Greetings BLMLA Family,

STUDY. FAST. TRAIN. FIGHT. Engage with the four pillars of Black August tonight at Chuco’s Justice Center for our monthly general meeting. This special conversation will be led by comrades Jitu Sadiki and Harold Welton from Black August Resistance Coalition/Black August – Los Angeles.

We’ll also honor our fallen freedom fighters and the angelverseries of all of the lives stolen by police violence during the month of August with the pouring of libations. Please offer prayers for their families and go to tinyurl.com/BLMLAcallstoaction for ways to act upon their demand for justice. And join us in the streets! EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3PM AT 1313 W. 8TH ST., “FUND SERVICES, NOT POLICE!” #EndPoliceAssociations

60 SECONDS FOR JUSTICE: Quick Things You Can Do Right Now

1. DONATE to the Jericho Movement, working to free our political prisoners.

2. SIGN AND SHARE the petitions demanding the release of our political prisoners: Sundiata Acoli, Ruchell Magee, and Dr. Mutulu Shakur.

3. CALL AND EMAIL Paul Krekorian and tell him to agendize the Mike Bonin/Nithya Raman #NoNewCops motion.

4. SIGN AND SHARE the petition demanding that Mayor Garcetti #FireChiefMoore.

5. HASHTAG #BlackLivesMatter in at least one social media post each day.

This Week’s BLMLA Actions/Events (8/15/2021-8/23/2021):

• SUNDAY, 8/15/2021 at 12PM – Freedom Ride for Crenshaw, Meet at the iHop Parking Lot 3625 Stocker St. – There’s less than a week to stop the sale of the Crenshaw mall to the racist and gentrifying developers #DavidSchwartzman and his oligarch financial partner #LenBlavatnik. Join Downtown Crenshaw for a car caravan to protest the sale and let these gentrifiers know HANDS OFF OUR MALL!

• SUNDAY, 8/15/2021 at 7PM – Black Lives Matter General Monthly Meeting, Chuco’s Justice Center 7625 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90001 – In commemoration of Black August, organize for Black liberation! Join Black Lives Matter’s monthly meeting to honor our freedom fighters and learn about ways to plug into the work. We welcome ALL Black folks, non-Black allies, elders, youth, families, new people, returning and standing members. Closed to law enforcement, media, elected officials and their staff, and haters. Donations welcome, but not required. Free vegan dinner and produce boxes provided by Vegan Outreach. ASL translation by Pro Bono ASL.

• MONDAY, 8/16/2021 at 4:30PM – Pasadena City Council Meeting on zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/161482446 – August 15th marks the angelversary of #AnthonyMcClain, who was killed by the Pasadena Police department. We need all hands on deck to show up to this week’s Pasadena City Council meeting and demand that they 1) Call for the immediate firing and prosecution of Officer Edwin Dumaguindin 2) Accept the resignation of Police Chief Perez EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, and 3) Remove City Manager Steve Mermell. Please submit a speaker card prior to the public comment period at the link here. To participate by phone, call 1-669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 161 482 446.

• TUESDAY, 8/17/2021 at 9:30AM – Los Angeles Police Commission Meeting on Zoom at https://lapd.zoom.us/s/289225944 – On Saturday, Proud Boys, anti-vaxxers, Recall Newsomdemonstraters…aka white supremacists…attacked counter protesters and journalists in front of the LAPD Headquarters with little to no police pushback. In fact, the police were seen guarding them, despite one white supremacist stabbing counter protesters. When righteous protesters take the streets against police brutality, they often witness and experience the same brutality that they’re protesting against. Just weeks ago at the Wi Spa protests LAPD shot a woman with rubber bullets at close range. In Echo Park back in March, the police mobilized a small army and converged on protesters with their batons, eventually arresting 180 people. At Day 13 of BLMLA’s #BlockGarcetti protest, the police brutalized our folks–a crowd full of Black and Brown women, children and vulnerable protesters–in a dog pile. But when white supremacists assault, kick, and stab people right outside of LAPD’s door, they do nothing. This is the kind of department that Chief Michel Moore operates. This is the racist, white supremacist and last vestige of chattel slavery mindset that can not be undone with reform. Let’s make public comment demanding the commission #FireChiefMoore for his failed leadership and complicity in running a racist department that protects white supremacy and criminalizes Blackness. Coalition talking points here. Please use the “raise hand” function to speak. To participate by phone, call (855) 880-1246, Meeting ID: 289 225 944. Press *9 to be put in the cue for public comment.

• WEDNESDAY, 8/18/2021 at 3PM (and every Wednesday) – Fund Services, Not Police! #EndPoliceAssociations at 1313 W. 8th St., Los Angeles – This week’s action will focus on #SB2 – The Kenneth Ross Jr. Decertification Bill that will take away the guns and badges of cops that engage in misconduct, like killing or brutalizing our people! Police associations are threatened by SB2 and are trying to fight it because it will bring actual accountability to the families of those who experience police violence. But ain’t no power like the power of the people cause the power of the people don’t stop! Wear masks and bring your bodies, spirits, energy, drums, signs, flags and dedication. If you’re not able to come out, engage in virtual protest by tuning in to the action on Instagram Live @blmlosangeles.

