Standing Your Ground in Journalism, Even When Diversity Isn’t Valued

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Standing Your Ground in Journalism, Even When Diversity Isn’t Valued

Last weekend I went on cable to talk about media diversity, including how both legacy media and startups, for- and non-profit, were living in a post-racial America that doesn’t exist — meaning, not hiring people of color and not caring if they get called out about it. Writer and former editor Rebecca Carroll recently wrote a goodbye-letter to journalism in the New Republic, titled, “I’m a Black Journalist. I’m Quitting Because I’m Tired of Newsroom Racism.” So am I, but I choose very consciously to keep producing — although now I am a professor as well as a reporter. I consider Rebecca a friend and respect her decision. I’ve tried to leave the field more …

Last weekend I went on cable to talk about media diversity, including how both legacy media and startups, for- and non-profit, were living in a post-racial America that doesn’t exist — meaning, not hiring people of color and not caring if they get called out about it. Writer and former editor Rebecca Carroll recently wrote a goodbye-letter to journalism in the New Republic, titled, “I’m a Black Journalist. I’m Quitting Because I’m Tired of Newsroom Racism.”

So am I, but I choose very consciously to keep producing — although now I am a professor as well as a reporter. I consider Rebecca a friend and respect her decision. I’ve tried to leave the field more than once, to be honest. But during a recent series of speeches I gave on the future of news in various cities, to engaged multi-generational audiences who care about this country, I had a deep moment of connection with exactly why I’m still doing the work.

  1. Despite my complaints, I’m happier reporting than not. Seeing America and the world, and getting a chance to report on it, can be unstable career-wise and maddening inter-personally. But it’s also an astounding privilege.

  2. Racial politics of the newsroom and the world of funding (if you do independent media, as I do now) are not and probably never will be fair. But there’s a difference between “not fair” and “not workable.” In the same way I trained myself to learn HTML in the ’90s; video editing in the naughts; and audio editing in the teens, I can teach myself to be a better businesswoman and fundraiser. Which brings me to the fact that…

  3. Knowing your “workstyle” is critical — meaning the place where your work and your lifestyle connect. For me, I crave a certain amount of structure, so that I can be coached and critiqued (both in my academic life and my journalistic life); and a freedom to explore new topics. Plus:

  4. I want the freedom to fail. Some things I’ve done in my 25 years of journalism have been wildly successful. My first book, Don’t Believe the Hype, went into eight printings and launched my TV career. I’m now working on a 20th anniversary edition, not to re-create past glory but to evolve the conversation on race. Which means:

  5. I seek to keep stretching myself creatively; building new bases of knowledge; and seeking new allies.

On bad days, I could easily question my career sanity. (Remember that definition of doing the same thing over and over — i.e., journalism — and expecting a different outcome — i.e., parity, equality?) But on good days, I realize that I have changed my expectations. I am no less idealistic than I was when I started working full-time at Newsweek just before my 20th birthday. But I am also now a 45-year-old realist.

I know that as with race writ large, race in the newsroom will not change overnight. In fact, it may get worse before it gets better. But that knowledge in and of itself allows me to forge on. In the era of Ferguson and immigration reform, I’d rather bear witness to our tense post-post-racial era than sit out the great debates of our time. What we journalists do, at the best and worst of times, is bear witness and share stories. When I travel and meet people face-to-face, I’m reminded of why the work is not only critical, but joyful as well.

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Standing Your Ground in Journalism, Even When Diversity Isn’t Valued

Black-Owned Food Trucks Give New Meaning to Meals on Wheels

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Black-Owned Food Trucks Give New Meaning to Meals on Wheels

Once a month from April through October, in a vacant Washington, D.C., lot near the famed Nationals Park, about 20 food trucks convene for an evening of music, food and dancing. Hundreds of D.C. locals have the opportunity to purchase everything from lobster rolls to Korean tacos, from homemade ice cream to gourmet hot dogs.

Once a month from April through October, in a vacant Washington, D.C., lot near the famed Nationals Park, about 20 food trucks convene for an evening of music, food and dancing. Hundreds of D.C. locals have the opportunity to purchase everything from lobster rolls to Korean tacos, from homemade ice cream to gourmet hot dogs.

