

Parlee for Rosalie
Go, Parlee Jones, go!!!

editor’s note: In honor of Black History Month, we re-post one of Parlee’s Black History Month ICT columns.

But first, here’s MLK Jr:

… and President Obama, a leader we miss so intensely these days it hurts!! A mountain of a man (and orator) compared to the nefarious sack of Trump shit who usurped the Oval Office in November 2016 (my heart is broken!💔)

– R. Tirella

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By Parlee Jones

There has been a lot of discussion lately as to the relevance of Black History Month. Is it still needed? Why should there be a Black History Month. For me, I feel that it is still relevant. Not only for Black people, but for all people. We celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King at the library this past January. When I ordered the cake, the woman who took my order, did not know who Dr. King was. Hmm. Yes, she was from another country. Welcome. Yes, she was enjoying the freedoms that were won through the Civil Rights movement. No, she didn’t know who he was. There are a lot of people enjoying the freedoms that were wrought from the Civil Rights movement who don’t know the history.

What hurts more is the fact that our young Black people don’t know who Fred Hampton, Medgar Evers or Emmet Till were. Yes, I concede that there have been improvements in regards to acknowledging the accomplishments of Blacks here in America, but there is still a lot of denial, resentment and straight out disdain for Americans of a darker hue. Just the blatant disrespect shown towards our President and the First Lady shows that America still has issues with Black people in power positions.

Knowledge of self to better yourself! Every people has a history. And, every people should know some of that history.
Black History Month had its origins in 1915 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This organization is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (“ASALH”). Through this organization Dr. Woodson initiated the first Negro History Week in February 1926. In 1976 this commemoration of Black history in the United States was expanded by ASALH to Black History Month, also known as African American History Month. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.

Never Forget:

Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an African-American activist and deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP). He was killed in his apartment during a raid by a tactical unit of the Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO), in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Hampton’s death was chronicled in the 1971 documentary film The Murder of Fred Hampton, as well as an episode of the critically acclaimed documentary series Eyes on the Prize. He was shot twice in the head at close range.

Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi. He became active in the civil rights movement after returning from overseas service in World War II and completing secondary education; he became a field secretary for the NAACP. Evers was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council. As a veteran, Evers was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests, as well as numerous works of art, music, and film.

Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store. Several nights later, Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam, arrived at Till’s great-uncle’s house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later. Till was returned to Chicago and his mother, who had raised him mostly by herself, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1950’s America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. People of color — blacks, Hispanics, Asians — were discriminated against in many ways, both overt and covert. The 1950’s were a turbulent time in America, when racial barriers began to come down due to Supreme Court decisions, like Brown v. Board of Education; and due to an increase in the activism of blacks, fighting for equal rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, was a driving force in the push for racial equality in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. In 1963, King and his staff focused on Birmingham, Alabama. They marched and protested non-violently, raising the ire of local officials who sicced water cannon and police dogs on the marchers, whose ranks included teenagers and children. The bad publicity and break-down of business forced the white leaders of Birmingham to concede to some anti-segregation demands.

Thrust into the national spotlight in Birmingham, where he was arrested and jailed, King helped organize a massive march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. His partners in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom included other religious leaders, labor leaders, and black organizers. The assembled masses marched down the Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, heard songs from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and heard speeches by actor Charlton Heston, NAACP president Roy Wilkins, and future U.S. Representative from Georgia John Lewis.

King’s appearance was the last of the event; the closing speech was carried live on major television networks. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King evoked the name of Lincoln in his “I Have a Dream” speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Towards the end of his life, MLK Jr. was passionate about economic equality – for everyone. Poverty – as well as peace – were the two issues he was now speaking about. Then he was gunned down … . Here he is on economic equality:

“Now, we are poor people. Individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively…the American Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada.

“Did you know that? That’s power right there, if we know how to pool it. We don’t have to argue with anybody. We don’t have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don’t need any bricks and bottles. We don’t need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, “God sent us by here, to say to you that you’re not treating his children right. And we’ve come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God’s children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you.”

Toward the end of the speech, King refers to threats against his life and uses language that seems to foreshadow his impending death:

“And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t really matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live – a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.

“So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything.

