Since Dec. 19, two more women have come forward accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault. Lisa, who has chosen to only reveal her first name, and Katherine McKee join more than 20 women who have made allegations against the 77-year-old comedian. The Huffington Post reached out to Bill Cosby’s camp regarding McKee and Lisa’s claims, but had not heard back by time of publication. KATHERINE MCKEE McKee told the New York Daily News that Cosby had drugged and raped her in the early 1970s. She says she had known Cosby for eight years, and was on tour with her then-boyfriend Sammy Davis Jr. at the time of the assault. McKee says she never told the entertainer about the incident. McKee told the Daily News that she…

Since Dec. 19, two more women have come forward accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault. Lisa, who has chosen to only reveal her first name, and Katherine McKee join more than 20 women who have made allegations against the 77-year-old comedian.

The Huffington Post reached out to Bill Cosby’s camp regarding McKee and Lisa’s claims, but had not heard back by time of publication.

KATHERINE MCKEE
McKee told the New York Daily News that Cosby had drugged and raped her in the early 1970s. She says she had known Cosby for eight years, and was on tour with her then-boyfriend Sammy Davis Jr. at the time of the assault. McKee says she never told the entertainer about the incident.

McKee told the Daily News that she had extended her stay in Detroit to visit family. She claims that Cosby invited her to a party on a boat, and asked her to pick up barbecue and meet him at his hotel room beforehand.

“I remember I walked in the door, and [Cosby] had a robe and cap on. He took the ribs from my hands and just grabbed me,” McKee told the Daily News. “He spun me around, pulled my panties down, and just took it. We were still standing at the door when he attacked me. It was so fast and so shocking and so unbelievable.”

Watch a video of McKee speaking to the Daily News about her experience with Cosby below.

LISA
Lisa spoke with Dr. Phil about her experience with Cosby, who she says drugged her in 1988 when she was a 21-year-old aspiring model. “He was the Jello pudding man. He was everyone’s dad,” Lisa said, explaining why she was so primed to trust him.

Lisa claims that she received a call from the modeling agency she worked for, indicating that Cosby wanted to meet her. After meeting with him twice, once with her mother and sister, he called her and invited her back to his room to do improv. Once she was there, she recalls Cosby fixed her a drink, told her it was going to “relax” her, and pressured her to drink it despite her resistance.

“He said that this was going to relax me so that the lines would flow out a lot easier,” she said. “So I had to drink it. He made a second drink and had me drink the second drink as well.” Once she began feeling woozy, Lisa says Cosby called her over to the edge of the couch where he was seated with his legs open, and had her sit down between his legs. She says he then began to pet her hair.

“The last things I remember is just feeling the strokes on my head,” Lisa told Dr. Phil. “After that, I don’t remember anything else.” Two days later, she says she came to in her own room, according to Death and Taxes. Watch a clip of Dr. Phil’s interview with Lisa below.

Below is a list of women who have come forward with allegations about Cosby, dated to the time that the allegations were made public. As more claims emerge, this timeline will be updated.

Continue reading:  

Katherine McKee And Lisa Join The Long List Of Bill Cosby Accusers

Though many Americans don’t know much about Kwanzaa, it is a holiday that all can share in. Dates Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 through January 1st. History Established by Maulana Karenga in 1966, Kwanzaa is a holiday that honors African heritage and celebrates family, community and culture. It takes its name from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which in Swahili means “first fruits.” Kwanzaa’s origin lies in the 1960s civil rights and Black Freedom movements, and is a way of commemorating the African heritage of black Americans whose ethnic history was stripped away by the slave trade. Swahili is the most widely spoken African language, and was thus chosen as the language of Kwanzaa’s principles. According to Karenga, “Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm and restore our …

Though many Americans don’t know much about Kwanzaa, it is a holiday that all can share in.

Dates
Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 through January 1st.

