Ferguson police execute an unarmed 17 yr old boy (Update: Ferguson police chief to resign 3/19)
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kevthesureshot
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http://www.theatlantic.com/business...-housing-policies-that-built-ferguson/381595/
Article from Ta-Nahisi Coates talking about housing discrimination in St. Louis. Man that image is powerful
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http://www.theatlantic.com/business...-housing-policies-that-built-ferguson/381595/
Article from Ta-Nahisi Coates talking about housing discrimination in St. Louis. Man that image is powerful
for the ppl that don't like to click links.
The Racist Housing Policies That Built Ferguson
The geography of America would be unrecognizable today without the race-based social engineering of the mid-20th century.
The Economic Policy Institute has just released a report by Richard Rothstein that gives some sense of how the world of Michael Brown came to be. It turns out that that world was born from the exact same forces that forged cities and suburbs across the country—racist housing policy at the local, state, and national levels. Rothstein's report eschews talk of mindless white flight, and black-hearted individual racists, and puts the onus exactly where it belongs:
That governmental actions, not mere private prejudice, were responsible for segregating greater St. Louis was once conventional informed opinion. In 1974, a three-judge panel of the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that “segregated housing in the St. Louis metropolitan area was … in large measure the result of deliberate racial discrimination in the housing market by the real estate industry and by agencies of the federal, state, and local governments.”
Similar observations accurately describe every other large metropolitan area; in St. Louis, the Department of Justice stipulated to this truth but took no action in response. In 1980, a federal court order included an instruction for the state, county, and city governments to devise plans to integrate schools by integrating housing. Public officials ignored this aspect of the order, devising only a voluntary busing plan to integrate schools, but no programs to combat housing segregation.
A lot of what's here—redlining, housing covenants, blockbusting, etc.—will be well-known to those with a good handle on 20th-century American history. I focused on this particular era in my case for reparations. But it bears constant repeating: The geography of America would be unrecognizable today without the racist social engineering of the mid-20th century. The policy included—but was not limited to—mortgage loans backed by the Federal Housing Authority and the Veteran's Administration:
At its peak in 1943 when civilian construction was limited, the FHA financed 80 percent of all private home construction nationwide. During the postwar period, it dropped to one-third. But even when subdivisions were not built with advance FHA commitments, individual homebuyers needed access to FHA or VA insured mortgages, so similar standards for new construction pertained. Subdivisions throughout St. Louis County were developed in this way, with FHA advance commitments for the builders and a resulting whites-only sale policy.
The FHA’s suburban whites-only policy continued through the postwar housing boom that lasted through the mid-1960s. In 1947, the FHA sanitized its manual, removing literal race references but still demanding “compatibility among neighborhood occupants” for mortgage guarantees. “Neighborhoods constituted of families that are congenial,” the FHA manual explained, “… generally exhibit strong appeal and stability.” This very slightly sanitized language suggested no change in policy, and the FHA continued to finance builders with open policies of racial exclusion for another 15 years.
In 1959, the United States Commission on Civil Rights concluded that only 2 percent of all FHA-backed loans had gone to blacks. "Most of this housing," concluded the report, "has been in all-Negro developments in the South."
As it relates to black America, segregation must always be understood, as a system of plunder. Once the big game has been fenced off, then comes the hunt:
According to a study by the St. Louis nonprofit Better Together, Ferguson receives nearly one-quarter of its revenue from court fees; for some surrounding towns it approaches 50 percent. Municipal reliance on revenue generated from traffic stops adds pressure to make more of them. One town, Sycamore Hills, has stationed a radar-gun-wielding police officer on its 250-foot northbound stretch of Interstate.
With primarily white police forces that rely disproportionately on traffic citation revenue, blacks are pulled over, cited and arrested in numbers far exceeding their population share, according to a recent report from Missouri’s attorney general. In Ferguson last year, 86 percent of stops, 92 percent of searches and 93 percent of arrests were of black people—despite the fact that police officers were far less likely to find contraband on black drivers (22 percent versus 34 percent of whites). This worsens inequality, as struggling blacks do more to fund local government than relatively affluent whites.
And this is but one aspect. I strongly suspect that if I talked to some housing attorneys in the region they could tell me a story.
