Brazil’s Black Lives Matter Movement

Brazil, the last South American country to abolish slavery in the late 1800s, struggles to uplift their nation’s Black lives. Through pay gaps, urban designs, government representation and policing, Brazil’s society threatens the Black community. 

A protester on the streets in Brazil. Michelle Guimarães.

Over the course of 300 years, approximately four million Africans were taken to Brazil as slaves. Today, Brazil’s racial demographics are  47.7 percent white, 43.1 percent multiracial and 7.6 percent Black. The average income for white Brazilians is almost double that of the average income for Black or multiracial Brazilians, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Also, 78.5 percent of people in Brazil who are receiving the lowest rate of income (equivalent to $5.50 U.S. dollars per day) are Black or multiracial people.

This May, Black Lives Matter protests filled the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasília after 28 people died during a police raid. Human rights activists said that the officers killed people who wanted to surrender and posed no threat. The raid took place in Rio de Janeiro, where heavily armed officers with helicopters and vehicles went into Jacarezinho, a poor neighborhood. Thousands of residents were subject to nine hours of terror.

Organizers said that 7,000 people took to the streets in Sao Paulo. Protesters painted the Brazilian flag with red paint and held up a school uniform stained with blood. In Rio de Janeiro, protestors chanted, “Don’t kill me, kill racism.”

As Brazilian author and activist Djamila Ribeiro said, “The Brazilian state didn't create any kind of public policy to integrate Black people in society," and that "although we didn't have a legal apartheid like the U.S. or South Africa, society is very segregated—institutionally and structurally."

In 2019, the police killed 6,357 people in Brazil, which is one of the highest rates of police killings in the world—and almost 80 percent of the victims were Black. 

During COVID-19, Black Brazilians were more likely than other racial groups to report COVID-19 symptoms, and more likely to die in the hospital. Experts attributed this disparity to high rates of informal employment among Black people, preventing them from the ability to work from home, and a higher prevalence of pre-existing conditions. Specifically, in 2019, Black Brazilians already accounted for the majority of unemployed workers (64.2%); therefore, they already lacked economic support even before the pandemic.

An artist’s photoshoot with Brazil flag covering their bodies. Eriscolors. 

Only a quarter of federal deputies in the lower chamber of Brazil’s Congress and a third of managerial roles in companies were Black people, according to the IBGE statistics from 2019.  

Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, said during his campaign in 2018 that descendants of people who were enslaved were “good for nothing, not even to procreate,” while using the slogan “my color is Brazil.”

Keisha-Khan Y. Perry, a professor at the University of Texas, conducted an ethnographic study looking at how Black women in Gamboa de Baixo—a city culturally and historically tied to Black Brazilians—are leading the community towards social activism against racist politics. Specifically, these racist policies include political urban revitalization programs that push out Black and poor people. Perry said that these policies are a political tactic continually utilized in Brazilian cities. 

However, recently in May, Milton Barbosa, one of the founders of the most notable Black civil rights organization in Brazil, Unified Black Movement, said, “There’s been an increase in awareness nationally… We still have to fight, but there have been important changes.” 

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Kyla Denisevich

Kyla is an upcoming senior at Boston University, and is majoring in Journalism with a minor in Anthropology. She writes articles for the Daily Free Press at BU and a local paper in Malden, Massachusetts called Urban Media Arts. Pursuing journalism is her passion, and she aims to highlight stories from people of all walks of life to encourage productive, educated conversation. In the future, Kyla hopes to create well researched multimedia stories which emphasize under-recognized narratives.

London’s Mayor Promises Police Reform After Months of Unrest

In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan promises police reform after months of Black Lives Matter protests. By committing to hiring diverse police officers, Khan sets the precedent for other major cities to follow. 

The Metropolitan Police Service at Trafalgar Square in London. CGP Grey. CC BY 2.0.

On Nov. 13, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced that by 2022, at least 40% of new recruits will be from minority backgrounds. Like many police forces around the world, London’s police have come under criticism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that began in the United States. London’s action in reforming its police force sets the precedent for other communities to follow. 

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is Britain’s largest police force. Also known as Scotland Yard and colloquially called the Met, MPS employs over 44,000 police officers and receives over 25% of the police budget for England and Wales. Along with most other police forces, the Met has come under criticism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and demands for police brutality reform. London’s record with police brutality is quite different than that of America’s, but it and racial inequality are still common across the United Kingdom. In the U.K., Black people are more than nine times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than White people. Though people of color make up 13% of the population in England and Wales, 48% of minors in custody belong to the group. 

While London is an incredibly diverse city, in 2017 an overwhelming 87% of MPS officers were White, with just 13.3% of officers identifying as Black and Minority Ethnic. These statistics have come under fire recently, with Black Lives Matter protesters taking to the streets of London demanding reform. Protesters turned out in thousands throughout the summer of 2020, with protest numbers spiking after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared the U.K. as “not a racist country” and designating protesters’ behavior as “thuggery.” 

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Steve Punter. CC BY 2.0. 

Despite Prime Minister Johnson’s wavering views toward protests, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, acknowledged the institutional racism that he believes inflicts the country. In a statement from the mayor’s office, Khan said: “To the thousands of Londoners who protested peacefully today: I stand with you and I share your anger and your pain. George Floyd’s brutal killing must be a catalyst for change worldwide. No country, city, police service or institution can absolve itself of the responsibility to do better. We must stand together and root out racism wherever it is found. Black Lives Matter.” Khan’s acknowledgment of racism and discrimination is groundbreaking compared to American political leaders’ relative lack of action regarding this issue. 