“I’m not fearing any man.

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Of course, people say they are tired of hearing these stories, but, until there is equality for all, these stories will need to be told! In the spirit of Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Nat Turner and all our ancestors who survived middle passage and helped to build this country, I salute you and will keep your memories alive ~ not only in the month of February, but 365 days a year!

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog

Happy MLK Jr Day! … Let’s do better, Worcester!

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MLK delivering his I HAVE A DREAM speech to America … and the world.

By Rosalie Tirella

Something happened to Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy when the school teachers got a hold of him (and us). The teachers – that is most of them – were well meaning but hopelessly naive (and fearful?) when it came to the murdered civil rights leader and his legacy. Maybe they got stuck on one speech – only watched or listened to his “I have a Dream” speech and none of his other speeches and sermons, all fiercely political, tough minded and demanding … demanding America to change. In a deep, fundamental way …

Maybe they heard the part in his I Have a Dream speech – a history-making sermon he delivered before 200,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. in 1963, before his March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom – and got stuck on one image in the speech – the part when MLK says he dreams of the day little black children can hold hands with little white children in peace. Being school teachers, these words plucked at their heart strings, the image moved them. And so they unwittingly turned MLK into a kind of sweet nursery rhyme character. Milquetoast for the masses – masses of school children who grew up never knowing, hearing the real Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK’s I Have a Dream speech is not, in my opinion, even one of his greater “sermons”! Go listen to MLK on fire!! – go find and listen to his many sermons and speeches on You Tube and YOU WILL BE BLOWN AWAY. You will be awestruck by this tough, courageous, political, loving, religious, funny, brilliant, charismatic, REVOLUTIONARY, ERUDITE preacher man!

Like WOW.

For me, MLK was as great an orator as Lincoln. And, miraculously, he was part of our world – the second half of the 20th century! If you’re a Baby Boomer (like me) or older, you remember him: you got to see, experience his presence on the American scene. And he was Olympian! I remember watching the TV, just a little kid, mesmerized by this Black man with the sonorous voice who could bring thousands of people to their feet – listening to him, singing with him, marching with him. My late mom revered MLK – and Bobby Kennedy. Through the TV news, their speeches to her, to all Americans,  made a difference. These two men, both highly educated, both wealthy, one Black, one Irish American, spoke to my poor single Polish mother in Green Island. They were a balm to her emotional pain, her family’s poverty, the difficulty, sometimes brutality, of her life. Their words, along with her Catholic faith, gave my single working mother strength to keep working those 60 hours at the drycleaners for minimum wage – never getting overtime, always making the extra money under the table. They helped give her the fortitude to make sure her three little girls were well cared for and going to Lamartine Street School EVERY DAY and studying hard and getting those As on their report cards so they could go to college on scholarship! They helped her keep her dreams for a better future alive.  At 45, 55 … 75 years old she would tell me: My Rosalie, I liked the Kennedy’s but Bobby better than Jack [Kennedy]. Bobby was more emotional. He was with the poor. He felt for the poor. …..My Green Island mini history lesson! Besides the hard life lessons I was living/ learning each day!

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Rosalie’s late mom…

MLK and Bobby Kennedy were so special to the poor, the disenfranchised of America! Not just Black folks. These two men knew – KNEW! – how hard it was! They loved us, were fighting for us and we knew it!

But white suburban middle class teachers sometimes don’t get it or maybe these days all Americans – out of complacency or intellectual laziness – don’t get it. Have forgotten the guts, the raw nerve, the visionary goals, the tough messages of MLK and Bobby K. These men were so outside the box they were perceived a threat by the rich, the powerful in this country … the people who called the shots in our small towns and big cities. South AND North. I believe MLK knew he was going to be killed (listen to his sermons!). He just didn’t know when. Which gave his life urgency: SO MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH – so little time to do the work! he must have thought to himself. Genius that he was, he crammed 1,000 lives into his cut-short one. He was just 39 years old when he was shot dead on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel!

Just like Jesus, another revolutionary, who also took the bullet, via crucifixion. Jesus too was tough, political, pro poor folks and outsiders. Hence: Dangerous. He preached about a New World Order, like MLK. Through nonviolence and love. An even bigger threat! Now how do the nefarious Nixons and Romans wrap their heads around that???