With primarily white police forces that rely disproportionately on traffic citation revenue, blacks are pulled over, cited and arrested in numbers far exceeding their population share, according to a recent report from Missouri’s attorney general. In Ferguson last year, 86 percent of stops, 92 percent of searches and 93 percent of arrests were of black people—despite the fact that police officers were far less likely to find contraband on black drivers (22 percent versus 34 percent of whites). This worsens inequality, as struggling blacks do more to fund local government than relatively affluent whites.
And this is but one aspect. I strongly suspect that if I talked to some housing attorneys in the region they could tell me a story.
loyola llothta
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In the wake of Darren Wilson “fearing for his life,” Shaun King gets real
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18/10/14.
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No Justice, No Peace: Darren Wilson Likely To Avoid Civil Rights Charges In Shooting →politicususa.com
In an eye-opening piece run by the New York Times late Friday evening, federal government officials close to the Justice Department’s investigation of Michael Brown’s death state that the evidence they’ve seen so far does not support a civil rights charge against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. An unarmed Brown was shot to death by Wilson on August 9th. The officials who spoke with the Times say that Wilson testified that Brown scuffled with him in his vehicle and caused him to fear for his life, leading to the fatal shooting.
The Times pointed out throughout the article that the information on Wilson’s testimony came only from federal officials and not from the Ferguson Police Department. Also, the federal investigation into both Wilson and the Ferguson PD is still ongoing. However, based on the content of the article and the appearance that federal authorities are taking Wilson at his word, confidence that an indictment will happen from either the St. Louis County Court or the Justice Department is not very high.
Perhaps the part of the article that will be the most disheartening and frustrating for protesters in Ferguson is the following:
In September, Officer Wilson appeared for four hours before a St. Louis County grand jury, which was convened to determine whether there is probable cause that he committed a crime. Legal experts have said that his decision to testify was surprising, given that it was not required by law. But the struggle in the car may prove to be a more influential piece of information for the grand jury, one that speaks to Officer Wilson’s state of mind, his feeling of vulnerability and his sense of heightened alert when he killed Mr. Brown.
Police officers typically have wide latitude to use lethal force if they reasonably believe that they are in imminent danger.
The officials briefed on the case said the forensic evidence gathered in the car lent credence to Officer Wilson’s version of events. According to his account, he was trying to leave his vehicle when Mr. Brown pushed him back in. Once inside the S.U.V., the two began to fight, Officer Wilson told investigators, and he removed his gun from the holster on his right hip.
Currently, a grand jury is convened to hear evidence and provide a recommendation as to whether or not Wilson is indicted with a crime. St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch has suggested that we should hear from the grand jury no later than mid-November. In a somewhat unorthodox move, Wilson testified in front of the grand jury for four hours last month. Typically, if someone is standing accused of a crime and it is referred to a grand jury, that person tends to not testify in the proceedings. However, it is well within the person’s right to do so.
Activists and protesters in the Ferguson area are starting to get a feeling that a non-indictment is coming soon. The perception isn’t just coming from the length of the grand jury hearing or the notion that McCulloch is unable to be objective when it comes to investigating law enforcement. Much of that perception is coming from what is seen as the local media’s attempt lately to change the narrative regarding law enforcement and the protesters. Specifically, stories run by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the major local news stations where they’ve tried to frame protesters as violent and dangerous while also trying to portray local police in a more positive light. Essentially, they are trying to give the moral high ground to the police ahead of the likely scenario where Wilson is allowed to walk.
This latest article from the NYT will only feed this pessimism more. It would seem that morale should be at an all-time low among Ferguson activists. Besides the ever-growing likelihood that Wilson will walk, other changes in the area have not occurred. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson is still on the job. McCulloch has not recused himself from the investigation. The racial disparities among the staffs of the Ferguson and St. Louis County police departments and they way they handle law enforcement in the communities continues seemingly unabated.
However, there is a resilience among those on the ground. While it began as getting justice for Mike Brown, it has grown into something much more. Brown’s death was an awakening for many in the area. That awakening moved to different parts of the country and world. Many of those people from all over made their way to St. Louis last weekend to take part in Ferguson October. Now, it is a full-fledged movement. And that movement is gaining momentum. It isn’t going to stop. People, no matter their race or nationality, are demanding change in our society. They don’t just want equality, fairness and opportunity. No. They demand it.