History
Established by Maulana Karenga in 1966, Kwanzaa is a holiday that honors African heritage and celebrates family, community and culture. It takes its name from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which in Swahili means “first fruits.”
Kwanzaa’s origin lies in the 1960s civil rights and Black Freedom movements, and is a way of commemorating the African heritage of black Americans whose ethnic history was stripped away by the slave trade. Swahili is the most widely spoken African language, and was thus chosen as the language of Kwanzaa’s principles.

According to Karenga, “Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm and restore our rootedness in African culture.” It is a cultural rather than religious holiday, and can be celebrated regardless of a person’s faith tradition.

“First fruits” celebrations date back to ancient Egypt and Nubia, and commemorate the harvest.

Colors
The colors black, red and green are part of Kwanzaa celebrations due to their special significance, according to PBS. Black represents the people, red is for the blood uniting all those with African ancestry, as well as the blood shed during slavery and the civil rights movement and green is for the lush land of Africa. These colors also reflect the Pan-African movement itself.

Principles
There are seven principles of Kwanzaa, celebrated on each day of the holiday and known collectively as Nguzo Saba. They are African values which are named in both Swahili and English.

• Umoja: Unity
• Kujichagulia: Self-determination
• Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility
• Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics
• Nia: Purpose
• Kuumba: Creativity
• Imani: Faith

Traditions
Families gather during Kwanzaa to light the kinara, a candle holder with seven candles in the colors of red, black, and green. The black candle is placed in the center and used to light the other flames from left to right. Together, the candles are called the mishuuma saba, and they represent the Seven Principles.

Other traditions include the kikombe cha umoja, or Unity Cup, which is used to pour libations in honor of ancestors departed.

Songs and dances are a popular way of celebrating Kwanzaa. “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, is a song that celebrates the struggles and triumphs of black Americans.

Greetings
Kwanzaa greetings are in Swahili and English. “Habari gani?” is a traditional Swahili greeting, and the response is each of the principles, depending on which day of Kwanzaa it is. Other greetings include “Heri za Kwanzaa,” or simply, “Happy Kwanzaa!”

More here:

Kwanzaa 2014: Dates, Facts, And History Of The Celebration Of Unity, Faith, And African Roots

It was a moment we’ll never forget. In May 2014, Michael Sam made history when he became the first openly gay football player drafted into the NFL. Following the emotional news, he celebrated with a hug and a kiss from boyfriend Vito Cammisano. In a preview from the 90-minute documentary “Michael Sam,” he shares what was running through his mind in the agonizing moments waiting for the phone to ring. “The draft was the longest three days of my life,” Sam says in the above video. “I went upstairs and was thinking, ‘Should I have came out? Did I make the right choice of coming…

It was a moment we’ll never forget. In May 2014, Michael Sam made history when he became the first openly gay football player drafted into the NFL. Following the emotional news, he celebrated with a hug and a kiss from boyfriend Vito Cammisano.

In a preview from the 90-minute documentary “Michael Sam,” he shares what was running through his mind in the agonizing moments waiting for the phone to ring.

“The draft was the longest three days of my life,” Sam says in the above video. “I went upstairs and was thinking, ‘Should I have came out? Did I make the right choice of coming out and telling the world I was gay?'”

As he was questioning himself, Sam says he felt a hand on his shoulder. “And that person was Vito,” he says.

His boyfriend’s sign of support was all Sam needed.

“In that moment I was like, ‘I don’t care what happens, I made the right choice to come out,” he says.

Sam was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams, but ultimately cut from the team. He was then signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad and waived after seven weeks. Sam is now acting as a free agent.

“Michael Sam” airs on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 9 p.m. ET on OWN. Then at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, in a special episode of “Oprah Prime,” Oprah sits down with Michael for his first interview since being cut from the NFL.