Jesus and MLK threatened the status quo on so many levels: racially, politically, economically, and yes, even sexually (remember Mary Magdalene?😉).

Of course, America killed MLK.

And we are killing him still. – today!

On the local front:

Where are the Black school teachers in our lilly white Worcester Public Schools? Many of our elementary schools have 100% all white teacher staff. Have for decades.

Where are our African American librarians in the Worcester Public Library and her branches! Remember: Worcester is becoming a majority-minority city, yet her “public servants” in no way resemble, reflect her public!

Why?

Because white people just  don’t wanna give it up. Share the perks and the power. Just like in 1965.

Shame on Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus for all the lip service but failing to walk the walk!

The Black Lives Matter movement and their peaceful protests here in Worcester?  Squelched.  By City Manager Augustus. Backed by police with guns and the threat of jail! Just like in 1965.

Worcester police beating the crap out of African American men and city leaders are still just thinking about body cameras for cops and for their police cruiser dash-boards. And where’s our civilian review board? How serious are Worcester city councilors taking police brutality? Do they really want to stop police brutality? ….Just like in 1965.

What about the high-ranking City of Worcester employee who called a black person,  as the person was driving into the Worcester City Hall parking garage and he was exiting City Hall, a “Fucking Nigger”? Was he ever fired from his city job? Put on leave?  Was the public even allowed to see the city records on this very public city incident by this public employee whose salary is paid for by the public? Nope. Hush, hush!

Compared to the cities of Hartford or Springfield, cities where I once lived and got to see a TRULY racially integrated city workforce, Worcester is woefully, shamefully behind the times.

But there’s plenty of blame to go around. One of the Worcester people who could have righted some of the injustices, or at least the ones in our public schools, was Stacey Luster. Luster, a prominent city African American, is the former Human Resources Director for the Worcester Public Schools. She was responsible for the hiring of our public school teachers and could have changed Worcester’s school teacher landscape in an important and city-shaping way. Truly diversified the Worcester Public Schools teaching staff! But she didn’t. I learned this early on, strangely enough, not at a public hearing or public meeting at City Hall but outside my old pal, the late Tony Hmura, outside Tony’s sign shop, in his driveway! On Canterbury Street, in the middle of the ‘hood! Stacey and her husband owned a building on Canterbury Street near Tony’s shop and (I learned later from Tony) Tony made a sign for their building.

So…I  was driving into the Leader Sign parking lot to visit Tony and I see Stacey’s husband leaving the shop. An unexpected surprise, in light of the fact the City of Worcester had just hired her to be the new Worcester Public Schools Human Resources Director. Its first African American one. I say to him, right off the bat, because I’m so enthused and happy: HI! ISN’T IT GREAT?! ISN’T IT GREAT THAT YOUR WIFE IS HEADING HUMAN RESOURCES IN OUR SCHOOLS?!! NOW SHE CAN REALLY BRING IN BLACK TEACHERS AND REALLY DIVERSIFY OUR SCHOOLS!!!!

Her husband looks at me and says: We’ve got a mortgage to pay. When she was in public office, but not now.

Translation: His wife wasn’t going to rock any Worcester status quo boats. She wanted to keep her City of Worcester job and her HUGE City of Worcester paycheck. Screw advancing her people, exposing minority kids to important role models …Screw bringing Worcester out of 1965!

Pathetic.

Which should remind us all HOW GREAT Martin Luther King, Jr. was!

He died for his people!

He died so black teachers could teach in Southern schools.

He gave his life so Stacey Luster could have a high status, high paying job in the Worcester Public Schools!

Forget the losers!

Honor, MLK! Celebrate, MLK! But most important, LISTEN TO HIM!!!

His message is UNSTOPPABLE!

P.S. Can you imagine? MLK just stopping by to give a little talk to your junior high school?! Wow.

InCity Yum Yums

First ever Black Lives Matter agenda …

… released today!

A coalition affiliated with BLM issued the following:

CLICK HERE to read entire document!