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Black-Owned Food Trucks Give New Meaning to Meals on Wheels

Police Arrest Protesters as St. Louis Awaits Grand Jury Decision

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Police Arrest Protesters as St. Louis Awaits Grand Jury Decision

FERGUSON, Mo., Nov 20 (Reuters) – Police arrested about six people overnight after they tried to block a street in a protest calling for a grand jury to charge a white police officer over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen in August. A few dozen demonstrators, some chanting “Indict that cop,” gathered outside the city police station late on Wednesday in sub-freezing temperatures. They were faced by officers in riot gear and the arrests were the first in about a week, suggesting tensions were on the rise ahead of the trial ruling. The grand jury has been meeting for three months to determine whether police officer…

FERGUSON, Mo., Nov 20 (Reuters) – Police arrested about six people overnight after they tried to block a street in a protest calling for a grand jury to charge a white police officer over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen in August.

A few dozen demonstrators, some chanting “Indict that cop,” gathered outside the city police station late on Wednesday in sub-freezing temperatures.

They were faced by officers in riot gear and the arrests were the first in about a week, suggesting tensions were on the rise ahead of the trial ruling.

The grand jury has been meeting for three months to determine whether police officer Darren Wilson broke the law when he shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in an incident that exposed long-simmering racial tensions in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri.

Weeks of sometimes violent protests followed Brown’s death, and businesses and schools around Ferguson are bracing for another wave of unrest, particularly if the grand jury does not charge Wilson. Its decision is expected by month’s end.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and called up the National Guard to back up local police, a move some activists criticized as heavy-handed. The Ferguson area has seen few protests over the past week, and all have been peaceful.

Police in the St. Louis area have been through conflict de-escalation training since August and activist leaders have also been training potential protesters in non-violent civil disobedience techniques.

Activists across the United States planned to stage their own rallies at federal courthouses from New York to Los Angeles.

The National Action Network, a group founded by Al Sharpton, a longtime New York civil rights activists, said demonstrations would occur regardless of the grand jury’s decision, with protesters calling for federal charges against Wilson if he does not face local charges.

There are differing accounts of what happened when Wilson shot Brown on Aug. 9. Some witnesses said Brown had his hands up in surrender, while others described a violent scuffle between the two. (Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Peter Cooney and Crispian Balmer)

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Police Arrest Protesters as St. Louis Awaits Grand Jury Decision

How ‘Scandal’ Gives Unsuspecting Viewers Subtle Lessons In Feminism, Week After Week

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How ‘Scandal’ Gives Unsuspecting Viewers Subtle Lessons In Feminism, Week After Week

In early October, Gloria Steinem and bell hooks sat on stage at the New School in New York City and addressed an audience of like-minded people who listened attentively, fan-girling over the two feminist icons. A young woman asked how conversations about women’s issues can include those who aren’t keenly aware of them. As a female editor who works in the women’s space online, that question struck me as particularly interesting. I edit, read, and share stories about what it means to be a woman in the workplace, on the sidewalk, and online on a daily basis. We consider it a success when a blog post about female sexuality as it…

In early October, Gloria Steinem and bell hooks sat on stage at the New School in New York City and addressed an audience of like-minded people who listened attentively, fan-girling over the two feminist icons. A young woman asked how conversations about women’s issues can include those who aren’t keenly aware of them.

As a female editor who works in the women’s space online, that question struck me as particularly interesting. I edit, read, and share stories about what it means to be a woman in the workplace, on the sidewalk, and online on a daily basis. We consider it a success when a blog post about female sexuality as it relates to Kim Kardashian, or a photo series condemning street harassment goes viral, but we’re also aware that our readers have a particular interest in that subject matter already. We’re preaching to the choir.

“Everyone worries about what we should be doing. Do whatever you can,” Steinem told that audience member.

That piece of advice is one Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer behind “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How To Get A Way With Murder,” would likely agree with. Rhimes has found an effective way to put women’s issues in front of the masses. All season long, she has worked subtle ideas about feminism into her plot lines, particularly on “Scandal,” a show that reaches millions of viewers weekly.

Obviously, Rhimes’ shows feature powerful women. Olivia Pope, Annalise Keating and Christina Yang are at the top of their industries professionally, don’t claim to be humble and won’t apologize for their successes. But “Scandal’s” recent scripts take girl-power messaging one step further.

The NY Post’s Lindsay Putnam accurately identified “Scandal’s” accomplishments when she wrote, “While characters on Rhimes’ other shows are invested in their own success, the women in ‘Scandal’ are more concerned with breaking down barriers for all womenkind.”