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter

Taken from:  

How Michael Sam Knew He Made The Right Choice In Coming Out (VIDEO)

A number of studies have shown that criticism (either from yourself or from others) isn’t a particularly effective motivator — and according to new research, this is especially true when it’s coming from your family. Women whose families are critical about their weight tend to put on even more, researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada found. “When we feel bad about our bodies, we often turn to loved ones — families, friends and romantic partners — for support and advice,” the study’s lead author, social psychologist Christine Loger, Ph.D., said in a statement. “How they respond can have a bigger effect than we might think.” The researchers asked a group of college-age women about their height and weight, and about how they…

A number of studies have shown that criticism (either from yourself or from others) isn’t a particularly effective motivator — and according to new research, this is especially true when it’s coming from your family.

Women whose families are critical about their weight tend to put on even more, researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada found.

“When we feel bad about our bodies, we often turn to loved ones — families, friends and romantic partners — for support and advice,” the study’s lead author, social psychologist Christine Loger, Ph.D., said in a statement. “How they respond can have a bigger effect than we might think.”

The researchers asked a group of college-age women about their height and weight, and about how they feel when they see the number on the scale. Five months later, the researchers asked the women if they had spoken to their loved ones about their weight concerns, and if so, how they had responded. Three months after that, they asked the women to record their weight again, and asked them how they felt about their current weight.

They found that the women who had received a higher number of “acceptance messages” about their weight — meaning that their loved ones had expressed acceptance of the women just as they are — experienced better weight maintenance and, in some cases, weight loss than the women who did not receive positive messages from their families.

The women in the study gained some weight overall over the eight-month course of the study, which the researchers note is common for young adults. But the women who received messages from their families that they looked fine tended to maintain their weight or even lose a little weight — they lost an average of one pound — while women who received fewer acceptance messages from their families gained an average of 4.5 pounds.

So while family members may think they’re making critical comments to be helpful, those words are often misguided. The findings suggest that women benefit more from comments that make them feel accepted.

“Lots of research finds that social support improves our health,” Logel said in the statement. “An important part of social support is feeling that our loved ones accept us just the way we are.”

Previous research has shown that more extreme weight criticism and discrimination against people because of their weight — also known as “fat shaming” — may also do more harm than good, leading people who are trying to lose weight to actually gain weight.

“Everyone, including doctors, should stop blaming and shaming people for their weight and offer support, and where appropriate, treatment,” that study’s lead author, Jane Wardle, Ph.D., said in a university press release.

The findings were published in the journal Personal Relationships.

Read More:  

Your Family May Be Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts

You’ve spent the last four weeks shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking and visiting with family and friends — and you can almost see the light at the end of the holiday tunnel. But in the whirlwind that is the month of December, you’ve forgotten to do one last thing: write and send out your holiday cards. Luckily, you aren’t the only one. Peggy Post from The Emily Post Institute told The Huffington Post that more and more people are opting to send New Year’s greetings to their loved ones instead of the traditional December holiday card. And with good reason. Here’s why Post suggests you might consider doing so, too. 1. December Is A Chaotic Month. …

You’ve spent the last four weeks shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking and visiting with family and friends — and you can almost see the light at the end of the holiday tunnel. But in the whirlwind that is the month of December, you’ve forgotten to do one last thing: write and send out your holiday cards.

Luckily, you aren’t the only one. Peggy Post from The Emily Post Institute told The Huffington Post that more and more people are opting to send New Year’s greetings to their loved ones instead of the traditional December holiday card. And with good reason. Here’s why Post suggests you might consider doing so, too.

1. December Is A Chaotic Month.

The weeks leading up to Hanukkah and Christmas are filled to the brim with holiday shopping and obligations. “Some people say they do want to send cards to friends and keep in touch, especially long-lost ones, but they just don’t feel like they have the time to do it justice,” Post said. Give yourself a break — sitting down to write your cards after Hanukkah or Christmas, when you have less going on, is perfectly acceptable, she adds.

2. You Can Wish People A Good Start To The New Year.

“A lot of people like that whole idea of starting out fresh and approaching the new year with a greeting, so it is kind of fun to wish their friends a new year, to really emphasize that,” Post said.