In an eye-opening piece run by the New York Times late Friday evening, federal government officials close to the Justice Department’s investigation of Michael Brown’s death state that the evidence they’ve seen so far does not support a civil rights charge against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. An unarmed Brown was shot to death by Wilson on August 9th. The officials who spoke with the Times say that Wilson testified that Brown scuffled with him in his vehicle and caused him to fear for his life, leading to the fatal shooting.
The Times pointed out throughout the article that the information on Wilson’s testimony came only from federal officials and not from the Ferguson Police Department. Also, the federal investigation into both Wilson and the Ferguson PD is still ongoing. However, based on the content of the article and the appearance that federal authorities are taking Wilson at his word, confidence that an indictment will happen from either the St. Louis County Court or the Justice Department is not very high.
Perhaps the part of the article that will be the most disheartening and frustrating for protesters in Ferguson is the following:
In September, Officer Wilson appeared for four hours before a St. Louis County grand jury, which was convened to determine whether there is probable cause that he committed a crime. Legal experts have said that his decision to testify was surprising, given that it was not required by law. But the struggle in the car may prove to be a more influential piece of information for the grand jury, one that speaks to Officer Wilson’s state of mind, his feeling of vulnerability and his sense of heightened alert when he killed Mr. Brown.
Police officers typically have wide latitude to use lethal force if they reasonably believe that they are in imminent danger.
The officials briefed on the case said the forensic evidence gathered in the car lent credence to Officer Wilson’s version of events. According to his account, he was trying to leave his vehicle when Mr. Brown pushed him back in. Once inside the S.U.V., the two began to fight, Officer Wilson told investigators, and he removed his gun from the holster on his right hip.
Currently, a grand jury is convened to hear evidence and provide a recommendation as to whether or not Wilson is indicted with a crime. St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch has suggested that we should hear from the grand jury no later than mid-November. In a somewhat unorthodox move, Wilson testified in front of the grand jury for four hours last month. Typically, if someone is standing accused of a crime and it is referred to a grand jury, that person tends to not testify in the proceedings. However, it is well within the person’s right to do so.
Activists and protesters in the Ferguson area are starting to get a feeling that a non-indictment is coming soon. The perception isn’t just coming from the length of the grand jury hearing or the notion that McCulloch is unable to be objective when it comes to investigating law enforcement. Much of that perception is coming from what is seen as the local media’s attempt lately to change the narrative regarding law enforcement and the protesters. Specifically, stories run by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the major local news stations where they’ve tried to frame protesters as violent and dangerous while also trying to portray local police in a more positive light. Essentially, they are trying to give the moral high ground to the police ahead of the likely scenario where Wilson is allowed to walk.
This latest article from the NYT will only feed this pessimism more. It would seem that morale should be at an all-time low among Ferguson activists. Besides the ever-growing likelihood that Wilson will walk, other changes in the area have not occurred. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson is still on the job. McCulloch has not recused himself from the investigation. The racial disparities among the staffs of the Ferguson and St. Louis County police departments and they way they handle law enforcement in the communities continues seemingly unabated.
However, there is a resilience among those on the ground. While it began as getting justice for Mike Brown, it has grown into something much more. Brown’s death was an awakening for many in the area. That awakening moved to different parts of the country and world. Many of those people from all over made their way to St. Louis last weekend to take part in Ferguson October. Now, it is a full-fledged movement. And that movement is gaining momentum. It isn’t going to stop. People, no matter their race or nationality, are demanding change in our society. They don’t just want equality, fairness and opportunity. No. They demand it.
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
These the same clowns riding for Alex Jones? 
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“The officer’s going to say whatever he’s going to say to justify killing an unarmed kid. Right now, they have this secret proceeding where nobody knows what’s happening and nobody knows what’s going on. No matter what happened in the car, Michael Brown ran away from him.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/u...d-to-cite-struggle.html?partner=msft_msn&_r=0
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/u...d-to-cite-struggle.html?partner=msft_msn&_r=0
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
loyola llothta
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Oct. 18
- Darren Wilson claims he was pinned in his vehicle and feared for his life as he struggled over his gun with Mike Brown. He also claims Mike Brown punched and scratched him repeatedly, leaving swelling on his face and cuts on his neck. (x)
- Darren Wilson came back for conflict (storify)
- STL Co. Council Meeting from Oct. 7 (storify)
- MO’s rule on deadly force by cops: Cop can shoot fleeing felon only if he is imminent danger to life of another
- Bob McCulloch’s grand jury charade: Country Prosecutor shows how to not get an indictment