On Nov. 13, Sadiq Khan announced that by 2022, at least 40% of new recruits in the MPS will be from minority backgrounds. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick released a rare public statement acknowledging that the Met “is not free of discrimination, racism or bias.” Commissioner Dick also announced that her “job is to continue to try to eliminate any such racism and discrimination, however it appears.” London’s active anti-racist stance will set the precedent for other communities and cities to follow. This commitment to diversity is evidence of tangible and long-lasting change within potentially racist institutions. 

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How the BLM Movement Blossomed in the UK

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Sarah Leidich

Sarah is currently an English and Film major at Barnard College of Columbia University. Sarah is inspired by global art in every form, and hopes to explore the intersection of activism, art, and storytelling through her writing.

How the BLM Movement Blossomed in the UK

As voices of the Black Lives Matter movement flooded American streets, British proponents alike rushed to rally. The seeds of the movement germinated in the U.K., but problems soon sprung up alongside them. 

Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol, England. KSAG Photography. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

In late May, the death of George Floyd ignited outrage in nations across the world, including in the United Kingdom. In the early summer months, the pages of social media and eager British ralliers mirrored the zeal of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. However, over the course of a few short months, the unmatched vigor of the movement in Britain quickly dropped off; neither the media channels nor the once fiery minds of residents continued active coverage and support. 

What had started as weekly protests in Britain’s largest cities had dissolved into a deferred dream for a few young activists. As more racial inequalities surfaced, less and less government engagement was found. 

Regardless of this obstacle, the young remaining supporters continue their fight with the unbattered zeal of seasoned activists. A few such activists are the founders of All Black Lives U.K., which is a movement started this past May by a group of students. The group organized protests for 10 weeks this summer and has since made substantial headway; its outreach, primarily made through social media and hosted panels, has garnered enough engagement to establish posts in other urban areas such as Bristol and Manchester. 

The movement pushes for a list of demands to be met by the government, which includes the removal of the highly scrutinized “gangs matrix.” 

The gangs matrix is a database that has been run by the Metropolitan Police since 2012 following the 2011 London riots. The database contains the names of “gang nominals,” or people whose online activity has been flagged for suspected gang affiliation. The Metropolitan Police advertised the database as a tool to combat violence in London, but many studies found that its standards have resulted in the disproportionate representation of young Black males. Thus, All Black Lives U.K. believes that the abolition of this database will remove a racist stronghold in the government. 

Aside from more obvious racial discrimination, many protesters think that the U.K. suffers from a profound lack of diversity. The movement continues to fight for increased inclusion of Black voices in local councils, as well as diversity in the national school curriculum. Campaigns have been launched to modify what is included in the national curriculum, specifically in order to make learning Black history compulsory. Proponents intend for this modification to fairly represent the Black population while creating a more well-rounded picture of the nation’s history for all students. The education campaigns were met with immediate backlash, with claims by educators that this change is too closely tied to political extremism. 

With several months of tumult having reshaped the face of racial discussions in the U.K., there is little that the British government has changed to address the issue. However, the few brave faces trailblazing the movement keep pressing on, calling others to educate themselves in the meantime. 

To Get Involved

To sign up to volunteer for the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, click here.

To find out more about the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, click here.

To become a partner or sponsor for the movement in the UK, click here.

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Ella Nguyen

Ella is an undergraduate student at Vassar College pursuing a degree in Hispanic Studies. She wants to assist in the field of immigration law and hopes to utilize Spanish in her future projects. In her free time she enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and learning about cosmetics.

Street Artists Save Protest Masterpieces

Artists adorned New York City with Black Lives Matter tributes. But what becomes of graffiti when the world tries to erase it?

A mural in Minneapolis remembers George Floyd’s life. Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0.

SoHo prepared for the worst. In the days before the election, the Manhattan neighborhood’s famed boutiques and shops barricaded their windows with plywood to protect their merchandise from looters. After a summer of uprising, one more round of rioting seemed inevitable. The wooden boards provided yet another reminder of how unlivable 2020 had become. It was as if the neighborhood shut its eyes to a reality too bleak to bear. 

Enter into this dismal cityscape the artists who first put SoHo on the map. Before high-end shops and wealthy shoppers gentrified this stylish slice of Manhattan, street artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat adorned its concrete buildings with graffiti. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, countless creatives made SoHo an international hub for artists of all stripes. Now, history comes full circle. Street artists see a rare and irresistible opportunity to take the plywood covering SoHo’s shops and create masterpieces. 

Peace, love and police abolition. iamrenny. CCO 1.0.

Among them are Konstance Patton and Trevor Croop. This past summer, Patton focused on her Goddess Project, adorning the streets with vibrant, noble portraits of Black and Indigenous women. Croop spent much of 2020 abroad, leading art workshops and reconnecting with his Lebanese heritage. Within days of his return to the U.S., the two met on the street, throwing up artwork side by side. 

Both seasoned street artists, they knew firsthand how transitory the form can be. An artist might spend hours on a painting that will be erased in a matter of days. The situation in SoHo is much more fraught. When businesses began reopening, they trashed the pieces painted on sheets of plywood. Others scrambled to grab as many panels as they could and loaded them into vans to sell to the highest bidder. 

Can’t we just get along? iamrenny. CCO 1.0.