“We demand an end to the war against Black people. Since this country’s inception there have been named and unnamed wars on our communities. We demand an end to the criminalization, incarceration, and killing of our people. This includes:

“An immediate end to the criminalization and dehumanization of Black youth across all areas of society including, but not limited to; our nation’s justice and education systems, social service agencies, and media and pop culture. This includes an end to zero-tolerance school policies and arrests of students, the removal of police from schools, and the reallocation of funds from police and punitive school discipline practices to restorative services.

“An end to capital punishment.
An end to money bail, mandatory fines, fees, court surcharges and “defendant funded” court proceedings.

“An end to the use of past criminal history to determine eligibility for housing, education, licenses, voting, loans, employment, and other services and needs.

“An end to the war on Black immigrants including the repeal of the 1996 crime and immigration bills, an end to all deportations, immigrant detention, and Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids, and mandated legal representation in immigration court.

“An end to the war on Black trans, queer and gender nonconforming people including their addition to anti-discrimination civil rights protections to ensure they have full access to employment, health, housing and education. …  .”

CLICK HERE to read entire document!

InCity Voices

Muhammad Ali: he did it his way

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Ali in America – defiant, in a White man’s world …

By Gordon Davis

What a Black man needed to do in Racist America. This is a question that we all face in one way or another. What does a woman need to do in a man’s world? What does an immigrant need to do in the land of majority natives?

Muhammad Ali is being buried today, June 10, 2016.

The death of Muhammad Ali compelled me to think of his experiences and the experiences of other Black men. Ali is a hard person to write about, as he was to say the least multi-faceted. It is a condition that our alienation from the society in which we live forces onto us.

I liked Sonny Liston in 1964. He was a Philly fighter, and I thought he would beat the crap out of the loud-mouthed self-promoter known as Cassius Clay. Clay, to a certain extent, reminded me of the buffoons that Black men had played in the movies in order to survive in a racist society.

It was quite a shock when Clay beat Liston.

Buffoons were not supposed to beat Philly fighters.

When Clay changed his name to Ali, he seemed to have intentionally alienated himself forever from what is now called mainstream society.

Ali joined a group that was calling for separate societies for Black and White folks. Almost everyone else, in the mainstream, called for an integrated society. He had this continuous contradiction in his life, as he had White friends and worked with White people in the boxing industry. He was able to maintain this contradiction better than other Black men, especially with his talent for boxing.

It was this ability that made him important to Black people: How to be defiant in a racist America without being beaten down to levels of great indignity.

We Black people admired him for this reason. In the bosses’ America all working people – who are the majority of Black people – live under the fear and threat of impoverishment for speaking out of turn or speaking truth to power. We only have to look at the fate of Worcester’s MOSAIC to see this. Every Black person in the City of Worcester knows this and has to some extent made compromises or sacrificed his/her dignity. Some of us have gone silent. Some of us pretend to love the boss. Others continue to fight against racism and economic injustice.

When Ali lost his ability to speak as a result of his illness, he could no longer defy the system of racial and economic injustices that all working class people face. It was during his last years of relative silence that bosses in American began to express their love for Ali.

I know that Ali was a charitable man and did good for humankind. Most of all, he gave us hope and was an example of defiance – without being beaten into shame and poverty.

He did it his way.

InCity Voices

At Worcester State University: Dr. Cornell West, Too Smart  

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West at WSU. photo: Gordon Davis

By Gordon Davis
 
Dr. Cornell West spoke at Worcester State University last night. He is a difficult man to understand, but most philosophers are. He certainly stepped on everyone’s toes without any apparent concrete ax to grind.

At first Dr. West talked about love and how it will change the world. By love he means love or the love of human interactions and charity. He feels this should be our primary motivation. He reminded me of a gentleman in Worcester who also says that his enemies will be swept away with this love.

Next Dr. West talked of integrity of the individual and how we should not succumb to the prostitution of ourselves for money and banality. It was almost sermonlike.

Then toes started to get stepped on. He said many of the churches preached the gospel of prosperity or pray to God and you will get rich or be free of material want.

He attacked President Obama, saying we have a Black President, a Black Attorney General and a Black head of Homeland Security, and the racist cops still are not being punished.

