As we near 2017, we take a look back at the top ten black lives matter moments. A recap of several stories that prove Black Lives do not matter to everyone. Story we either broke or would have never been told until we shared a light on the situation. Here it is, Black Westchester Magazine’s Top Ten Black Lives Matter Moments 2016!
1. “New Jim Crow” Author Michelle Alexander on Hillary Clinton and Mass Incarceration (Feb. 3, 2016)
On her January 28th Facebook post, acclaimed “The New Jim Crow” author and Ohio State University professor Michelle Alexander draws the nation’s attention to the mass incarceration problem.
“If anyone doubts that the mainstream media fails to tell the truth about our political system (and its true winners and losers), the spectacle of large majorities of black folks supporting Hillary Clinton in the primary races ought to be proof enough. I can’t believe Hillary would be coasting into the primaries with her current margin of black support if most people knew how much damage the Clintons have done—the millions of families that were destroyed the last time they were in the White House thanks to their boastful embrace of the mass incarceration machine and their total capitulation to the right-wing narrative on race, crime, welfare and taxes. There’s so much more to say on this topic and it’s a shame that more people aren’t saying it. I think it’s time we have that conversation…” (read more)
Michelle Alexander dared to call blacks so eager to support Hillary by reminding them of the law created by her husband that led to the mass incarceration of black people. This was an article many of your read, shared and was the first Black Westchester Magazine article to go viral in 2016. With the democratic primary for POTUS on the line, Michelle reminded us about the last time a Clinton was president.
2. Black Cop Speaks up, Get Suspended, White Cops Kill Black Men, Get Leave With Pay! Is This What They Call Justice Now? (July 9, 2016)
In my column Real Talk From AJ Woodson I expressed outrage about a black female police officers who publicly talked about police killing black males…
So let me get this straight, a black female Police Officer Nakia Jones is outraged about a video her son showed her on the murder of Alton Sterling at the hands of law enforcement and publicly expresses her feeling on Facebook Live. She gets suspended for speaking the truth. The two white Baton Rouge police officers who actually killed Alton Sterling, Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni, who have previous “use of force” complaints against them, get placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. Is this what passes for justice in the United States of America now?… (read more).
Again many of you read and shared this article and it quickly spread as many across the nation apparently agreed and they commented and shared it. This two quickly went viral!
3. Morning Joe: If You’re White & Have Pounds Of Coke You Wouldn’t Get Treated Like Terence Crutcher (September 23, 2016)
MSNBC’s morning show, ‘Morning Joe’ host, Joe Scarborough expressed outrage over the police shooting of Terence Crutcher, saying the stranded black motorist posed no threat to officers and was apparently following their orders when he was killed.
“If you’re white, if you’re from the neighborhoods that we live in, and your arms are in the air, you could have, like, pounds of coke in the back and be straight out of ‘Miami Vice’ and you wouldn’t get treated like that,” Scarborough said… (read more)!
4. BW Exclusive: New Rochelle Cop Suspended For Invidious Facebook Comments About BLM (August 30, 2016)
[BW broke the story and media outlets quickly picked it up as our story went viral.]
New Rochelle — New Rochelle Police Officer Chris “Stigs” Castiglia who went on a rant about having to protect BLM, has been suspended without pay, Tuesday afternoon after BW exposed the story less than 24 hours early… (read more).
5. Mainstream Media Mum About White Westchester Officers Invidious Facebook Comments About BLM (August 29, 2016)
[This was the original story that called out White Westchester Police that lead to the suspension of the New Rochelle officer. This story quickly went viral when Shaun King shared the story on his Facebook page.]
What we find most egregious is the silence of mainstream media of the invidious Facebook post of members two separate police departments in lower Westchester as they rushed to report about the Mount Vernon firefighter who allegedly posted his support of the gunman who killed the Dallas police officers.
Eyewitness News reported; Mount Vernon Firefighter Suspended After Allegedly Posting Support of Dallas Gunman, The Journal News/ Lohud’s headline read; Firefighter suspended for posts backing Dallas cop killer, CBS News reported; Mount Vernon Firefighter Suspended Over Comments Lauding Dallas Cop Killer, News 12 reported; Mount Vernon firefighter’s Instagram post sparks outrage, just to point out a few. Not even a peep from local newspaper The Mount Vernon Inquirer… (read more).
