(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos. Another travesty of justice for Elijah McClain. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-07 Just another day in the racist just-us-not-Black-folks system in the U.S.A. Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez While much of the mainstream news media is focused on all things concerning our former fascist leader’s trials and courtroom tribulations, events taking place in the Middle East, and in pushing a full plate of 2024 horse-race anti-Democrats horseshit — I ask that you take a pause to remember one young man’s life which was brutally wiped out by the police. A young, Black man. His name was Elijah McClain. Another one of his murderers was acquitted yesterday. x A jury has found police officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty of manslaughter or even criminally negligent homicide for causing the death of innocent, unarmed 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who died after he was subdued by police and injected with ketamine by paramedics in 2019. https://t.co/sDZiSfHNRF — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 6, 2023 x Aurora Police Officer Nathan Woodyard was found not guilty on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the second trial in the case of 23-year-old Elijah McClain’s death. pic.twitter.com/n28PZX8acg — Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) November 6, 2023 From the Denver Post: Jury finds Aurora police officer who put Elijah McClain in neck hold not guilty in 23-year-old’s death Nathan Woodyard is the third police officer to stand trial in the 2019 death — and the second one acquitted Nathan Woodyard, 34, was acquitted of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, the conclusion of the second of three criminal trials in a case of police violence that drew widespread local and national attention following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Jurors in the first trial acquitted former officer Jason Rosenblatt last month on charges stemming from McClain’s 2019 death, but found officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. From The NYTimes A mostly white jury of seven men and five women deliberated for just over two days following the three-week trial against Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, for the death of Elijah McClain. But jurors found only Mr. Roedema, 41, guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault. Both officers — who were tried together — had been charged with both crimes, as well as manslaughter. Mr. Roedema will be sentenced on Jan. 5. First responders, including the police and paramedics, had placed Mr. McClain, 23, in a chokehold during a confrontation in Aurora, Colo., and injected him with a powerful sedative. He died in the hospital several days later. Three police officers and two paramedics were charged in his death, and are being tried in three separate trials. The joint trial of Mr. Roedema and Mr. Rosenblatt was the first. The split verdict came as a shock among those who had been pushing for accountability since Mr. McClain’s death four years ago. “How do you convict one and acquit the other? How can you call this justice?” said Candice Bailey, an Aurora activist who led many of the early marches and demanded police reform. During the trial, Mr. McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, had been adamant that all five men should be convicted. “None of them did their job that night the way they were supposed to. The police didn’t do their job that night and neither did the paramedics,” she said before the trial ended, adding, “They worked as a team to murder my son.” Remembering the violin protests: x Remembering young people at the violin vigil for Elijah McClain in 2020. They hoped for and deserve a better country. Were they protesting right? And still…. https://t.co/bJt1kMfNK4 — Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) November 7, 2023 In case you missed them, read these past stories from Black Kos community member rflctammt who is in Colorado. RELATED STORIES: 4 years later.Elijah McClain's killers go to trial. Aurora CO Police Chief Fired - too much attention to Police Reform after Elijah McClain? Or this one from Lauren Sue in January of 2022: Don't forget Elijah McClain: Forced into chokehold, injected for looking 'sketchy.' He is dead now It is so easy to forget — to move on. One life buried in the weight of the news cycle. Take a moment to remember those violin vigils held a cross the nation. x YouTube Video I don’t play a violin. I can play Bill Withers powerful tune “Lean on Me” today — and dream of a day that we have more people to demand the justice we deserve. Can we lean on you? x YouTube Video ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Golden State got rid of affirmative action in higher education almost 25 years before the Supreme Court did. It has some tough lessons for the rest of us. Slate: California tried to warn us ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They say the U.S. looks to California to see its future—and in the case of affirmative action, the Golden State was about 25 years ahead of the Supreme Court. In the early 1990s, the state’s violent crime rate was peaking and the economy was going through a painful recession—prompting a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment. In response, state Republicans proposed a ballot measure to ban affirmative action at California’s public universities. In 1996, Proposition 209 passed with a comfortable margin of 55 to 45 percent, making California the first state to ban race-based admissions policies in its higher education system—long before the Supreme Court effectively banned it nationwide. In the years afterward, several states would do the same: Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Idaho all banned affirmative action in public universities. (Washington banned it in 1998 but then rescinded the ban in 2022.) The experiences of these state university systems vary, but the ones that had large, elite institutions found, almost uniformly, that incoming freshman classes became notably less diverse soon after the removal of affirmative