Dr. West had a good word for Malcolm X whom he saw as a model of the redemption of the individual, a man who could change his life for the better in terms of social interactions and leadership.

The Constitution of the United took a hit. Dr. West pointed out that the Constitution made legal the exploitative nature of the political bosses of the American Revolution, codifying slavery.  His point, as I understand it, is: the things that are legal are not always just; we should not fall into the trap of thinking legality equals justice.

There was an irony, I suppose, in his analysis of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Dr. West sarcastically called Donald Trump “brother.” He said brother Trump was not yet a fascist. Dr. West thought Trump to be an egomaniac who likes showing off how smart he is. The irony is that Dr. West seemed to be doing the same thing.

Unfortunately, most of West’s audience was Worcester State University students who did not seem to grasp the shock values of Dr. West’s assertions. The terms he used, like “neo liberal,” seemed to confuse many.

From my own experience, terms used by contemporary college students like “intersectionality” go over my head as well.

Dr. West is in his sixties, and a generational gap may be developing with semantics of the 1960s and 2010s. I heard some of the students leaving say that they wanted to cut through the crap and get to the message.

One of the things Dr. West does not have is a cause to fight for. He did not say he wanted to close down Guantanamo. He did not say he wanted a $15/hour minimum wage. He did say he was for a general redistribution of power.

When you do not have a cause, speech becomes more philosophical or ethical.  It is like someone showing off how smart he is. 

What I learned years ago from Dr. Hampsch, one of my philosophy teachers at Holy Cross, is that Karl Marx changed philosophy when he said our job is to make history, not just to study it. That thought came to me as I listened to Dr. West.

InCity Voices

Massachusetts does not protect transgender people against discrimination in public settings

FROM FENWAY HEALTH:

Gender minority people who are transgender or gender nonconforming experience widespread discrimination and health inequities. Since 2012, Massachusetts law has provided legal protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, public education, and business. However, the law does not protect against discrimination based on gender identity in places open to the public, such as transportation, retail stores, restaurants, health care facilities, and bathrooms.

A new Early Exclusive View study in The Milbank Quarterly that surveyed transgender and gender nonconforming adults in Massachusetts has found that discrimination in public settings is not only common, but is associated with adverse health outcomes (read the abstract here). The study, by lead author Dr. Sari Reisner of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues, examines the relationship between social stressors, including discrimination, and the health and well-being of gender minority adults in Massachusetts since the 2012 implementation of the state’s gender identity nondiscrimination law.  It also looks at the frequency and health correlates of public-setting discrimination among gender minority adults in Massachusetts, with particular attention to discrimination in health care settings, such as health centers, hospitals, and nursing homes.

Currently, 18 states, including Massachusetts (and the District of Columbia) have gender identity nondiscrimination laws that provide protections against discrimination in employment, housing, public education, and business/credit.  Massachusetts is the only one of these states in which the law, which was established in 2012, does not protect against discrimination in public settings. Since the 2012 enactment of the gender identity nondiscrimination law in Massachusetts, this is the first study to explore experiences of discrimination, including those in public settings.

The researchers surveyed 452 adults in Massachusetts ranging in age from 18 to 75 years and found:

65% had experienced discrimination in at least one public setting between 2012 and 2013.
Discrimination was associated with a greater risk of adverse emotional and physical symptoms.
Because of discrimination, about 24% of the sample reported postponing routine medical care, which can result in significant health consequences.
“Passage and enforcement of transgender rights laws that include protections against discrimination in public settings, inclusive of health care, is a critical public health policy approach needed to move toward health equity,” says Dr. Reisner.  Study authors included researchers from The Fenway Institute, Yale School of Public Health, Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, and Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.

Continuously published since 1923, The Milbank Quarterly features peer-reviewed original research, policy review, and analysis from academics, clinicians, and policymakers. The Quarterly’s multidisciplinary approach and commitment to applying the best empirical research to practical policymaking offer in-depth assessments of the social, economic, historical, legal, and ethical dimensions of health and health care policy. The Milbank Quarterly is published in March, June, September, and December on behalf of the Milbank Memorial Fund by John Wiley & Sons.

Since 1971, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population.  The Fenway Institute is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues.