Recognizing the inestimable value of these pieces of art, Patton and Croop founded the SoHo Renaissance Factory (SRF), which stores wooden boards bearing protest art in an empty SoHo dance studio. It consists of themselves and three fellow artists: Sule, Amir Diop and Brendan McNally. They developed an extensive network of friends, artists and security guards who alert them when a work of art is about to be trashed. They rush to the scene in an attempt to save the piece. Sometimes they arrive in the nick of time; other times they do not.

SRF member Amir Diop experienced the latter firsthand. During the protests demanding justice for the death of George Floyd, Diop painted a mural on the plywood boards covering the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) design store. It showed smiling faces circling around a black hole beneath the words “Take me to a place where Black Lives Matter.” Only days after he painted it, MoMA tore down the piece and shredded it. In the words of Diop, “They said that place doesn’t exist and they just threw it in the garbage.”

Spray their names. drburtoni. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Street artists enjoy few legal protections. The Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) of 1990 protected art from being mutilated or destroyed but only if it reached a “recognized stature.” In the digital age, this term is ambiguous. Instead of a signature, artists leave their social media handles in a painting’s corner, raising the question of whether online fame qualifies under VARA. For the time being, however, artists cannot depend on the art establishment. If the MoMA won’t recognize art, it is unlikely that a court will. 

A moment to remember. drburtoni. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The future of the SRF is unclear, but it does look promising. The group recently struck a deal with Mana Contemporary, an arts center in New Jersey, to display the wooden boards in a public show next year when COVID-19 restrictions hopefully ease up. For now, the SRF has moved to a spacious studio in the NoMo SoHo Hotel, where it landed a residency. The new space offers a comfortable environment to create art, but the work of the SRF will always be rooted in the streets.

See the work of the SoHo Renaissance Factory on its website:

https://sohorenaissancefactory.com/

Or check out each artist’s work on their Instagram pages:

Konstance Patton - @konartstudio

Trevor Croop - @light.noise

Sule - @sulecantcook

Amir Diop - @amir.diop99

Brendan McNally - @brendantmcnally

You can also support the mission of the SoHo Renaissance Factory by getting involved with organizations that support racial justice, some of them listed below:

Black Lives Matter - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Color of Change - https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-us?refcode=coc_website_popup

SURJ - https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/donate-to-surj.html

Organizations for Black Struggle - https://www.obs-stl.org/

Project South - https://projectsouth.org/

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Michael McCarthy

Michael is an undergraduate student at Haverford College, dodging the pandemic by taking a gap year. He writes in a variety of genres, and his time in high school debate renders political writing an inevitable fascination. Writing at Catalyst and the Bi-Co News, a student-run newspaper, provides an outlet for this passion. In the future, he intends to keep writing in mediums both informative and creative.

Book Sales Reflect the Amplification of Black Voices

One of the components that Black Lives Matter’s resurgence has emphasized over the past few months is amplifying Black voices and businesses; one of the most notable spikes of consumer interest is in the sales of books written by Black authors and the promotion of Black-owned bookstores. Prominent book charts by The New York Times and Publishers Weekly have released major upticks in sales for titles about race such as “How to Be an Antiracist” and “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.” Although the biggest increases are in the United States, where the Black Lives Matter movement originated and is the most concentrated, other places such as the U.K. are seeing increased interest as well. 

Why Books?

Books are vessels of knowledge, and for a mass of people hoping to learn about racial injustice, this is one of the most obvious solutions. Simply put, knowledge can overturn ignorance. Although some may disagree about how to dismantle racist systems, there is a general understanding that establishing a base level of knowledge about racial injustice is essential. As Khalil Muhammad, a Harvard University professor of history, race and public policy said, “People use reading as a way to understand what they're doing, why they're doing it and why the work is critically important.” He further explained, "There's a fundamental requirement of organizing around shared knowledge, usually coming from shared text, to build collective engagement around what histories are relevant to explain the matter." 

This widespread desire for information during surges of activism is not new and has been occurring for decades. In regard to this movement in particular, some of the foremost goals have included efforts to get a more complete understanding of history through the lens of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) eyes, in addition to learning how to be actively anti-racist. Many of these books’ authors have made statements of support about this rush for knowledge. Ijeoma Oluo, author of bestselling “So You Want To Talk About Race,” tweeted, “I am happy people are reading my book. But if you read my book and think ‘oh - now I understand racism!’ You have a lot more books to read. My book was intended as an introduction.” Without substantive knowledge, people will not have as fluent an understanding of the actions needed to dismantle racial injustice. It is important to note that a person wishing to contribute substantial change must move beyond just reading books and translate their newfound knowledge into meaningful action. 

Bookseller Reactions

As physical copies of many books about race and anti-racism have been selling out on major online sites such as Amazon and Bookshop.org, people have turned to their local booksellers. There has been a spotlight on Black bookstore owners, many of whom have shared that their business traffic has increased dramatically in terms of overall book sales and race-oriented books in particular. Though reactions are generally positive, there is also some trepidation and agitation among booksellers. Some say that as great as it is that these books are getting more attention, texts about Black experiences have been overlooked on bookshelves for years. Others want to emphasize that Black voices should be lifted in every genre, not just in race education. “We want to make sure people are not just reading books about slavery, even though that's important,” explained Shauntee Burns-Simpson, vice president of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

Perhaps some of the most mixed responses have come from those booksellers who have previously focused on educating Black communities and are now shifting resources to address a new non-Black audience. The creation of a White Ally Book List has aided booksellers as they attempt to make this transition. There is also the problem of those booksellers who say that during this turbulent time they are managing the “‘emotional labor’ of guiding customers” towards anti-racist literature recommendations that could have easily been determined from one of many reading lists already online. 

