Tag Archives: Black Lives Matter

‘Alliance With White Nationalists’: Texas Gov Rebuked for Pardoning Shooter of BLM Protester

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“This pardon not only undermines the justice system but also sends a chilling message that politically motivated violence is acceptable,” said Democratic Texas state Rep. Ron Reynolds.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 5-17-2024 by Common Dreams

Garrett Foster and his fiancée. Photo: Anna Mayo

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a pardon on Thursday for Daniel Perry, who was convicted of fatally shooting Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in 2020.

Abbott’s pardon came less than an hour after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended it, Austin-based investigative journalist Tony Plohetski noted on social media. In addition to releasing him from prison, the pardon grants Perry “restoration of full civil rights of citizenship,” including the right to own a gun.

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‘Absolutely Insane’: Greg Abbott Seeks Pardon for Man Convicted of Murdering BLM Protester

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“If a fiction author wrote this, no one would believe it,” said one trial attorney.

By Brett Wilkins  Published 4-9-2023 by Common Dreams

Garrett Foster is seen here with his fiancée Whitney Mitchell, who was present when Foster was murdered. (Photo: Garrett Foster/Facebook)

 Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott drew widespread condemnation from legal experts after he said Saturday that he is “working as swiftly” as the law allows to pardon a man who was convicted the previous day of murdering a racial justice protester in 2020.

Daniel Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, was convicted by an Austin jury on Friday of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, an armed Air Force veteran participating in a Black Lives Matter protest in the Texas capital following George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police.

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Pain of police killings ripples outward to traumatize Black people and communities across US

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RowVaughn Wells, in gray jacket, mother of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers, is with friends and family members at the conclusion of a candlelight vigil for Tyre, in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 26, 2023.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

 

Denise A. Herd, University of California, Berkeley

As the video goes public of Black police officers in Memphis beating Tyre Nichols to death, it is a stark reminder of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. That set up the largest protests in U.S. history and a national reckoning with racism.

But beyond any protests, every police killing – indeed, every violent act by police toward civilians – can have painful and widespread consequences.

Each year, U.S. police kill about 1,000 people, which equals approximately 8% of all homicides for adult men. This risk is greater for Black men, who are about 2.5 times more likely to be killed by the police than white men. Continue reading →

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America is in the middle of a labor mobilization moment – with self-organizers at Starbucks, Amazon, Trader Joe’s and Chipotle behind the union drive

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A revised movement on the backs of young workers?
Calla Kessler for The Washington Post via Getty Images

 

John Logan, San Francisco State University

Labor Day 2022 comes smack bang in the middle of what is increasingly looking like a pivotal year in the history of American unions.

The summer has seen a steady stream of workforce mobilizations. Employees at Trader Joe’s locations in Massachusetts and Minneapolis both voted to unionize. Meanwhile, restaurant chain Chipotle saw the first of its stores unionize, following a vote by workers at an outlet in Lansing, Michigan. Continue reading →

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