6. Stevie Wonder: “black lives matter… because we are the original people of this world” (July 14, 2016)
London — Motown singer Stevie Wonder has told a huge crowd in London, that “black lives matter… because we are the original people of this world” he said in support of the Black Lives Matter movement while closing one of London’s biggest music festivals… (read more).
7. Modern Day Lynching: DA & Federal Judge Dismiss use of The Word Nigger by Police in Chamberlain Killing (November 14, 2016)
Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. was fatally shot on November 19, 2011, in White Plains, New York. Mr. Chamberlain wore the medical alert bracelet due to a chronic heart problem. After his LifeAid medical alert necklace was inadvertently triggered, White Plains Police came to his home and demanded that he open his front door, despite his objections and statements that he did not need help. The police called him Nigger, broke down Mr. Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, and then shot him dead in was suppose to be a call for medical assistance, not a criminal matter… (read more).
8. T.I.’s New Video Re-Creates Police Killings, Showing The Officers Black & The Victims White (September 15, 2016)
“As disturbing as these images maybe to watch on your television, just remember these things are fictional. These things actually happened to people, these same events took the lives of fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, sisters. These things actually happen to us. So as disturbing as it may be for you to watch on television, imagine how uncomfortable it is for us to live through it in reality?”
“Warzone” arrived on Tidal earlier this month and it, too, takes a no-holds-barred look at life in America as a person of color. However, this time around, T.I. has brought a more cinematic approach to its video, providing viewers with a vision of what the world would look like if White citizens became the target of police violence with the same frequency and inconsequential repercussions as do people of color in real life. Although entirely fictional (whereas “We Will Not” pulls directly from historical imagery), “Warzone” is no less visceral and in facts begins with a warning reading “due to the graphic nature of this video, viewer discretion is advised.” (watch video)
9. Westchester County Correction Officer Suspended For Racist Facebook Post (September 27, 2016)
Valhalla — A Westchester County Corrections Officer was suspended without pay Monday for allegedly posting racist images and messages on Facebook in a group page used by correction officers. Several of his fellow officers are calling for Officer Lemon to be fired.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Peekskill NAACP March for Wrongfully Incarcerated by Regina Clarkin (May 11, 2016)
Sharonne Salaam observed Mother’s Day this year by starting a week-long walk to Albany from Harlem to draw attention to the issue of the wrongfully incarcerated. The walk is a direct action to the injustice she lived through in 1989 when her 15-year–old son Yusef was arrested and convicted of a crime he didn’t commit involving a Central Park jogger who was raped and beaten unconscious… (read more).
Project SNUG Organizes Stop The Violence Rally After 28-Year-Old Shot To Death On Mt. Vernon Street Corner (Sept. 1, 2016)
MOUNT VERNON – Family Services of Westchester Project SNUG (“Guns” spelled backwards), based on CURE Violence, a highly successful violence prevention model developed in Chicago in the mid 1990’s organized their monthly Stop The Violence peaceful protest and march, Wednesday evening, just hours after Mario Freder, a 28-year-old man died after being shot in the neck at South Fifth Avenue and West Fourth Street shortly before 4 p.m… (read more)
Cops Still Killing Black People in 2016 But The Media And The Nation Has Stopped Paying Attention (April 19, 2016)
Media Madness for The Trumpster has caused the lives of black lives lost at the hands of the police to pushed to the back burner. The total Trumptastrophe of the master of the soundbite, has taking over every form of media in 2016. I want to say its about ratings and to a degree is it. We can always rely on Donald Trump for providing us with the most ridiculous and outrageous quotes that generate great ratings.
It could also be a conscious effort of the corporate controlled mass media, to defuse the ever growing Black Lives Matter Movement nationwide. It could also be that we as a people have become so desensitized to the many police killings, that we are not even paying attention anymore ourselves… (read more)
AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief of Black Westchester and Co-Owner of Urban Soul Media Group, the parent company, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show. AJ is a Father, Brother, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Hip-Hop Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others.