3. You Have More Time.

Think you can only send a card immediately on January 1st? Think again. “Theres no real rule; I’d say in the first week or two that still qualifies as a ‘New Year’s’ card,” Post said. Post mentioned that she received a “New Year’s” card from a friend around Valentine’s Day once that wished her a great year. “The key is to keep in touch with people.”

We completely agree. Check out some of our picks for fun New Year’s cards below.

Follow this link:

3 Reasons To Skip The Season’s Greetings And Send A New Year’s Card Instead

Fishtown. Olde City. Fairmount. Rittenhouse. Name-drop these neighborhoods to any Philadelphia native and their eyes light up with nostalgia. But for optician Clifton Balter, the aforementioned locales exemplify hometown bravado that inspired him to create the eyewear brand, Philly EyeWorks. Balter told The Huffington Post that he’s been working in the glasses business with his family since he was 12 years old. However, two years ago he got the push he needed to finally launch Philly EyeWorks when Warby Parker literally parked its marketing bus in front of his shop. Fashion-forward frames have become the “It” accessory over the last five years thanks to online retailers with free at-home try-on programs and 3D apps. But what…

Fishtown. Olde City. Fairmount. Rittenhouse.

Name-drop these neighborhoods to any Philadelphia native and their eyes light up with nostalgia. But for optician Clifton Balter, the aforementioned locales exemplify hometown bravado that inspired him to create the eyewear brand, Philly EyeWorks.

Balter told The Huffington Post that he’s been working in the glasses business with his family since he was 12 years old. However, two years ago he got the push he needed to finally launch Philly EyeWorks when Warby Parker literally parked its marketing bus in front of his shop.

Fashion-forward frames have become the “It” accessory over the last five years thanks to online retailers with free at-home try-on programs and 3D apps. But what separates this Philly-based brand from the competition are its totally customizable specs. “You can make your glasses really subtle or really funky,” said Balter.

Customers can log on to their website or visit their showroom to choose from a 12-piece collection of frame styles, priced at $149 each. “We have four fashion themes,” Balter explained. “There’s the hip-hop look, the traditional, the contemporary and the wild.”

From simple, rectangular-shaped frames coined “Brotherly Love” to thick, larger-than-life specs dubbed “The Jawn”, there’s a pair that fits every person and every face shape, no matter which city you call home.

Philly EyeWorks’ offbeat signature really comes through during the design process. In the basement of the brand’s workshop, you’ll find color designer Lucious Nelson crouched over heated pans filled with brightly-colored paints as he hand-finishes frames and creates quirky new designs on the fly. You’d be surprise how this guy can transform the look of eyeglass temples using a pair of scissors, electrical tape and some paint.

With over 374 color combinations and counting available in polished or matte finishes, Nelson has a rhythmic routine that allows him to produce up to 200 pairs a day or to devote an entire workday on crafting just one pair. And because of the unique dip-dye technique, no two glasses look the same. Now that’s funky fresh!

Go behind the scenes at Philly EyeWorks in the slideshow below.

Original link: 

Philly EyeWorks, The Eyewear Brand That’s Bringing City Pride & Offbeat Fashion To Frames

As a retired NYPD police captain turned preacher and #blacklivesmatter protest supporter, I find myself in an interesting position today. I stand on both sides of the so-called “blue line,” placing one foot in the world of the NYPD furious over the murder of two of our own and another foot in with the black and brown people of this city angry with the senseless deaths of young people at the hands of the police. My overlapping identity were never as painfully apparent than in the last couple of days when Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu were brutally murdered while sitting in their patrol car. These brave men, who decided to…

As a retired NYPD police captain turned preacher and #blacklivesmatter protest supporter, I find myself in an interesting position today.

I stand on both sides of the so-called “blue line,” placing one foot in the world of the NYPD furious over the murder of two of our own and another foot in with the black and brown people of this city angry with the senseless deaths of young people at the hands of the police.

