Social Movements & the Law

The official #BlackLivesMatter Global Network builds power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe.

From Issa López's 'Vuelven' to Lucrecia Martel's 'Zama,' here are 20 films directed by Latinas you can stream to celebrate Women's History Month.

Lawmakers investigating Harvard University’s response to antisemitism are demanding the Ivy League school turn over a treasure trove of documents in two weeks.

Become Ungovernable is a provocative new work of political thought setting out to reclaim "freedom", "justice", and "democracy", revolutionary ideas that are all too often warped in the interests of capital and the state. Revealing the mirage of mainstream democratic thought and the false promises of liberal political ideologies, H.L.T. Quan offers an alternative approach: an abolition feminism drawing on a kaleidoscope of refusal praxes, and on a deep engagement with the Black Radical Tradition and queer analytics. With each chapter anchored by episodes from the long history of resistance and rebellions against tyranny, Quan calls for us to take up a feminist ethic of living rooted in the principles of radical inclusion, mutuality and friendship as part of the larger toolkit for confronting fascism, white supremacy, and the neoliberal labor regime.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election and bestselling books like "Hillbilly Elegy" and "White Trash," there is a growing realization that whiteness is as much a social racial and political identity as being African, Latin, Asian or Native American. In partnership with the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, JWJI is pleased to host a panel on the evolution of whiteness in American society. Our esteemed panel brings their interdisciplinary perspective to the panel to explain why race—including whiteness—still matters in America. (November 16, 2017) Panelists: Richard Delgado, John J. Sparkman Chair of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law, author of Critical Race Theory David Ikard, Professor of Africana Studies, Vanderbilt University, author of Blinded by the Whites: Why Race Still Matters in the 21st Century Nancy Isenberg, T. Harry Williams Professor of History, Louisiana State University, author of White Trash Jane Junn, Professor of Political Science, University of Southern California, author of The Politics of Belonging: Race, Immigration, and Public Politics David Roediger, Foundation Professor of American Studies and History, University of Kansas, author of The Wages of Whiteness The James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference supports research, teaching, and public dialogue that examine race and intersecting dimensions of human difference including but not limited to class, gender, religion, and sexuality. http://jamesweldonjohnson.emory.edu

Black life and dignity require Black political will and power. Despite constant exploitation and perpetual oppression, Black people have bravely and brilliantly been a driving force pushing toward collective liberation. In recent years, we have taken to the streets, launched massive campaigns, and impacted elections, but our elected leaders have failed to address the legitimate […]

The Library’s commitment to hearing and supporting Black Americans is based on its values of being welcoming, curious, accessible, kind, collaborative, and resilient. Standing for Black Lives Matter is not a political issue. Black Lives Matter is the human rights issue of our time and we must engage in the uncomfortable conversations that it will take to ensure that everything we do in our work and in our personal lives reflects our undying commitment to our Black colleagues and customers. It is not possible for us to support the Hispanic and Latino/a/x communities if we do not commit to Black Lives Matter. We cannot stand against the racism that Asian Pacific Americans continue to experience with COVID-19 without affirming that Black Lives Matter.

A lighthearted social media trend encourages Black men to skip gleefully through open fields, backyards and parks. The idea sounds silly, but one expert claims it is a needed activity to combat mental health issues and societal expectations.

"Ethical, pondering, and wondrous, adrienne maree brown's Loving Corrections is a collection of love-based adjustments and reframes to grow our movements for liberation while navigating a society deeply fractured by greed, racism, and war. In this landmark book, brown invigorates her influential writing on belonging and accountability into the framework of "loving corrections": a generative space where rehearsals for the revolution become the everyday norm in relating to one another. Filled with practical wisdom on how to be a trustworthy communicator while providing bold visions for a shared future, Loving Corrections can speak to everyone caught in the crossroads of our political challenges and potential. No matter how new to the struggle, or how numerous our failures, brown's indispensable writing is an invitation to us all."--

Bryan Stevenson, acclaimed public interest lawyer and founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative delivers the 2016 Anne and Loren Kieve Distinguished Speaker Lecture on race and the criminal justice system. A roundtable conversation featuring Jennifer Eberhardt, Gary Segura, Robert Weisberg, JD ’79, Bryan Stevenson, and Katie Couric follows Bryan Stevenson's keynote address. OpenXChange is a year-long, student-focused initiative on campus that aims to encourage meaningful dialogue around tough issues. This is the first in a series of discussions with Stanford faculty and global experts on criminal justice, inequality and international conflict. This event was recorded on Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) stands firmly with people throughout the world protesting police brutality and systemic oppression following the recent, brutal killings of Black Americans including George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky.

Critical Resistance uses a chapter structure that helps us to draw on local and regional knowledge, culture, and history in order to combat the ever-moving, ever-changing nature of the prison industrial complex. Local chapters develop their own projects and campaigns while coordinating and communicating with sister chapters and other members that make up CR’s national organization. Our national organization supplies our work with resources, infrastructural support, political education, fundraising support, technology, trainings and a network of prison industrial complex abolitionists throughout the world.

To understand our present, we must understand our past. These programs will give you a closer look at the history of racism and injustice against black Americans that lead us to this moment.

California sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a teenager with autism who was holding a gardening tool over the weekend, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and a family attorney said.