When Sheryl Sandberg campaigned to ban the word “bossy,” online critics (mostly female) deliberated what that word implies about women, and whether those conclusions are even good or bad things. When Jill Abramson was fired from the New York Times in May, many of us paid close attention to how writers analyzed the difference between adjectives used to describe her — “brusque” and “pushy” — compared to how her male counterparts have been painted.

But it wasn’t until Olivia Pope reprimanded Fitz this season on “Scandal” for calling Abby a bitch that the topic of how powerful women are labeled came up with my male friends. I watch the show with two 20-something men who work in finance, both of whom I consider respectful, socially aware and intellectually well-rounded. But in contrast to my reading list and general life experience as a woman, these guys hadn’t closely considered how words like “bitch” “bossy” or “aggressive” are applied to women — simply because they haven’t had to.

“The words used to describe women! If she was a man you’d say she was ‘formidable’ or ‘bold’ or ‘right,'” Olivia corrected Fitz. And with that, my friends, millions of viewers, and I, had to think — if for just a second — about the truth in her words.

In a later episode, a former first lady conferred with current first lady, Mellie Grant, about the realities of her legacy. She ran the country from behind the scenes while her not-so-bright president husband was having affairs, she explained. “I did all of it. And what will I be remembered for?… I will be remembered as the wife of a man who did something with his life.” While almost 100 percent of “Scandal” viewers will never reside in the White House, the underlying issue shined through her words. In real life, women traditionally are expected to take their husbands’ last names, quite literally to be identified primarily as his wife. And even as the number of female breadwinners increases, research shows that housework and parenting is still seen as a woman’s role, while the man of the household is expected to work.

Mellie Grant, a badass in her own right who could give two shits about China patterns, has been itching for more legitimate responsibilities for seasons. Mellie agreed with the former first lady, and identified how that role will change as soon as a a female president hits the White House. “When a woman is president, they’ll suddenly make first lady an official paid position… They’ll hire someone to do it, the minute a man has to do it. It’ll become a ‘real’ job,” she said.

In that moment, “Scandal” fans were challenged to consider nuances of a woman’s role at home and at work (and in this case, when your home is White and your work is at home), and how a man would be perceived differently for doing the exact same things.

And you thought you were simply watching a woman involved in two complex love affairs solve every problem in Washington while simultaneously exposing a super-secret covert government agency run by her father who executed her terrorist mother while she sips glass of red wine? Ha!

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How ‘Scandal’ Gives Unsuspecting Viewers Subtle Lessons In Feminism, Week After Week

It Turns Out Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx We’re Watching Us The Whole Time

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It Turns Out Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx We’re Watching Us The Whole Time

Just when you thought you were doing the objectifying, Kara Walker and her sugar sphinx prove the artist is always in control. Yes, you might have been one of the many people who shamelessly snapped a selfie in front of her 35-foot tall nude sculpture, housed in Williamsburg’s old Domino Factory earlier this year. But Walker, a certified “genius,” was one step ahead of you. She sent a film crew to secretly record the comings and goings of spectators at her wildly popular show, “A Subtlety.” And that footage was used to piece together a 28-minute film titled “An Audience.” The video is set to debut at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. this week, in conjunction with a larger exhibition detailing “the …

Just when you thought you were doing the objectifying, Kara Walker and her sugar sphinx prove the artist is always in control.

Yes, you might have been one of the many people who shamelessly snapped a selfie in front of her 35-foot tall nude sculpture, housed in Williamsburg’s old Domino Factory earlier this year. But Walker, a certified “genius,” was one step ahead of you. She sent a film crew to secretly record the comings and goings of spectators at her wildly popular show, “A Subtlety.” And that footage was used to piece together a 28-minute film titled “An Audience.”

The video is set to debut at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. this week, in conjunction with a larger exhibition detailing “the creation and aftermath” of Walker’s sugar show. The gallery sent us a five-minute clip of the work — gathered on July 6, at 6 p.m., during the last hour of the last day of the exhibition.