Proof in the Numbers

Beyond the buzz of social media and blog posts, there are some companies that have tried to tackle the notoriously tricky task of monitoring “bestselling” books. One tracker reported that sales for political science civil rights titles increased by 330% and books about discrimination increased by 245% during the week of May 17 to May 23. In the United States, books about race and anti-racism have dominated bestseller lists for months. During the week of June 10, half of USA Today’s Best Selling Books list was composed of titles about race. As of July 14, multiple categories of The New York Times bestsellers are still dominated by books about race and anti-racism. Other bestseller lists to check out include IndieBound and some Amazon lists. 

Although countries such as France, Germany and India did not have chart-topping books on race during June, demand for these types of books has still increased globally. Publishers Weekly, a news magazine which claims to gather information internationally in order to determine its bestsellers list, has included “White Fragility,” “How to Be an Antiracist” and “Stamped from the Beginning” on its Top 10 Overall list. In the U.K. specifically, buyers are making race-related books bestsellers on their own. For example, Waterstones, a major British book retailer, has “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” on its list of current bestsellers. Also, the U.K. is responding to the Black Lives Matter movement in a way that speaks to that country’s own history, featuring impressive sales on Amazon for books such as “Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire” (#21 as of 7/15), and “The Boy At the Back of the Class” (#30). While the United States is the center of the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequent spike in race-related book sales, this is a global matter as well. 

Book covers from left to right: “How to Be an Antiracist,” “White Fragility and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Need a place to start? Here’s a selection of books by Black authors:

• “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi

• “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo

• “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

• “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander

• “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race” by Beverly Daniel Tatum

• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison

• “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge

• “Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde

Phoebe Jacoby

is a Media Studies major and Studio Art minor at Vassar College who believes in the importance of sharing stories with others. Phoebe likes to spend her free time reading, drawing, and writing letters. She hopes to continue developing her skills as a writer and create work that will have a positive outward effect.

10 Places to Honor Black History and Culture

Through artwork, literature, music and history, these institutions amplify Black voices and address race relations in America.  

George Floyd protests in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clay Banks. Unsplash.

Amid global protests against racial injustice, a growing number of people are educating themselves on systemic racism and white privilege.

1. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park - Atlanta, Georgia

Martin Luther King Jr. locating civil rights protests. Thomas Hawk. CC BY-NC 2.0

Located in one of Atlanta’s historic districts, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park honors the activist who strove for racial equality. The site includes a museum chronicling the American civil rights movement, as well as Dr. King’s childhood home, garden and gravesite. With 185 varieties of roses, the “I Have a Dream” World Peace Rose Garden promotes peace between diverse world communities. Each year, students from the greater Atlanta area write poems that express the ideals of MLK, such as using civil disobedience to reach seemingly impossible goals. These “Inspirational Messages of Peace” are exhibited among the flowers and are read by thousands of visitors each year. Directly across the street is the final resting place of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, his wife, surrounded by a reflection pool. 

Until his assassination in 1968, King preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church, known as “America’s Freedom Church.” The church has continued to serve the Atlanta community since his death, vowing to “feed the poor, liberate the oppressed, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked and visit those who are sick or imprisoned.” While sitting in the pews, visitors hear prerecorded sermons and speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. Most recently, the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man fatally shot by police, was held at the church, with hundreds of prominent pastors, elected officials and activists in attendance. 

2. National Museum of African American History and Culture - Washington, D.C.

A student at the NMAAHC uses an interactive learning tool. U.S. Department of Education. CC BY 2.0

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is the only museum devoted exclusively to African American life, history and culture. In the words of Lonnie Bunch III, founding director of the NMAAHC, “The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American.” From slavery to the civil rights movement, the museum aims to preserve and document Black experiences in America. With the launch of the Many Lenses initiative, students will gain a greater understanding of African American history by studying museum artifacts and discussing cultural perspectives alongside scholars, curators and community educators. Through the Talking About Race program, the museum provides tools and guidance to empower people of color and inspire conversations about racial injustice. 

3. Black Writers Museum - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Langston Hughes, a famous writer featured at the BWM, signs autographs. Washington Area Spark. CC BY-NC 2.0

Built in 1803, the historic Vernon House includes the Black Writers Museum (BWM), the first museum in the country to exhibit classic and contemporary Black literature. The BWM celebrates Black authors, like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, who documented the resilience and resistance of African Americans throughout history. Supreme D. Dow, founder and executive director of the Black Writers Museum, noted, “There was a time in American history when Black people were denied the human right to read or write. But, because of the innate drive to satisfy the unquenchable thirst for self determination, our ancestors taught themselves how to read and write in righteous defiance of the law, and in the face of fatal repercussions.” Through books, newspapers, journals and magazines, the museum honors the Black narrators of history. The BWM also strives to inspire future African American authors with community activities like poetry readings, cultural arts festivals and book signings. 