InCity Voices

On the Black Lives Matter protesters’ clerk magistrate hearing …

By Gordon Davis

Two days ago four Black (all) Lives Matter protesters were summoned to a Clerk Magistrate hearing at the Worcester Courthouse.

The Clerk Magistrate ruled that there was not sufficient evidence for the assertion by the City of Worcester that the four protesters were disorderly. But he did rule that there was sufficient evidence for a complaint of disturbing the peace.

The evidence presented by the City of Worcester consisted, to a larger extent, of a police report. Although mentioned in the hearing, a video was not shown.  The police report is suspect, as the police were not witnesses to the protest at Kelly Square. One of the protesters, summoned to court, never entered the roadway and was at least one block away. The police report said another protester was wearing clothing he was not actually wearing. The report went on to say that the manner by which the police identified the protesters was from interviews days AFTER the protest.

The Worcester Police Department has been known for its secrecy and lack of transparency, which allows it to escape public scrutiny. It is an environment which can lead police officers to be less than truthful or unable to resist unlawful instructions from superiors.

Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus and Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme stated in the media that they only pursued the summons after they saw a video. They ordered an investigation.  Based on knowledge and belief the police report was ordered to be written by Chief Gemme and City Manager Augustus.  They pressured officers to create the inconsistent and possibly false police report presented at the Clerk Magistrate hearing.  It will be interesting to see how the writers of the report respond to questions under oath at the trial.

I believe the complaints brought by the City Manager and the Police Chief against the protesters are political.  They both say they would withdraw the charges if and when the protesters promise not to demonstrate in the streets. A non-political complaint would not have such a condition.

There may be a violation by the City of the civil rights of the protesters. This violation is a separate violation from the issue of disturbing the peace. The City is threatening jail time and fines in order to gain a political end.

The BLM protesters have a right, under the first amendment, to protest the unjust killings of unarmed Black men in America.

The issue is whether the City Manager and Police Chief conspire to deny the protesters their first amendment rights.

The complaints have had a chilling effect on some people.

There seems to be some evidence that the City Manager and Police Chief applied pressure to some police officers to create an inconsistent and possibly false police report.  This issue of conspiracy to violate civil rights should be an issue brought to the Department of Justice when it comes to Worcester. This harassment and intimidation of the protesters by the City Manager, Chief of Police and the mostly white Worcester City Council  might not rise to the level of a civil rights violation, but it is something  that should be investigated. It is certainly a large political mistake.

A much better way for the City of Worcester to achieve the goal of a stop to protests is to engage the protesters in honest dialogue.

It is what the protesters have been demanding. The protesters talked of increased scrutiny of the Worcester police – a civilian review board.

A civilian review board is something that seems to be needed, given the recent arrest of a Worcester police officer for civil rights violations. We hope District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. makes public the videotape of the Worcester police officer allegedly beating the man – in a Worcester police holding cell – sooner rather than later. It is public record and the public has a right to see/know. Most likely city officials fear the video will be like so many videos that have gone viral over the past year in America. It will inflame passions.

It is not their job to control how the public will react to public information.

InCity Voices

New report reveals that equal treatment remains out of reach for LGBT Americans in most states

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federation, released its first national report assessing the status of state legislation affecting LGBT equality across America, including in Massachusetts.

The inaugural State Equality Index (SEI) reveals that, even with progress on marriage equality, there are extraordinary state-to-state disparities in LGBT non-discrimination protections, including in the workplace, and efforts continue by equality opponents to pass state-level legislation that would sanction discrimination and undermine even minimal existing protections.

Massachusetts is one of 18 states in the country that has explicit state-level workplace protections for all LGBT employees. It is also one of 36 states with marriage equality. “Despite historic progress on issues like marriage equality, a majority of states still struggle to reach even a basic level of equality for LGBT people,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Most states lack statewide non-discrimination laws to protect LGBT people – putting countless individuals and families at risk, and creating inequalities in adoption and surrogacy, employments benefits, and youth safety and well-being.” “Even worse,” Griffin said, “equality opponents continue to push deeply harmful laws forward, including those seeking to undermine critical protections in the guise of “religious liberty.”