In it, you can see a selective slice of the audience (mostly people of color), ogling the Sphinx, touching the subtleties and waving their cell phones about. The video seems to affirm accounts of egregious selfie activity during the show, but stands somewhat in contrast to what some felt was an event filled with “mostly white visitors” and “unclear racial politics.”

kara walker

Here’s how Walker explained the set-up to Los Angeles Times writer Carolina A. Miranda:

“I put a giant 10-foot vagina in the world and people respond to giant 10-foot vaginas in the way that they do. It’s not unexpected. Maybe I’m sick. Sometimes I get a sort of kick out of the hyper essay writing, that there’s gotta be this way to sort of control human behavior. [But] human behavior is so mucky and violent and messed-up and inappropriate. And I think my work draws on that. It comes from there. It comes from responding to situations like that, and it pulls it out of an audience. I’ve got a lot of video footage of that [behavior]. I was spying.”

Check out the film above and let us know if you were caught red-handed tweaking a nipple in the comments. For more on last summer’s exhibition, “A Subtlety,” organized by Creative Time, check out our past coverage here.

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It Turns Out Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx We’re Watching Us The Whole Time

Transgender Day of Remembrance: Honoring the Forgotten, the Homeless and the Victims

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Transgender Day of Remembrance: Honoring the Forgotten, the Homeless and the Victims

I remember the day I decided to finally step out and be my authentic self in public, over two decades ago in New York City. It was approaching fall. I was looking for ladies like me, and I found them on 14th Street in the Meatpacking District, trying to survive. I could not believe that they lived like this from day to day, for it was there that I also first encountered extreme hate directed at me simply for being my authentic self. I had been a professional for years, with almost two degrees, and I had never experienced such hostility and violence in my life. I was…

I remember the day I decided to finally step out and be my authentic self in public, over two decades ago in New York City. It was approaching fall. I was looking for ladies like me, and I found them on 14th Street in the Meatpacking District, trying to survive. I could not believe that they lived like this from day to day, for it was there that I also first encountered extreme hate directed at me simply for being my authentic self. I had been a professional for years, with almost two degrees, and I had never experienced such hostility and violence in my life. I was like a young child who needed protection and guidance on the basics so that I could survive myself, and these ladies on 14th Street embraced me and guided me on how not to get hurt, beaten up and attacked by strangers who sought us out to do us harm. I never understood why people would seek us out to do us bodily harm without any provocation.

I remember so many young ladies being attacked and beaten up during those years, and in 2014 the number of attacks, violence and murders suffered in the transgender community is still the highest of any community. It has been almost 25 years, and my community is still being attacked and murdered in high numbers, with no clear resolution in sight. My heart belongs to the ladies on 14th Street who stood with me night after night, trying to survive and just be their authentic selves. I cry today for those ladies who are no longer here with us in 2014, but my heart remembers them. I still speak to one friend from those days. By the grace of God, she is still here, like me, to stand here and talk about our victory.

Dr. Marc Weiss, a former professor at Columbia University and an advocate for equality, wrote in the foreword to my memoir I Rise:

During my six decades of life, I have been an activist and advocate for economic, social, environmental, cultural, and political justice. Over the past half-century, I have been involved with and supportive of civil rights and equal opportunity movements for African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native-Americans, women, senior citizens, young people, working families, low-income households, military veterans, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, unemployed workers, welfare recipients, public housing residents, agricultural laborers, homeless people, and many other groups, both in the USA and, more recently, throughout the entire world.

The main thing I have learned from these profound lifelong experiences is that people are people. Everyone, everywhere, is basically the same. We all care about one vital concern: our own livelihood and well-being, and the livelihood and well-being of our loved ones. Transgender people, in spite of their relatively atypical appearances and lifestyles, are precisely the same as every other human being throughout the world, in terms of their fundamental humanity and dignity.

I think the transgender story is an interesting story of courage and faith. It is about a hidden society within American culture. Most people do not interact with transgender people daily or regularly in their lives. I want to put a face on a group that is hardly recognized. Statistics say about 0.3 percent of adult Americans are transgender. That’s only about 700,000 people. And transgender people of color are an even smaller community, but we have value and worth, just like everybody else. We need love and respect and dignity, just like every other American.

I want everyone to respect transgender people as people. My story is one of just trying to become whole and become who I really am. I am a sane, logical, thinking individual who has had to match the outside of my body with the feelings inside my body. I am not crazy, nor do I have any mental issues that clouded my mind during my transition. Individuals seek love and acceptance for who they are. That is basically what we are looking for too. Respect me, and I shall respect you. I ask you not to judge me without giving me a chance. I respect all religious beliefs, but my God is one of love and acceptance.