4. Tubman Museum - Macon, Georgia

Artwork depicting Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad. UGArdener. CC BY-NC 2.0

Named after Harriet Tubman, the “Black Moses” who led hundreds of slaves to freedom, the Tubman Museum has become a key educational and cultural center for the entire American Southeast. Through artwork and artifacts, the main exhibits recount the struggles and triumphs of Tubman, a former slave, abolitionist and spy. The “From the Minds of African Americans” Gallery displays inventions from Black inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs, such as Madam C.J. Walker and George Washington Carver. The Tubman Museum also actively contributes to the Macon, Georgia, community. The Arts & History Outreach program takes Black history beyond museum walls. Local African American artists and teachers bring museum resources into the classroom, promoting hands-on learning. Due to COVID-19, the museum recently launched a distance learning program to provide people at home with a deeper understanding of the African American experience. 

5. Museum of the African Diaspora - San Francisco, California

Contemporary art by Kehinde Wiley exhibited at the MoAD. Garret Ziegler. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), a contemporary art museum, celebrates Black culture from the perspective of African diaspora. Focused exclusively on African migration throughout history, the museum presents artwork, photography and artifacts related to the themes of origin, movement, adaptation and transformation. Currently, MoAD is featuring various exhibitions from emerging artists that explore ancestral memory and Black visibility. As active members of the San Francisco community, museum curators offer various programs like public film screenings, artist talks and musical performances. In response to worldwide protests, the museum created a guide with resources to support Black Americans, as well as a video series that promotes community resilience. Monetta White, MoAD’s executive director, announced, “Now more than ever, we affirm that Museums are Not Neutral. As humanitarian educators and forums for conversation, museums are a space to confront some of the most uncomfortable conversations in human history.”

6. National Museum of African American Music - Nashville, Tennessee

Jimi Hendrix, a featured musician at the NMAAM. Clausule. Public Domain.

Scheduled to open its doors for the first time on Sept. 5, the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) will be the first museum in the world to showcase African American influence on various genres of music, such as classical, country, jazz and hip-hop. NMAAM will integrate history and interactive technology to share music through the lens of Black Americans. “African American music has long been a reflection of American culture. Additionally, African American musicians often used their art as a ‘safe’ way to express the way they felt about the turbulent times our country faced,” said Kim Johnson, director of programs at the museum. NMAAM will also support the Nashville community through various outreach programs. From Nothing to Something explores the music that early African Americans created using tools like spoons, banjos, cigar box guitars and washtub basins. Children receive their own instruments, learning how simple resources influenced future music genres. Another program, Music Legends and Heroes, promotes leadership, teamwork and creativity in young adults. Students work together to produce a musical showcase in honor of Black musicians. In 2015, student guitarists paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix, the rock icon. “This opportunity gave them a real-life connection to an artist they had only seen in their textbooks or online,” said Hope Hall, librarian at the Nashville School of the Arts.

7. The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration - Montgomery, Alabama

Exterior of the Legacy Museum. Sonia Kapadia. CC BY-SA 4.0

The Legacy Museum is located in a former slave auction warehouse, where thousands of Black people were trafficked during the domestic slave trade. The museum employs unique technology to portray the enslavement of African Americans, the evolution of racial terror lynchings, legalized racial segregation and racial hierarchy in America. Visitors encounter replicas of slave pens and hear first-person accounts of enslaved people, along with looking at photographs and videos from the Jim Crow laws, which segregated Black Americans until 1965. The Legacy Museum also explores contemporary issues of inequality, like mass incarceration and police violence. As part of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), the museum is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, with proceeds going toward marginalized communities. “Our hope is that by telling the history of the African American experience in this country, we expose the narratives that have allowed us to tolerate suffering and injustice among people of color,” says Sia Sanneh, member of EJI. 

8. African American Military History Museum - Hattiesburg, Mississippi 

Circa 1942, the Tuskegee Airmen pose in front of their aircraft. Signaleer. Public Domain.

The African American Military History Museum educates the public about African American contributions to the United States’ military. During World War II, the building functioned as a segregated club for African American soldiers. Transformed in 2009, the museum now commemorates the courage and patriotism of Black soldiers, who have served in every American conflict since the Revolutionary War. Artifacts, photographs and medals tell the story of how African Americans overcame racial boundaries to serve their country. For instance, the World War II exhibit features the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American soldiers to successfully enter the Army Air Corps. 

9. National Voting Rights Museum and Institute - Selma, Alabama 

The 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery for the right to vote. Abernathy Family. Public Domain.

In the historic district of Selma, Alabama, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute honors the movement to end voter discrimination. With memorabilia and documentation, the museum illustrates the struggle of Black Americans to obtain voting rights. In 1965, nearly 600 civil rights marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, hoping to reach Montgomery. However, the day became known as “Bloody Sunday” as local law enforcement attacked peaceful protesters with clubs and tear gas. While the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed voting practices that disenfranchised African Americans, many believe voter suppression still exists through strict photo ID laws for voters, a failure to provide bilingual ballots, and ex-felon disenfranchisement laws. By educating the public, the museum hopes to forever dismantle the barriers of voting in the United States. 

10. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - Cincinnati, Ohio

On the banks of the Ohio River, a statue depicts a mother and her child escaping slavery. Living-Learning Programs. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Near the Ohio River, where thousands of slaves traveled in search of freedom, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center reveals the ongoing struggle for autonomy. From the historical vantage point of the Underground Railroad, the museum promotes the modern abolition of slavery. Due to widespread human trafficking, nearly 40 million people are currently enslaved around the world. As stated on the museum’s website, “Despite the triumphant prose of our American history books, slavery didn’t fully end 150 years ago. Today and throughout time, people around the world have struggled for their freedom. Yet, as forms of slavery evolve, so do the imaginations of those fighting for freedom.” Through artifacts, photographs and first-person accounts, the museum introduces the men and women who have resisted slavery. “Invisible: Slavery Today” is the world's first permanent exhibition on the subjects of modern-day slavery and human trafficking, challenging and inspiring visitors to promote freedom today. 