Though same-sex marriage is legal in 36 states and Washington, D.C., more than 111 million people, or 35 percent of Americans, live in states that have marriage but where LGBT people are not fully protected from discrimination in the workplace. And more than 206 million people nationwide live in states where every LGBT  person lacks fully-inclusive statewide workplace sexual orientation and gender identity protections.

In Massachusetts, basic non-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people have been passed, but advocates continue to work to build support for legislation that would protect transgender people from discrimination in the realm of public accommodations – including at stores, schools and other public and private facilities used by the public.

Massachusetts lawmakers are also expected to introduce a bill to protect youth from dangerous and medically-debunked conversion therapy.

The SEI assesses states on their LGBT-related legislation and policies, good and bad, in six areas: relationship recognition, parenting laws and policies, non-discrimination laws, hate crimes laws, anti-bullying laws, and health and safety laws and policies.

Based on that review, the SEI assigns states to one of four distinct categories. Massachusetts falls into the category, “Solidifying Equality.” Seven states and the District of Columbia are in the highest category, “Working Toward Innovative Equality” These states have marriage equality, robust LGBT non-discrimination laws that include employment, housing and public accommodations as well as protections in the realm of credit, insurance, and jury selection. Most allow transgender people to change official documents to reflect their gender identity. Many bar private insurers from banning transition-related healthcare. LGBT youth are protected by anti-bullying laws, as well as innovative measures in some states that address conversion therapy, inclusive juvenile justice policies, homelessness, and sexual education.

Seven states are in the category “Solidifying Equality” These states have marriage equality and non-discrimination protections, and are considered high-performing but not cutting edge on LGBT equality. Some states, however, lack explicit non-discrimination protections on the basis of gender identity. These states have relatively robust anti-bullying laws, but bad laws begin to crop up in this category.

Seven states are in the category “Building Equality” These have marriage equality and have taken steps toward more robust LGBT equality, including passing basic non-discrimination and hate crimes laws. Some lack explicit gender identity protections, and several lack comprehensive anti-bullying laws. Bad laws are more common, so advocates work to stop bills that undermine LGBT equality, and pass more comprehensive non-discrimination laws.

Twenty-nine states are in the worst-performing category “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality” Most of these states have many laws that undermine LGBT equality, from those that criminalize HIV and sodomy, to measures allowing religious-based discrimination against LGBT people.

A handful of states have court-ordered marriage equality; none have non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation or gender identity protections; few have hate crime laws. LGBT advocates largely work on killing bad bills, and on passing municipal protections for LGBT people. “We’re grateful to HRC for producing this invaluable tool. The SEI is an objective assessment of how we’re doing in the fight for fully lived equality and gives our elected officials a keen insight into the work that lies ahead, said interim Co-Executive Director of MassEquality Carly Burton. “Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to provide full marital rights for same-sex couples, but 10 years out from that historic victory, there is still more work to be done. We’re thrilled the HRC is releasing a vital report on our progress and areas for growth such as public accommodations protections for transgender people, support and services for homeless youth, the assurance of dignity for LGBTQ seniors as they age and addressing the crippling disparities experienced by communities of color.”

The full report, including detailed scorecards for every state, is available online at www.hrc.org/sei.

The Equality Federation on January 26 will launch a week-long educational campaign to bring attention to state disparities in LGBT protections.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community. 

Green Island Grrrl, InCity Feature, InCity Voices, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

From the Worcester Historical Museum: New England’s hidden enterprise …

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Saw this movie. Incredible. Check out the film and attend the discussion, courtesy of the WPL and the Worcester Historical Museum.

– R. T.

Screening: Traces of the Trade

Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 PM
Worcester Public Library
Free

In Traces of the Trade, Katrina Browne tells the story of her forefathers, the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. The film follows Browne and nine other family members as they come face-to-face with the history and legacy of New England’s hidden enterprise.

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From Emancipation to Equality: A Panel Discussion
Thursday, October 17 at 6:30 PM
Free

As a followup to the screening of Traces of the Trade, Worcester Historical Museum will host a panel discussion of local experts and community members on the legacy of slavery, the Civil War, Civil Rights Movement, and the work that still needs to be done to achieve racial equality.

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