demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalMartin Luther King - Original I Have a Dream Speech - Detroit, MI 1963
Various ministers and leaders of local and national organizations including the Mayor of Detroit were in attendance and gave speeches. Among them was Martin Luther King Jr. who after the Walk to Freedom March gave an impassioned speech. It was a precursor to his famous "I Have a Dream" speech given weeks later in Washington, D.C.. The march itself was, to King and his supporters, partly a practice run of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[1]
Due to the greater size of the March on Washington, the Detroit Walk to Freedom has been somewhat lost to obscurity outside of local Detroit history.[2] At the time, Dr. King called it “one of the most wonderful things that has happened in America.” [3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Walk_to_Freedom
Ex-Detroit firefighter sues over termination for racially insensitive watermelon
Source: Motor City Muckraker
A probationary Detroit firefighter who was terminated for delivering an enormous watermelon wrapped in a pink bow to a predominately black fire station as “a welcome gift” has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming he was fired because he is white.
The lawsuit by former firefighter Robert Pattison claims he was racially discriminated against because the Detroit Fire Department “would never have discharged a black employee for gifting a watermelon.”
Pattison, who has a checkered employment past, made national headlines when the department fired him on Oct. 5, declaring the watermelon “was deemed offensive and racially insensitive.” Even most of Detroit’s white firefighters defended the firing, and the firefighters’ union declined to take up Pattison’s case.
Watermelons have been used since the 1860s to denigrate black people, who were portrayed in caricatures as impish, lazy, unclean and mindless buffoons. In the 20th century, the vile depictions of African Americans, often with oversized, blood-red lips, raggedy clothes and very dark skin, showed up on postcards, ashtrays, cookie jars, board games, souvenirs and during minstrel shows. When Obama was elected president, photoshopped images of watermelon patches on the lawn of the White House became popular memes, and a Boston Herald cartoonist illustrated the commander in chief brushing his teeth while a man in the bathtub asks, “Have you tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste?”
Read more: http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2018/01/15/ex-detroit-firefighter-sues-termination-racially-insensitive-watermelon/
FFS.
Donald Trump's Racism: The Definitive List
Source: NYT
The media often falls back on euphemisms when describing Trump’s comments about race: racially loaded, racially charged, racially tinged, racially sensitive. And Trump himself has claimed that he is “the least racist person.” But here’s the truth: Donald Trump is a racist. He talks about and treats people differently based on their race. He has done so for years, and he is still doing so.
Here, we have attempted to compile a definitive list of his racist comments – or at least the publicly known ones.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/15/opinion/leonhardt-trump-racist.html
Trump administration releases pregnant, undocumented teen to get abortion
Source: Vice
Just days after yet another pregnant, undocumented teenager accused the Trump administration of blocking her from getting an abortion, the administration released the teen from federal custody.
The teenager, known only as “Jane Moe” in court records, filed paperwork Thursday alleging that the Office of Refugee Resettlement was refusing to allow her to get an abortion. The Office oversees all minors who enter the country without their parents and without authorization.
In response, the Trump administration said Friday that it planned to release Moe out of its custody and into the care of a sponsor, which would allow her to get an abortion. The plan had been to release her by Friday, Jan. 26.
Instead, Moe was freed Sunday.
Read more: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/ne49ab/trump-administration-releases-pregnant-undocumented-teen-to-get-abortion
Trump Looks To Slash Millions In Aid For Palestinian Refugees Despite Warnings
Source: Newsweek
President Donald Trump has threatened to cut tens of millions of dollars in funding to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees unless the Palestinians agree to peace talks with Israel, reports claim.
Trump has yet to announce his final decision, but is expected to cut the first installment to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) by nearly half, with only $60 million of the planned $125 million expected to reach the agency, U.S. officials told the Associated Press.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said future contributions would depend on the agency's ability to demonstrate "significant changes in operations," including requiring Palestinians to re-engage in peace talks with Israel.
The State Department said on Sunday that the decision on funding is still "under review." However, the administration is expected to announce a decision as early as Tuesday, officials told AP.
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/trump-looks-slash-millions-funding-palestinian-refugees-despite-warnings-move-781196?utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
The Handmaid's Tale Season 2 First Look (Official) - Only on Hulu
This gives me the chills... I look forward to viewing the new season.
Resist, indeed (I am glad that they put in that reference)!
The Republican Party Emerges From Decades of Court Supervision
After being bound by a consent decree for 35 years, the Republican National Committee is now free to continue its “ballot security” campaign.Source: The Atlantic
In their 1981 lawsuit to stop the RNC from engaging in certain practices at the polls, the Democratic National Committee attested that in a New Jersey gubernatorial election, the RNC had sent sample ballots to communities of color, and then had the names for each ballot returned as undeliverable removed from voter rolls. Democrats also alleged that the RNC hired off-duty cops to patrol majority-minority precincts, wearing “National Ballot Security Task Force” armbands. These details were enough to secure a consent decree between the two party organizations and the court in 1982, stopping the GOP from engaging in such voter-intimidation practices.
Except, Democrats alleged, they didn’t stop. The consent decree was updated in 1987 after Republicans created a voter-challenge list of black voters from whom letters had been returned as undeliverable, with an RNC official saying that the list could “keep the black vote down considerably.” The decree was modified again in 1990 after a court ruled the RNC had violated it by not telling state parties about its provisions, which had led to the North Carolina GOP sending 150,000 postcards to potential voters listing voting regulations, in an apparent attempt at intimidation. The GOP violated the court order again in 2004 after yet another voter-challenge list targeted black voters.
With that history of behavior in full view, federal courts moved to allow the decree to expire in December 2017, a decision that was finalized Tuesday by a federal district court. For the first time in three decades, the RNC can pursue ballot-security measures without court preclearance.
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/the-gop-just-received-another-tool-for-suppressing-votes/550052/?utm_source=atltw
Ukip leader's girlfriend suspended after 'racist' Meghan Markle remarks
Source: BBC
UKIP has suspended the girlfriend of party leader Henry Bolton after she apparently made racist remarks about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle.
The Mail on Sunday has published a series of messages sent by Jo Marney.
In them, the 25-year-old model said Ms Markle would "taint" the Royal Family, that she had a "tiny brain" and that black people were ugly.
Ms Marney apologised and said her messages had been taken out of context. Mr Bolton did not want to comment.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-42679187
Trump retweets far-right activist
Source: The Hill
President Trump retweeted a far-right figure on Saturday night.
Trump retweeted Jack Posobiec, who is well-known for promoting debunked “alt-right” conspiracy theories.
...
The brief clip is a cut from a 30-minute September 14, 2010 Senate floor speech by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) arguing in favor of approving the Dream Act, not calling for an end to chain migration.
The section of the clip cut by Prosobiec shows Durbin reading a description of the Dream Act and specific measures to limit family migration, or so-called chain migration.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/368940-trump-retweets-far-right-activist
Just received this alert in Hawaii (apparently it IS a drill, but WTF?!)
Just received this alert in Hawaii
1:09 PM - 13 Jan 2018
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