action. That was particularly true in California and Michigan—something the school systems there tried very hard to warn us about. Now, as the Class of 2024 sets its sights on college, it becomes the first group of students in almost half a century to do so without the option of applying to schools with affirmative action policies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Five Black candidates are running for statewide office, and each is trying to become the first Black candidate to ever win one of those posts. The Grio: Mississippi has a history of voter suppression. Many see signs of change as Black voters reengage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few years ago, Tiffany Wilburn just didn’t see the point in voting any longer. Her children didn’t have proper school books, health insurance was expensive and hard to get, police abuse continued against Black residents, and her city’s struggle to get clean drinking water seemed emblematic of her community always coming out on the short end of state decision-making. Combine that with Mississippi’s long history of voter suppression and she felt casting a ballot was simply a hopeless exercise. “It’s like you’re not being heard,” Wilburn said in her hometown of Jackson, the state capital. “You run to the polls, hoping and praying for change, and then you look around and nothing’s really happening. So you shut down.” Recent interviews with Black voters, voting rights groups, candidates and researchers show that the voter fatigue felt by Wilburn has been widely shared in a state where nearly 40% of the overall population is Black. This year, political dynamics have combined to begin changing that, leading many voters such as Wilburn to reengage. The race for governor appears competitive and is drawing national attention. Tuesday’s election also happens to be the first one in Mississippi to be held without the burden of an unusual post-Reconstruction constitutional provision that had made it virtually impossible for Black candidates to win on a statewide basis. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Uganda to South Africa, it conjures the spirit of revolution. The Economist: How the red beret became Africa’s most political hat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ French revolutionaries wore the bonnet rouge. Fans of Donald Trump don maga baseball caps. For young activists in Africa, the red beret is de rigueur. Julius Malema, a South African firebrand, says the hat is “a revolutionary symbol of defiance and resistance”. It is sported by supporters of Mr Malema and his Economic Freedom Fighters, a populist party. It is also worn by followers of Bobi Wine, a singer and opposition leader who is trying to unseat an autocratic president in Uganda. Activists from Ghana to Zimbabwe pull on berets of various hues. The head that launched a thousand hats belonged to Thomas Sankara, a Marxist president of Burkina Faso who was assassinated in 1987. A man of personal modesty and striking looks, he refused to let his portrait be hung in public buildings. But in death his image is everywhere on the pan-African left. He first wore the red beret because he was a soldier (who staged a coup). He said he later took inspiration from Che Guevara, to whom he is often compared. Ibrahim Traoré, an army captain who led a coup in Burkina Faso last year, mimics Sankara’s rhetoric and headgear. But it is generally civilian activists who wear berets to project radical vibes. The beret can be worn in ironic rebuke of soldiers and the police. Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian activist, has contrasted his orange beret with the black ones worn by police officers, who have a reputation for brutality. Yet the cap can also make one a target of the state. In Uganda, beret-topped followers of Mr Wine have been convicted by army courts for wearing military uniforms, an offence that can lead to life imprisonment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Biden announced he intends to terminate Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda as beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, also known as AGOA. The Grio: Biden tests diplomacy in shifting trade ties with African nations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to remove four countries, accused of human rights or rule of law violations, from a decades-old trade program in sub-Saharan Africa has sparked mixed reactions from advocates of the region. Earlier this week, Biden announced that he intends to terminate the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda as beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, also known as AGOA. The decision from Biden came as a shock and surprise to some African policy experts and advocates. Dorothy M. Davis, a decades-long Africa diplomacy expert who has consulted U.S. and international agencies, told theGrio that while she understands the “internal issues” in the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda, the decision to remove them from the AGOA program will be harmful to their citizens. “I view AGOA as being targeted to the people of the country, helping women, men, entrepreneurs, get their products here,” said Davis, who runs her own consulting firm, Dorothy M. Davis Consulting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abiy Ahmed’s push for access to the sea has rattled his neighbors. The Economist: Ethiopia’s prime minister wants a Red Sea harbour ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nerves are jangling once again in the Horn of Africa, just a year after the end of a brutal civil war in Ethiopia that led to the deaths of perhaps 385,000-600,000 people. Now foreign diplomats and analysts fear that in his bid to get a port on the Red Sea, Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, risks sparking another conflict, this time next to one of the world’s busiest shipping routes (see map). In a jingoistic documentary aired on state television on October 13th, Abiy argued that landlocked Ethiopia must acquire a port on the Red Sea to break its roughly 120m people out of a “geographic prison”. Turning to history, he quoted a 19th-century Ethiopian warrior who had proclaimed