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Shannon Moran

is a Journalism major at the University of Georgia, minoring in English and Spanish. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she is passionate about languages, cultural immersion, and human rights activism. She has visited seven countries and thirty states and hopes to continue traveling the world in pursuit of compelling stories.

How Defamed Statues Reflect Protests Around the World

On May 25, the world erupted in response to the death of George Floyd. That moment and the protests that followed led to actions such as public marches in the face of COVID-19 guidelines and the painting of murals in places as far off as Idlib, Syria. In the past week, however, the most prevalent form of the protests have been the tearing down of statues of figures affiliated with racism. 

The Movement Revitalized

The entire world has reacted to the events that happened in Minneapolis, but Floyd’s death only served to highlight current battles against racism. In London, 29-year-old Alex, an organizer for Black Lives Matter U.K., stated that “we stand alone in terms of creating our own moment- not just responding to what’s happened in the U.S.” The United Kingdom was one of the first places to start tearing down statues, sparking a movement that resonated on a global scale. 

In Bristol, England, a statue of Edward Colston, known for his involvement with the trans-Atlantic slave trade, was torn down and thrown into the harbor. In Brussels, Belgium, “demonstrators tore down a statue of King Leopold II, the Belgian ruler who killed millions of Congolese people, and hoisted the flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo below it.” In Richmond, Virginia, a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has been defaced and ruined. Even in New Zealand, a statue of British Capt. John Fane Charles Hamilton has been defaced and attempted to be torn down because of his killing of thousands of Maori people in the 19th century. Destroying statues is not necessarily a new thing, normally coming about in rebellion when people believe a certain message is being praised when it shouldn’t. “We have as humans been making monuments to glorify people and ideas since we started making art,” says art historian Jonah Engel Bromwich,” and since we started making statues, other people have started tearing them down.” The act of citizens tearing down statues all across the world serves to show the feelings of injustice that many have felt for a long time regarding issues such as racism.

The world has been battling racism for a long time and the events in Minneapolis only brought more attention to antiracist movements. Especially in light of recent events, the destruction and defamation of statues  created to honor public leaders has been a common way to showcase discontent. These acts have worked to bring attention to the inequality and problems that exist today as citizens across the world work tirelessly to bring light to problems of racism found in every culture.

Elizabeth Misnick

is a Professional Writing and Rhetoric major at Baylor University. She grew up in a military family and lived in Europe for almost half her life, traveling and living in different countries. She hopes to continue writing professionally throughout her career and publish her writing in the future.

Defunding the Police: What it Means and How it Works

Amid protests against racism and police brutality, Minneapolis has pledged to dismantle its police department and restructure its system of public safety. To further promote reform in the city of George Floyd’s murder, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced, “We need a new compact with police, one that centers around compassion and accountability, one that recognizes that the way things have been done for decades and decades is not acceptable. We need change." 

Cities across the United States have joined this movement to defund and downsize their police forces. Police departments currently oversee an array of services, including monitoring the homeless, resolving domestic disputes, receiving mental health calls, disciplining students, and addressing minor complaints like a counterfeit $20 bill, the accusation that led to George Floyd’s death. Many activists urge funds to be reallocated towards neglected social services, such as mental health, education and housing. By assisting underprivileged and overpoliced neighborhoods, these programs would alleviate the underlying causes of crime. Thus, defunding the police means a “divest and invest model: divesting money from local and state police budgets and reinvesting it into communities.” 

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 14 million students attend schools with police officers but no counselors, nurses, psychologists or social workers. With few behavioral resources, teachers and principals turn to law enforcement to discipline children. This results in an increased criminalization of minors, especially marginalized students of color. Black students are three times as likely to be arrested as their white counterparts, and black students with disabilities account for 12% of school arrests. The ACLU also found that roughly 25% of school police had no prior experience working with youth. Police are trained to arrest and detain, not to oversee the social and emotional well-being of minors. Schools with health and youth professionals see improved attendance, lower rates of disciplinary incidents and higher rates of graduation. 

Rather than funding police officers, Chicago Public Schools hires counselors from Alternatives, a multicultural youth development organization. Alternatives operates as a support system for more than 3,000 students in Chicago. Counselors promote “restorative justice,” teaching students leadership, responsibility, community-building and respect. Last year, in schools with Alternatives, reports of misconduct dropped by 31% and out-of-school suspensions dropped by 50%, showing that police may not be necessary in schools. 

A protester in Minneapolis holds a sign that explains defunding police. Featous. CC BY 2.0

Criminalization of drugs also drives violent encounters between police and citizens, like the tragic shooting of Breonna Taylor. Since the “War on Drugs” began in the 1970s, police have targeted black neighborhoods, implementing stop-and-frisk protocols to subject thousands of “suspicious” minorities to searches. Higher arrest and incarceration rates in these communities reflect oversurveillance, not increased drug use. In the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 17 million white people and 4 million black people reported using an illicit drug within the last month. However, black Americans are six times more likely to be incarcerated for drugs than whites. Prosecutors are also twice as likely to issue a mandatory minimum sentence for black people than for white people charged with the same offense. Those selling small amounts of drugs to support their addiction may face decades of jail time. Since prisons rarely offer addiction treatment, released convicts often endure a cycle of drug abuse and arrests. 