We remember all those who lost their lives for being their authentic selves. I’d rather live authentically on this Earth than live in shame and fear. I will never forget all those who lost their lives, and I say to all my living transgender brother and sisters: Rise.

2014-11-18-tonidnewman5.jpg

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Transgender Day of Remembrance: Honoring the Forgotten, the Homeless and the Victims

Transgender Day of Remembrance: A Day to Honor the Dead and the Living

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Transgender Day of Remembrance: A Day to Honor the Dead and the Living

As we honor our friends and family we have lost to anti-transgender violence on Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), how can we ensure that transgender women of color are leading the LGBTQ anti-violence movement? The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) knows that transgender people of color face severe and deadly violence at disproportionate rates compared with cisgender white LGBQ people. Multi-year data show us that transgender women of color are facing a violent epidemic. In 2014 we mourned the tragic deaths of 10 transgender people of color across the U.S., nine of whom were transgender women of color: Kandy Hall…

As we honor our friends and family we have lost to anti-transgender violence on Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), how can we ensure that transgender women of color are leading the LGBTQ anti-violence movement?

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) knows that transgender people of color face severe and deadly violence at disproportionate rates compared with cisgender white LGBQ people. Multi-year data show us that transgender women of color are facing a violent epidemic.

In 2014 we mourned the tragic deaths of 10 transgender people of color across the U.S., nine of whom were transgender women of color: Kandy Hall, Zoraida Reyes, Yaz’min Shancez, Tiff Edwards, Mia Henderson, an unidentified gender-nonconforming person, Alejandra Leos, Aniya Parker, Tajshon Sherman, and Gizzy Fowler.

However, in response to the severe and deadly violence facing transgender people of color, we also see the tremendous leadership and vision of transgender people of color, especially transgender women of color. This leadership and vision seeks to end violence and shows us that another world is possible, a world in which all LGBTQ people live free of violence and the leadership of transgender women of color is honored and leading the LGBTQ anti-violence movement locally and nationally. To end this violence, we must support the leadership of those thriving and surviving in the face of this violence.

Nationally we see the tremendous leadership of transgender people of color like Bamby Salcedo in Los Angeles, organizing trans Latina women and transgender women of color on a national level; Milan Nicole of BreakOUT in New Orleans, fighting against the criminalization of LGBTQ youth; Brooke Cerda Guzmán in New York City, fighting tirelessly to ensure that the LGBTQ community honors the life of Islan Nettles, a young transgender woman of color who died in 2013 as a result of transphobic violence; Elliott Fukui of the Audre Lorde Project’s TransJustice Program in New York City, creating and sustaining a political organizing space for and by trans people of color; LaLa Zannell of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, organizing LGBTQ people around issues of hate violence, sexual violence, intimate-partner violence and police violence; Angelica Ross, CEO of TransTech, a Chicago nonprofit that’s providing job and tech training for transgender people; and CeCe McDonald in Minneapolis, speaking nationally about the criminalization of trans people, particularly trans people of color.

These are just a few people of the thousands of trans people of color who are changing the world every day and demanding a world in which transgender people of color are seen no longer as victims of violence but as agents of change who must be recognized and respected as leaders in the LGBTQ anti-violence movement.

Each TDoR we read the names of those who have lost their lives to brutal anti-trans violence. What would shift if, in addition, we read the names of those living and surviving to fight against this violence? If we were able to see justice as trans people of color living and creating a world in which transgender people are free of violence?

Will you join AVP and thousands of transgender people of color on TDoR to speak not just the names of those we lost but the names of those who are leading us toward justice?

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Transgender Day of Remembrance: A Day to Honor the Dead and the Living

Rev. Al Sharpton: Activists Are Ready For Decision In Ferguson

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Rev. Al Sharpton: Activists Are Ready For Decision In Ferguson

NEW YORK (AP) — Activists from across the country are gearing up for the highly anticipated announcement of a grand jury’s decision over whether a white police officer should face criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday. After months of heated protests over the death of Michael Brown, Sharpton called the situation in the St. Louis suburb “very tense.” Sharpton’s National Action Network has plans in place for vigils and protests in at least two dozen cities no matter what decision is announced, he said. Demonstrators will gather outside U.S. government …

NEW YORK (AP) — Activists from across the country are gearing up for the highly anticipated announcement of a grand jury’s decision over whether a white police officer should face criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday.