that the Red Sea was the country’s “natural boundary”. Ethiopia, Abiy noted, had indeed been a sea power with a navy and two ports, Massawa and Assab. It lost these along with the rest of its coastline in 1993, when Eritrea seceded to form a new country. Now, Abiy suggested, the moment was nigh to right a historic wrong. “It’s not a matter of luxury,” he insisted, “but an existential one.” Foreign diplomats say this reflects what Abiy has been declaring in private for months. Ethiopia’s neighbours are rattled, particularly because Abiy had not raised the issue with them before making his threats. “The whole country thinks the man is mad,” says an adviser to Somalia’s president. A fight over ports would further destabilise a region already in turmoil. Sudan, Ethiopia’s neighbour to the west, has been plunged into what the un calls “one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history”. Fighting between two warlords there has forced almost 7m people from their homes. And Ethiopia itself faces simmering rebellions in Oromia, its largest and most populous region, and Amhara. Abiy says that Ethiopia’s demands can be met through peaceful negotiations with its neighbours. Better to discuss the matter now, he argues, than to risk an armed conflict in the future. But Abiy has reportedly said in private that he is ready to use force if talks fail. “If it is not achieved by other means, war is the way,” says an Ethiopian official. A few days after the broadcast Abiy flexed his muscles with a military parade in the capital, Addis Ababa, in which the army displayed its new weapons including a Russian-made electronic-warfare system. Troop movements have been detected along both sides of Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea in recent weeks. A well-connected source in Addis Ababa says that the armed forces are exercising in preparation for another conflict. On October 22nd the head of the air force warned his troops to ready themselves for war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices & Soul “… If distance equals rates times time And the rate of Blacks killed by cops is 9x more than everyone else Then how distant are we from legalized lynching… ?” - Kimberly Jae ”Black Momma Math” by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Poetry Editor After a particularly long day into night, I lay my head on the pain reducing pillow in the hope of a restful slumber. But it soon became apparent I would be entering a plane of agitated chaos that would take all my attention and endurance, to endure. I found myself in a dreamy hall of mirrors that changed suddenly into walls of spiked hubcaps spinning, forcing me to the ground as blue boots flashed in a cadenced march reminiscent of the Wagnerian dirges of impending, Teutonic doom. I looked about and saw a barren landscape of the dried remains of innocent children dusting a dust bowl of a cracked, ancient lakebed. I saw withered tree skeletons pointing to a horizon of dark red. I saw weeping mothers dragged along by laughing monsters paying for dinner with the fingerprints of a conquered people on the artificial intelligence credit card scanner. I saw a platoon of drones delivering candy bar phosphorous bombs and a phalanx of roid rage beat cops beating the crap out of violin playing introverts while Lady Justice filed her nails. I could smell the burnt scent of burning flesh and I could feel the nasal sting of a smoggy day forcing me to choose to fight, or flee. And it was then I realized my dream was no conjured nightmare of fright, it was no otherworld of slurred words and an ever slowing escape from a hyped up death squad of constitutional sheriffs. I was in no inescapable dystopian delusion of my own device. I was awake the whole time. If a jar of jelly is $2.98 & a loaf of Hawaiian bread is $4 Then how much bail money will I need when I kill everyone in my house for eating all the bread and jelly in 5 minutes? Black Momma Math If Black Momma has a two 17-year-old Black Boys What is the probability that they will come home in a body bag in the next 5 years? If Son A leaves Ferguson at 3pm traveling at 60 miles per hour and Son B leaves Baltimore at 5pm traveling at 50 miles per hour to drive to Florida, what time and which morgue will their bodies be delivered to when their music and Black Boy Joy inspire a stand your ground tango? Better yet, what is the cost of a funeral times 2 if a police officer pulls them over? If 6 out of 10 people have math anxiety, Then how many Black women out of 10 have murdered baby anxiety? Everyone says Black women can’t math But we have been Black Momma mathing since the beginning of time They have been long divisioning us since Africa become too valuable to keep as a whole We’ve been reduced like fractions Told we’re not equivalent Compared to and found wanting against each other even though we have the same common denominator We get broken down like quadratic equations Our squared roots have been cut in half Our ancestral variables are left unknown We’re always solving for the y If distance equals rates times time And the rate of Blacks killed by cops is 9x more than everyone else Then how distant are we from legalized lynching? Black women are educated But being Black Momma provides a more specialized education Black Momma Philosophy If I let my son play outside with a toy gun and there are no news camera around to see it, when the police shoot him is it murder or self-defense? We already know which harsh truths everyone ignores until someone not Black validates us Is it possible that some people are just genetically predisposed to hate? How free is our will if our fate is decided by our melanin What is the meaning of Black lives when so many people don’t think we matter? Black Momma Math If a jar of jelly is $2.98 & a loaf of Hawaiian bread is $4 But I’m too scared to let my babies go to the grocery store What is the probability that I am just delaying the inevitable? - Kimberly Jae ”Black Momma Math” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/7/2203649/-Black-Kos-Another-travesty-of-justice-for-Elijah-McClain?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&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/