Oregon is at the forefront of decriminalizing drugs. In November, voters will review Initiative Petition 44, a measure to reduce possession of illegal drugs to a $100 citation. This citation could be waived if the person agrees to a health assessment at a drug recovery center. Drug trafficking and possession of large quantities of drugs would still result in criminal penalties. The initiative also includes $57 million a year for funding drug treatment programs. “We are trying to move policy towards treatment rather than prison beds,” former state senator Jackie Winters told the Washington Post in 2017 ahead of a similar bill. “We can't continue on the path of building more prisons when often the underlying root cause of the crime is substance use.”   

George Floyd protest in Miami. Mike Shaheen. CC BY 2.0

Every year, two million Americans with mental illnesses will be jailed. People living with mental illnesses are also 16 times more likely to die as a result of a police encounter compared to the general public. In 2017, one in four killed by police suffered from mental illness. These statistics prove that people experiencing a mental health crisis are more likely to encounter police than medical professionals. Although officers may receive crisis intervention training, police continually shoot and kill schizophrenic and mentally disabled people. 

To prevent these senseless killings, cities have diverted funding to mental health programs. Austin, Texas, recently revamped its public safety department by adding millions of dollars to its mental health budget. Now, 911 operators inquire whether the caller needs police, fire or mental health services. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) refers to a group of law enforcement officers specifically trained in mental health crises. CIT diverts patients from the criminal justice system, instead connecting them with mental health services. Eugene, Oregon, also launched a service called CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) which deploys a medic and a mental health crisis worker to emergency calls. CAHOOTS avoids the need for law enforcement by providing immediate stabilization to urgent medical and psychological needs. 

While defunding the police may seem inconceivable, programs and initiatives across the country are already similarly preventing crime. By reducing the reliance on police, community-driven solutions can de-escalate situations that result in arrests and police violence. Globally, the U.S. has the highest rate of police brutality and the largest prison population, with black people constituting 34% of the total 6.8 million inmates. One in 13 black Americans are now denied the right to vote due to laws that disenfranchise people with felony convictions. To afford such mass incarceration, the U.S. spends an estimated $100 billion on their police forces annually and $80 billion on incarceration. Yet, social services remain underfunded. It’s evident that people of color experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal justice system. With police brutality and incarceration on the rise, activists urge the United States government to finally reimagine policing in America.

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Shannon Moran

Shannon is a Journalism major at the University of Georgia, minoring in English and Spanish. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she is passionate about languages, cultural immersion, and human rights activism. She has visited seven countries and thirty states and hopes to continue traveling the world in pursuit of compelling stories.

Belgium Acknowledges Racist Past with Removal of King Leopold II Statue

The Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has encouraged many to speak up against the racism that continues to plague the world. Along with addressing present injustices, people are starting to take a look at the past. In the U.S., there have been numerous removals of statues of Confederate soldiers, leaders and slave owners such as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and John B. Castleman. This movement to acknowledge the past has now sparked international attention.

On June 9, Belgium removed a statue in Antwerp of King Leopold II, a tyrant who took control of the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 19th century. Children in Belgian schools learn that King Leopold was a hero who brought civilization to Africa. While his reign expanded European colonization, it cost the lives of millions who were exploited due to brutal labor practices. 

The reality of King Leopold II is much darker. He ruled the Congo between 1865 and 1909 as many other European countries were starting to settle into Africa for its resources and land. To Leopold, though, the Congo became his personal possession instead of a Belgian colony. Under his orders, troops worked men to death to meet his high demands for rubber and ivory. If a village was unable to produce the quota set by Leopold, its residents often had their hands severed as punishment. Women and children were often held captive and sent away to Belgium, and an estimated 10 million Congolese lost their lives. Congo became a part of Belgium only after Leopold’s death, and the country gained its independence in 1960. 

After hearing about the death of George Floyd in the U.S., many young Belgians began protesting in the streets asking their government to acknowledge the truth of its past. Across the country, many have taken their frustrations out on Leopold’s statues by setting them on fire and painting them red to symbolize the bloodshed Belgium’s colonization brought to the people of the Congo. After gaining 64,000 signatures on a petition, Belgium is working to remove all of Leopold’s statues from the country. 

Vandalized statue of King Leopold II near Brussels. Yves Herman. CC 2.0

There is a larger motive behind the removals, however. As mentioned, King Leopold II is praised for his contributions to Belgium’s colonization. These statues stand as a reminder of that racist past while also praising it. In this case, King Leopold is viewed as “doing what is best” for the country even as he forced millions into forced labor and killed them in the process. It has been embedded in the minds of Belgians that this behavior is somewhat acceptable. With the removal of statues like this, it is hoped that people’s minds will change to acknowledge that this type of behavior is never OK.

Eva Ashbaugh

is a Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies double major at the University of Pittsburgh. As a political science major concentrating on International Relations, she is passionate about human rights, foreign policy, and fighting for equality. She hopes to one day travel and help educate people to make the world a better place.

‘Same Story, Different Soil’ as Police Brutality Hits Home for Indigenous Australians

Joining millions of activists around the globe, tens of thousands of Australians have taken to the streets over the past two weeks to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. However, for many of these protesters, the demonstrations are about more than standing in solidarity with their American counterparts — Australian activists have used the movement to place an international spotlight on Indigenous Australian deaths in police custody.