After months of heated protests over the death of Michael Brown, Sharpton called the situation in the St. Louis suburb “very tense.”

Sharpton’s National Action Network has plans in place for vigils and protests in at least two dozen cities no matter what decision is announced, he said. Demonstrators will gather outside U.S. government buildings to demand federal prosecutors take over the case.

“It is important that we have a fair and impartial proceeding,” Sharpton said at a news conference at National Action Network headquarters in Harlem. “And it is clear that neither the family nor the community has confidence in the local prosecutor.”

He added: “We are prepared to continue to mobilize. We are calling for everyone to act in a strategic, disciplined, non-violent way, but do not allow either decision to feel like the case is over.”

There is no specific date for an announcement on whether Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson should face charges. The St. Louis County prosecutor has said he expects the grand jury to reach a decision in mid-to-late November.

The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a separate investigation, and it has not said when its work will be completed. It’s looking into potential civil rights violations in Wilson’s actions and the police department’s overall practices, including whether officers used excessive force and engaged in discriminatory practices.

Sharpton said his group is on “high alert” over both the Brown case and the grand jury probe of the death of Eric Garner during an arrest in July on Staten Island. Evidence includes an amateur video a New York Police Department patrolmen wrapping his arm around the unarmed man’s neck and medical examiner’s finding that a chokehold contributed to the death.

Sharpton spent the bulk of the news conference responding to a report in The New York Times on Wednesday that there are more than $4.5 million in state and federal tax liens against him and his non-profit businesses. He called the front-page article misleading because it failed to emphasize that much of that figure stems from penalties and back taxes that are steadily being paid down as part of settlement with the Internal Revenue Services that was reported years ago.

“National Action Network and I owe no current taxes,” he said. “We’re talking about old taxes. We’re not talking about anything new.”

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Rev. Al Sharpton: Activists Are Ready For Decision In Ferguson

Double Justice in Missouri

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For the second time in two months, Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri approved the execution of an African American man sentenced to die by an all-white jury. Governor Nixon denied Mr. Leon Taylor clemency shortly before his execution on November 19th. In September, he denied clemency for Mr. Earl Ringo. In each case, his statement announcing his decision made no mention of the fact that both African American men had been sentenced to death by all-white juries. Nor did Governor Nixon mention that in both cases prominent civil rights leaders had expressed concern about the legitimacy of the outcomes in these cases…

For the second time in two months, Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri approved the execution of an African American man sentenced to die by an all-white jury.

Governor Nixon denied Mr. Leon Taylor clemency shortly before his execution on November 19th. In September, he denied clemency for Mr. Earl Ringo. In each case, his statement announcing his decision made no mention of the fact that both African American men had been sentenced to death by all-white juries.

Nor did Governor Nixon mention that in both cases prominent civil rights leaders had expressed concern about the legitimacy of the outcomes in these cases because people of color had been excluded from the juries.

This is the same Governor Nixon who has declared a pre-emptive state of emergency in anticipation of a grand-jury decision on whether to indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot unarmed, African American teenager Michael Brown.

The systematic exclusion of people of color from serving as jurors is one of the oldest tricks in the book of southern justice. The practice is supported by the despicable assumption that African Americans unlike their white counterparts cannot be trusted to render fair and impartial justice when it comes to one of our own.

If you doubt my logic, close your eyes and imagine for one minute this governor upholding a death sentence for Darren Wilson, or any white male, if he had been sentenced to death by an all-black jury.

If you cannot imagine that happening, for any number of reasons, you get my point.

If you get my point, you understand why Missouri and this governor have absolutely no moral authority to execute anyone.

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Double Justice in Missouri

Corporate Buyout: Why Legacy Civil Rights Groups Are on the Wrong Side of History

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Corporate Buyout: Why Legacy Civil Rights Groups Are on the Wrong Side of History

How did it come to this, when the NAACP, Urban League and other legacy civil rights groups are actually propping up Republican leadership in their efforts to tear down President Obama? It’s like an alternative universe where stalwarts in the fight to amplify the voices of the powerless are now kowtowing to the corporations that wish to silence us. To set the context: Soon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on rules that either preserve or end net neutrality. Right now net neutrality requires that Internet Service Providers treat all web traffic equally. Doing away with it would allow ISPs to censor, block, or slow down …

How did it come to this, when the NAACP, Urban League and other legacy civil rights groups are actually propping up Republican leadership in their efforts to tear down President Obama? It’s like an alternative universe where stalwarts in the fight to amplify the voices of the powerless are now kowtowing to the corporations that wish to silence us.