"Courage in the People's House tells the gripping stories of nine individuals who served in the US House of Representatives--the "People's House"--During a span of over one hundred years, from the 1870s to the 1990s. From the first African American to serve in the House, to immigrants elected at the dawn of the 20th century, all were trailblazers who made significant contributions to the country"--

NYU Law students start the conversation regarding a new initiative led by Professor Anthony Thompson. Learn more: http://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/race-inequality-law

Nashville Police Officer Andrew Delke: All I was doing was following my training which is, you shoot until the threat is neutralized.

THE GATHERING FOR JUSTICE IS A 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION FOUNDED IN 2005 BY HARRY BELAFONTE AFTER HE WITNESSED A NEWS REPORT OF A 5 YEAR OLD BLACK GIRL BEING HANDCUFFED AND ARRESTED IN HER FLORIDA CLASSROOM FOR “BEING UNRULY”. THE GATHERING FOR JUSTICE’S MISSION IS TO BUILD A MOVEMENT TO END CHILD INCARCERATION WHILE WORKING TO ELIMINATE THE RACIAL INEQUITIES THAT PERMEATE THE JUSTICE SYSTEM.

"To help people be better allies lists of antiracist books films and podcasts are being published in droves. There's never a bad time to learn but such a list can become erroneously prescriptive a balm to centuries-old lacerations that cut deeper than the individual reader. As Lauren Michele Jackson wrote for Vulture "The word [anti-racism] and its nominal equivalent "anti-racist" suggests something of a vanity project where the goal is no longer to learn more about race power and capital but to spring closer to the enlightened order of the antiracist." So with that in mind we've compiled a list of books films and podcasts about systemic racism acknowledging that they are just books films and podcasts. You'll find research on how racism permeates everything from the criminal justice system to health care. We hope you spend some time with these resources (and that you listen to Code Switch — here's a list of episodes to get you started). Information is power — you decide what you do with it."

Chronic failures by the Bureau of Prisons contributed to the deaths of hundreds of federal prison inmates, the Department of Justice’s Inspector General said in a blistering report released Thursday.

"How a national grassroots network fought a resurgence of the KKK and other fascist groups during the Reagan years, and how it laid the groundwork for today's anti-fascist/anti-racist movements."--

On June 1, federal police used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear protesters from Lafayette Square in front of the White House. News outlets documented the police's use of force, now the subject of a lawsuit filed by Black Lives Matter D.C. and several protesters who returned to the scene a week later to tell their stories.

Author(s): Lawson, Madison | Abstract: In this argumentative research essay, the idea of an intersectional lens is used examine the class and race of women who are victims of police brutality. With stories of African-American women in low economic cities, it is clear that minority women are more likely to fall victim due to their neighborhood they live in and because of their stereotype of being weak. African-American women are being sexually assaulted and murdered by police and then never receive justice because the media, who can share the story often; however, their stories are never told. In this essay, stories of different types of police assault are told to elucidate the harsh reality that black women face in their own neighborhoods.

Our goal is simple: we will research, develop, test and mandate the use of an effective non-lethal weapon for America’s police

"Latino/Hispanic culture is part of North and South America Central America the Caribbean and Spain."

A White 85-year-old homeowner who allegedly shot and wounded Ralph Yarl, a Black teen, after the 16-year-old went to the wrong home to pick up his siblings will face two felony charges.

"Grounded in the lives of some of its most committed nonviolent activists, Incarcerated Resistance tells a story of anti-war resistance, what it means to "go to jail for justice" in the contemporary United States, and shows how identity matters in both the activation of prison witness, and as a key shaper of individual experience"--

The funeral for the late civil rights icon John Lewis was held at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday, capping off a six-day celebration of life honouring the congressman. Lewis died on July 17 at the age of 80. Three former presidents joined in the eulogies after nearly a week of mourning that took him from his birthplace in Alabama to the nation’s capital of Washington to his final resting place in his home of Atlanta. “I’ve come here today because I like so many Americans owe a great debt to John Lewis and his forceful vision of freedom,” former President Barack Obama said. Former president George W. Bush said from the pulpit that Lewis “always believed in preaching the Gospel in word and in deed, insisting that hate and fear had to be answered with love and hope." Former president Bill Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also spoke. Pelosi recalled how Lewis’ body was lying in state at the U.S. Capitol earlier this week, and a double rainbow appeared. “He was telling us, ‘I’m home in heaven, I’m home in heaven.’ We always knew he worked on the side of angels and now he is with them," she said. A memorial service at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Monday drew Congressional leaders from both parties. Lewis was the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, his flag-draped casket was carried down the Capitol steps and placed in a hearse as people watched solemnly, many with their hands on their hearts. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/7234348/barack-obama-john-lewis-funeral/ Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB #JohnLewis #JohnLewisFuneral #USPolitics #GlobalNews

As we reflect on racism and anti-racism, the Roper Center continues to identify and make available all public opinion surveys of Black Americans in the Roper data archive. We highlight these surveys of Black Americans, dating back to 1945, to remember and amplify the voices of these individuals. We have also made available more than eight decades of public opinion data on how the U.S. public views Black America. These data provide historical insight into how racial attitudes have changed in the United States and how the public currently views topics such as police brutality, race relations, and social movements for racial equality. We are making all of this data, which can be accessed below, freely available to the public.