(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos, Week In Review ~ "G-d bless the children..." All of our children [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-13 Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar In 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The treaty sought to provide a framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of children. The Geneva Conventions “prohibit the targeting of children, the recruitment of child soldiers, and provide for their special care and protection.” Regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or socio-economic background, children and babies should be seen as all our children and all our babies. Their lives are all equally precious. The Staple Singers with Mavis Staples God bless the children Cause they can’t' stop what men do And that’s why lord i call on you They don’t even know how to sin These are troubled times we’re livin’ in When things fall Children cry Yes lord some will die Lord lord lord lord lord God bless the children God bless the children Teach us how to love Like never before And may we never steady war no more Talk to the hearts of the men who lead us And make them understand it’s the children who need us Ohhhh yes I know It’s not right If men must fight Lord lord lord lord lord God bless the children So many times I’ve heard this phrase That trouble it won’t last always I’m not saying this phrase is wrong But I’m wondering why it has to last so long I see a newborn baby In a proud mothers arms Then to think of all the countries that now have them Lord lord lord lord lord x YouTube Video Bob Marley’s We and Dem x YouTube Video Lyrics: We no know how we and dem a-go work this out, oy! We no know how we and dem a-go work it out. But someone will 'ave to pay For the innocent blood That they shed every day, Oh, children, mark my word; It's what the Bible say, yeah! yeah! Oh, we no know how we and dem a-go work this out; We no know how we and dem a-go work it out... “Hundreds of thousands of children die of direct violence in war each year. They die as civilians caught in the violence of war, as combatants directly targeted, or in the course of ethnic cleansing.” Whether at our southern border, in Ukraine, in Yemen, in Syria, in Israel, or in Gaza, children are dying or in serious danger of dying. And they are ALL our children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Black Texas student who spent more than a month on in-school suspension over his dreadlocks has been told he will be removed from his school and sent to a disciplinary alternative education program. Associated Press: Black student suspended over his hairstyle to be sent to an alternative education program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After serving more than a month of in-school suspension over his dreadlocks, a Black student in Texas was told he will be removed from his high school and sent to a disciplinary alternative education program on Thursday. Darryl George, 18, is a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and has been suspended since Aug. 31. He will be sent to EPIC, an alternative school program, from Oct. 12 through Nov. 29 for “failure to comply” with multiple campus and classroom regulations, the principal said in a Wednesday letter provided to The Associated Press by the family. Principal Lance Murphy wrote that George has repeatedly violated the district’s “previously communicated standards of student conduct.” The letter also says that George will be allowed to return to regular classroom instruction on Nov. 30 but will not be allowed to return to his high school’s campus until then unless he’s there to discuss his conduct with school administrators. Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of a T-shirt collar, according to the student handbook. Additionally, hair on all students must be clean, well-groomed, geometrical and not an unnatural color or variation. The school does not require uniforms. George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the dress code. The family last month filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general, alleging they failed to enforce a new law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles. The family alleges George’s suspension and subsequent discipline violate the state’s CROWN Act, which took effect Sept. 1. The law, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since its inception, TikTok has been home to non-Black creators copying and never crediting Black artists — specifically choreographers. This is problematic for many reasons, but most egregiously because Black creators have been known to get paid significantly less than their non-Black counterparts. One of the more recent viral trends includes a modern staple of young Black culture: majorette-style dancing. And while there have been murmurs of discontent about the dance style being co-opted as a Gen Z trend white female creators are carrying, Khalil Greene, also known as the Gen Z historian on TikTok, explained it most succinctly. In the well-circulated video, which has garnered over 65,000 views, he recently reminded TikTokers to stop appropriating the genius of Black creators and denounced the app for allowing Gen Zs to bite off and bury Black content. It should be noted that the original use of the term “majorette” referred to Dutch carnival dancers. But it became what we now know it to be when the style of baton work and accompanying dance came to the American South — particularly to Black institutions, Essence reports. In Greene’s post, he calls out white TikTokers for appropriating majorette choreography in the viral “Her Way” and “No Love” challenges. Non-Black TikTokers have posted and racked up millions of views with their renditions of this choreography, reportedly created by 19-year-old Jordyn Williams, with no references to where the moves come from and the history of the majorette dance style. In his analysis, Greene also points to another viral video from a K-Pop stan account that incorrectly revealed the “origins” of the viral choreography. He criticized the post for referring to the choreography as a “silly little TikTok dance” and inaccurately crediting a K-Pop group for creating it. Greene then gives credit to the actual creator, reportedly a majorette from Alabama, and then provides a brief but useful history of majorette culture. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Less than half of England’s Black residents live in London for the first time on record. As their footholds dwindle around the city center, their communities are growing on the outskirts of the capital — or sometimes outside it altogether. Bloomberg: How London Lost Its Place at the Heart of Black Britain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Historically Black areas in inner London are experiencing the greatest erosion of their communities, the analysis of Census data shows. That's partly because the affordability crisis has affected where people can live, but the Black population is more vulnerable to the whims of the city's tight real estate market. As London flourished as a financial hub over the last two decades and house prices soared, it was many of the residents so key to its cultural and economic success who were hit the hardest. The historic housing boom dampened the UK capital’s draw and affordability, and forced many to move further afield. But its Black population — almost a quarter of which earn less that the city’s living wage — was among the most vulnerable. Now, less that half of England’s Black residents live in London — the first time this has happened since ra least 1991, when Census officials started collecting data on ethnicity, according to an exclusive Bloomberg News analysis. It’s a stark contrast to the record high 20 years ago, when about70% of the country’s Black population called the city home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Order comes after UN approved mission to send Kenya-led police officers to help Haiti combat rampant gang violence. Court blocks Kenya from deploying police officers to Haiti to fight gangs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Kenyan court temporarily blocked the government from deploying hundreds of police personnel in Haiti in a UN-approved mission aimed at helping the Caribbean nation tackle rampant gang violence. The court order issued on Monday is valid until 24 October and followed a petition jointly filed by one of the opposition political parties and two Kenyans who say the decision to deploy the police officers outside the east African country is illegal. According to a court document seen by Reuters, the order bars Kenyan government officials including the president and his interior minister “from deploying police officers to Haiti or any other country until 24th October 2023”. In July, Kenya pledged to offer 1,000 police officers after Haiti appealed for international help with security personnel to assist in its battle against gangs blamed for spiraling violence. The United Nations estimates some 200,000 Haitians have been displaced during escalating violence, with armed gangs carrying out indiscriminate killings, kidnappings, gang rapes and torching people’s homes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supreme Court’s Resident GOP Lawyer Gives away his motives Slate: Samuel Alito Really, Really, Really Wants to Save This Racial Gerrymander in South Carolina ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, a challenge to South Carolina’s congressional map based on the contention that it was an impermissible racial gerrymander. The case should have been easy for the groups that challenged the map, given the applicable law and the arguments advanced by the state’s lawmakers in defense of their map—which was found to be unconstitutional by the lower court. Unfortunately for the challengers of that map, Justice Samuel Alito had other ideas. After more than two hours of Alito-centered arguments, the question for his other conservative colleagues will be whether they side with him, change the law, and have the Supreme Court serve as a super-trial court in such cases—allowing the high court to reject trial court findings when they come out a way the conservative majority doesn’t like. A three-judge district court had, after an extensive trial, decided that South Carolina engaged in an impermissible racial gerrymander to one of its congressional districts in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. When rebalancing congressional districts after the census required moving voters from one district to another, the state didn’t simply move the number of voters required. Instead of moving 90,000 residents out of the overpopulated district and into the underpopulated one, the state swapped more than 50,000 residents into the overpopulated district and moved 140,000 residents out of it. The decisions about who was moved out of the district were done in a way, the district court found, that kept the Black voting-age population in the district at the same level—in part to help ensure that district would remain a Republican district—even as the new demographics of the area suggested the Black voting-age population in the district should increase. As the lower court concluded: With the movement of over 30,000 African American residents of Charleston County out of Congressional District No. 1 to meet the African American population target of 17%, Plaintiffs’ right to be free from an unlawful racial gerrymander under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been violated. According to past precedent, overturning the factual findings of that panel—including its weighing of the voluminous evidence and testimony of expert witnesses—would require the Supreme Court to find “clear error” in the district court’s findings. According to that old standard, there is no such clear error in this case, as was clear from Wednesday’s arguments. It appeared things might be going toward that easy resolution when Justice Clarence Thomas’ first question for John Gore, the South Carolina lawmakers’ lawyer, focused on the “clear error” standard and how the justices would find that in a case like this, where so many fact-bound decisions take place and figured into the lower court’s ruling. Noting that “the district court credited the plaintiffs’ expert and found your experts noncredible,” Thomas asked, “So how does that meet the clear error standard?” Gore—a Jones Day lawyer who played a key, questionable role in the Trump administration’s failed effort to get a citizenship question on the 2020 census—responded to Thomas by delving into specific arguments about the opinions, data, and conclusions put forward by one of the plaintiffs’ experts at trial. That, in turn, led Justice Sonia Sotomayor to tell Gore that his argument had “a very poor starting point” if the focus was on the credibility of the expert witnesses—something that ordinarily “must be deferred to” on appeal because that is so central to the district court’s role. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/13/2198959/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review-G-d-bless-the-children-All-of-our-children?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/