To set the context: Soon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on rules that either preserve or end net neutrality. Right now net neutrality requires that Internet Service Providers treat all web traffic equally. Doing away with it would allow ISPs to censor, block, or slow down content and set tolls for businesses.

This decade-long fight has clear lines of division: on one side are the ISPs who have spent more than $42 million this year alone in an attempt to buy the Internet.

On the other side are nearly 4 million voices composed of individuals, artists, business owners, legal analysts, justice groups and tech experts.

Also on that list is President Obama, who has stated that he wants rules that guarantee corporations do not get to act as online gatekeepers. Surprisingly, this stance puts him at odds with legacy civil rights groups.

As the Executive Director of ColorofChange.org, a next generation civil rights organization, it’s incredibly risky for me to call out leaders of major legacy groups. These are groups with whom I have worked, and whose work I have personally benefited from. It’s a tough position to be in, but there’s too much at stake for me to stay silent.

We must safeguard the Internet, a space that has forced the world to pay attention to what is happening in Ferguson, Mo. While the police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown exemplifies the national crisis of violent law enforcement practices that target black communities, it still took one million tweets for mainstream media to pick up the story. ColorOfChange — along with a large coalition that included Missouri State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, St. Louis’ Organization for Black Struggle, Credo, MoveOn, Ultraviolet, and many others — harnessed the power of the Internet, delivering 950,000 signatures to the White House calling on the Department of Justice to fully investigate and prosecute all police officers involved in the fatal shooting.

Like voting rights, what the FCC decides now about the future of net neutrality and the open Internet will determine how we are heard in our democracy.

And yet, the National Urban League, the NAACP and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have been some of the most vocal opponents of net neutrality. And let’s not forget about the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, who has coordinated many of the participants in the anti-net neutrality filings sent to the FCC. Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League, recently penned a particularly scathing article, referring to net neutrality supporters as “immodest activists… who have also been deafeningly silent regarding civil rights…” As the head of an organization that has been on the frontlines of civil and human rights fights for nearly ten years now, I can say that is certainly not true. But such unfair rhetoric is hardly surprising; if you follow the money, it becomes obvious that on this issue the legacy civil rights groups are severely compromised.

Take a look at NUL’s recent “Equal Opportunity Dinner;” its sponsorship list looks like an all-star line up of ISPs, including AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon. In fact, check out the sponsorship pages for a number of these groups and you’ll definitely see a pattern. These groups are hired guns, and they’re taking aim at your telecommunications rights.

What’s been most astonishing is seeing these groups align themselves with the Republican Party in opposition to President Obama. A letter circulated by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL) and other Republicans cited NAACP talking points when arguing that killing net neutrality somehow benefits our communities. Of course, research has found that a corporate-owned Internet would actually hurt small businesses, lead to higher costs for consumers, degrade services, and widen the already growing digital divide. And contrary to the argument that businesses are against net neutrality, Ford, UPS, and Visa are among the long list of businesses who have joined the chorus in praise of Internet freedom.

Despite attempts to divide this along party lines, this issue goes beyond Left and Right. An article in Time Magazine actually found that 83 percent of conservatives support net neutrality. In fact, social media support for Sen. Ted Cruz fell dramatically after he referred to net neutrality as “Obamacare for the Internet.” From the Tea Party to the Green Party, many of us believe in freedom of expression and want a place where there’s a level playing field; millions of us think corporations should not be allowed to create a segregated Internet that benefits the rich and hurts the poor.

Despite this, legacy civil rights groups have remained shockingly tone deaf when it comes to telecommunications rights. Money talks, and in this case justice, equality and self-determination are taking a backseat to corporate sponsorship.

Thankfully, there are nearly 4 million of us — including the president, and Reps. John Lewis, Barbara Lee, and Keith Ellison — who have made their voices heard loud and clear to the FCC. ColorofChange proudly stands alongside them all on this crucial civil rights issue.

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Corporate Buyout: Why Legacy Civil Rights Groups Are on the Wrong Side of History

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