According to The Guardian’s database on Indigenous Australians’ deaths in custody from 2008 until today, 164 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had died while in police custody. As of June 2018, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 28% of Australia’s prison population, despite making up 2.8% of the country’s total population as of the 2016 census.

This widespread issue draws parallels to police brutality against African Americans in the United States. While no official data has been released on deaths in police custody in the U.S. despite the passage of the 2013 Death in Custody Reporting Act, African Americans in 2019 were 2.5 times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police officers. Broken down, 24% of all police killings in the U.S. in 2019 were of African Americans, despite only 13% of the nation’s population identifying as black.

Many Australian activists were further galvanized to take to the streets after a video surfaced of a Sydney police officer slamming an Indigenous boy to the ground on June 1. This video is similar to the countless ones in the United States which have documented instances of police brutality.

These activists have expressed how the issues in the United States and in Australia are one and the same. “It’s the same story on different soil,” 17-year-old activist Ky-ya Nicholson Ward said during a June 6 rally in Melbourne.

Justin Grant, an activist who attended the Melbourne rally, spoke on the historical relationship between the police and Indigenous Australians in an interview with Al-Jazeera. “[The police] are breaking our trust and scaring our people ... they [don't] respect our culture, our laws or our practices."

These parallels have been emphasized during the protests, with chants such as “I can’t breathe” taking on new meanings outside of their American context. Several protesters’ signs have echoed this sentiment, with phrases such as “Same Story, Different Soil” popping up on protest materials throughout the country.

However, others have diminished the similarities between the motivations behind the Black Lives Matter movement and Indigenous Australian deaths in police custody. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during an interview with local Sydney radio station 2GB that: “There’s no need to import things happening in other countries here to Australia … Australia is not the United States.”

Black Lives Matter protests both within Australia and around the world are expected to continue throughout the coming weeks. As of this article’s publication, there have been no major responses to the protests within the Australian Parliament House to address Indigenous deaths in police custody.

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Jacob Sutherland

Jacob is a recent graduate from the University of California San Diego where he majored in Political Science and minored in Spanish Language Studies. He previously served as the News Editor for The UCSD Guardian, and hopes to shed light on social justice issues in his work.

Nigerian Women Protest Over Police Brutality and Abuse of Women

In light of the U.S.’s Black Lives Matter movement, women in Nigeria have begun their own protests online following the abuse and death of three women.

Since April 2020, Nigeria has seen an extreme increase of sexual violence and police brutality. However, attention was gained on the issue after the death of three women. In April, an 18-year-old woman known as “Jennifer” was gang raped by up to five men. Toward the end of May, 22-year-old Vera Uwaila “Uwa” Omozuma was also sexually assaulted and killed. Around the same time, 17-year-old Tina Ezekwe died after police opened fire on her as she sat at a bus station during a curfew established due to COVID-19.

Unfortunately, the main reason why arrests in Uwa and Jennifer’s cases were made in the first place was due to public outcry, especially from family members of the victims. There was a great fear that those at fault may never be held accountable and that families would never get justice for the wrongful deaths of their loved ones. #JusticeForUwa, #JusticeForTina and #JusticeForJennifer have been used in campaigns across Nigeria, all inspired by  Black Lives Matter protests over the past week in the U.S. For Jennifer’s family, it also took the release of a video of her family trying to comfort her to trigger national response.

Arrests, not all, have been made for the death and sexual assaults of Uwa and Jennifer. On the other hand, police who were found guilty for killing Tina have been dismissed by the police department of Lagos but still must face internal disciplinary actions upon further investigation. The regional governor of southern Edo, home of Uwa, also pledged to investigate her case to bring all those to justice.

Photo of Vera Uwaila “Uwa” Omozuma. CNN. CC 2.0

However, many across the country are also fearful of the increase of rapes due to many individuals across the region being displaced. Nigeria has a long history of violence between tribes which makes women feel more vulnerable. Those who are supposed to be watching over the refugee camps have been held responsible for raping girls as young as 9. Being displaced has also caused a phenomenon where families are selling their young daughters for marriage in exchange for money.

In 2014, a survey found that one in four Nigerian women experienced sexual violence. 70% of women even experienced multiple incidents of abuse yet only 5% reported the crimes. Many have linked President Muhammadu Buhari to U.S. President Donald Trump due to the lack of national support and resources readily available to survivors. Most women cannot even receive treatment without filing a police report first. Just as with the assaults in refugee camps, it has caused hesitation in women for filing reports

The internet has become the main outlet for these protests unlike what has been seen in the U.S. Protesting on the street is highly discouraged as protesters could be punished for their actions. Thus, having access to the internet has been able to highlight the injustices of the police in Nigeria. Currently, the #WeAreTired campaign is aimed at not only raising awareness of violence against women in Nigeria, but the overall dissatisifcation with the government in its lack of action.

Just as in the U.S., this has been an ongoing struggle for many Nigerians that has lasted for generations. Since 2015, there has been demand to pass the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act nationwide which would better define rape in court cases. It is hoped that through these hashtags, people can use their voices effectively and help amplify the message of reform in Nigeria.

Eva Ashbaugh

is a Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies double major at the University of Pittsburgh. As a political science major concentrating on International Relations, she is passionate about human rights, foreign policy, and fighting for equality. She hopes to one day travel and help educate people to make the world a better place.