Recap:

• Last Tuesday, BLMLA members attended the Torrance City Council Meeting in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. They used public comment to demand justice on behalf of #ChristopherDeAndreMitchell and elevate the demands that the officers be fired for his murder and that Torrance City Council finally create a civilian oversight commission of the police department.

• Last Wednesday’s Fund Services, Not Police! #EndPoliceAssociations rally uplifted #Black August and honored the many angelversaries we’ve lost during the heavy week. The families of #VanessaMarquez, #DavidSullivan, and #MelyCorado spoke. BLMLA member Michael Williams spoke on behalf of #AnthonyMcClain before singing a beautiful rendition of “Lean on Me,” which preceded a healing performance from the LA CAN Freedom Singers.

• Last Saturday’s This Is Not A Drill was an important discussion on Courageous Conversations and the art of calling in, hosted by Audrena Redmond of BLM-Long Beach and BLM-Grassroots. It was simulcasted on-air KBLA Talk 1580 AM and on facebook.com/BLMLA, where Pro Bono ASL provides language justice access. Missed it? Watch here!

• Last Saturday, Black Lives Matter stood in solidarity with the family of #AnthonyVargas as they honored his angelversary outside of the East LA Sheriff’s station. Our core team organizer Baba Akili spoke alongside Carlos Montes of CentroCSO to uplift Black and Brown solidarity against racist and oppressive police violence.

BLMLA in Media and Must-Reads:

Black August Reads

• Soledad Brothers by George Jackson

• Live from Death Row by Mumia Abu Jamal

• Assata by Assata Shakur

• Golden Gulag by Ruth Wilson Gilmore

• Celebrate Black August – Critical Resistance

#DefundThePolice

• The Senate Wants to Give Us a Lot More Cops (Intelligencer)

• 'This is a gift': Cory Booker enthusiastically endorses GOP amendment opposing 'defund the police' (Yahoo! News)

• People’s Budgets Are a Way to Defund Police and Fund Communities (Teen Vogue)

• Activists push to disband Minneapolis police in upcoming vote (ABC News)

• Why Democrats voted for Josh Hawley's imaginary police hiring drive (MSNBC)

Haiti

• Hundreds Are Dead After A Massive Earthquake Hits Haiti (NPR)

• Rescuers are scrambling in Haiti as storm threatens to follow quake and death toll tops 700 (CNBC)

• Death toll from 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti rises to over 700 people (CNN)

Critical Race Theory

• Wisconsin critical race theory debate lasts close to 7 hours (Daily Jefferson County Union)

• Nebraska Regents vote down resolution opposing critical race theory (KSNB)

• Teachers, students speak out against Texas laws targeting critical race theory (ABC News)

• Colorado Springs School District 49 bans Critical Race Theory (KRDO)

• American Schools Are Failing to Equip Students With Racial Literacy—And We've Seen Firsthand How It Happens (TIME)

• Alabama's board of education passes ban on critical race theory ideology (Yahoo! News)

• The Radical Capitalist Behind the Critical Race Theory Furor (The Nation)

#BlackLivesMatter

• Community gathers on 7th anniversary of Michael Brown’s killing (STL American)

• How A Black Lives Matter Mask Led To This Lawsuit Against Whataburger (Mashed)

• Oregon school board votes to ban Black Lives Matter, Pride signs from district buildings (NBC News)

• Black Lives Matter Cleveland protests conditions at Cuyahoga County Jail (Cleveland 19)

Additional News

• Rio de Janeiro asks why its cops kill so many black people (The Economist)

• Crowdfunding campaigns start their own form of reparations in lieu of a federal push (NBC News)

• At community hearing, calls for a Black-majority state Senate (Boston Globe)

Tune in –

• Move the Crowd airs every Monday morning at 7AM on 90.7FM KPFK kpfk.org, hosted by our own Sister Melina and co-produced by Tyler Boudreaux. Listener calls around 7:40 at 818-985-5735.

• "Beautiful Struggle” is on 90.7FM KPFK, Tuesdays at 7PM.

• This Is Not a Drill! is now on radio! Tune in every Saturday 8-10AM, with a rebroadcast on Sundays on KBLA Talk 1580 and kbla1580.com. Continued simulcast to facebook.com/blmla with ASL translation by Pro Bono ASL. 

• Be sure to listen to “BOLD Conversations About Race” with new hosts, Dahlia Ferlito and Ivette Ale, posted monthly on every podcasting app. 

Black Lives Matter is truly a labor of love, and our work produces real expenses. To support our work, please donate to gofundme.com/BLMLA.

For the most updated information and more on our work, please visit our website at blmla.org and follow us on social media: @blmlosangeles on IG, @blmla on Twitter, and Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles on Facebook.

Peace, Health, and Justice,

The Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles Team