My overlapping identity were never as painfully apparent than in the last couple of days when Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu were brutally murdered while sitting in their patrol car. These brave men, who decided to risk their lives to protect ours, leave their families and the entire police department devastated.

I’ve been proud to be counted amongst those marching in the streets demanding that #blacklivesmatter. Many officers I knew are furious at me for “siding with the protestors.” I tell them I am protesting because I know from personal experience, pastoral encounters and my time on the force that the criminal justice system and police can be better public servants for communities of color. The police don’t need to target my community with broken windows policing and stop and frisk; they can be their partners.

Many of my former colleagues see the protests are simply “anti-cop” and have contributed to an atmosphere of disrespect for law enforcement that set the stage for these despicable murders.

Of course, there is no justification for the unconscionable murders of those two police officers. There is also no justification for blaming protestors exercising their first amendment rights to free assembly and to petition their government for murders they had nothing to do with. They should not be unfairly judged by the intemperate actions of a single, deranged lone wolf in the midst of an overwhelmingly non-violent movement.

A police union official went as far to say that Mayor DeBlasio has “blood on his hands,” pouring gasoline on an already tense relationship between protestors and police. With comments like these, it’s no wonder that protestors worry about a police backlash that will lead to increased violence toward them at the next demonstration. I look out over the abyss and I fear for my city.

This doesn’t have to be a cop vs. protestor moment. We can change the dynamic.

So where do we go from here? How can we move forward together to make the kind of positive changes that will ultimately benefit us all? Given all that divides us and how much fear and anger simmers in our city, is a just peace even possible?

To the police, I say — come meet some of the protestors. You’ll meet people fighting for life and love, and hoping that with their activism, more of their brothers and sisters will be able to live full lives without the threat of violence. We are not anti-cop; we are pro-life.

To the protestors, I say — come meet the good men and women I served with on the police force. Mourn with them now in this trying moment. Understand that many police officers fear for their lives, too. They want to serve their city and go home each night to their families. Because our movement is fundamentally about preserving and protecting life, we can easily how we care for the police safety without giving up our core message that the NYPD must be reformed.

But most importantly, it is almost Christmas. Many protestors and police will be celebrating Christmas in a few short days. Christmas is a time for miracles, when we mark the moment our all-powerful God came to earth as a tiny, vulnerable child, putting aside fear for faith. If the almighty God can choose to take on frail human flesh and become one of us, crossing the divide between heaven and earth, then we can look across the barricades and learn to see the humanity in one another.

This Christmas season we sing the familiar hymn “O Holy Night.” One line in particular is my favorite: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining till God appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

This city has have had enough of death. This Christmas, it is time to celebrate a new life in the birth of Jesus Christ, and to look to how in our time, we can put aside fear and anger, and make life and love manifest in this city — for all its people.

View this article:  

A Message From a Protestor and Former Cop: We Are Not Anti-Cop. We Are Pro-Life.

As New York City reels in the aftermath of the assassinations of two NYPD officers, protesters and loved ones gathered Monday night to honor the lives of the victims. At a candlelit gathering in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, a half-mile from where officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot to death execution-style by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, on Saturday, several dozen people held makeshift lanterns made of Dixie cups as they marched from Herbert Von King Park to St. Philips Church in silence. The attendees, including many who have spent the past month protesting the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, said they came to honor the officers who were killed and those who have been killed by officers. “Tonight …

As New York City reels in the aftermath of the assassinations of two NYPD officers, protesters and loved ones gathered Monday night to honor the lives of the victims.

At a candlelit gathering in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, a half-mile from where officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot to death execution-style by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, on Saturday, several dozen people held makeshift lanterns made of Dixie cups as they marched from Herbert Von King Park to St. Philips Church in silence. The attendees, including many who have spent the past month protesting the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, said they came to honor the officers who were killed and those who have been killed by officers.

“Tonight is an opportunity to come together for a moment of reflection,” Michael Premo, 32, a freelance journalist and Bedford-Stuyvesant resident who helped organize the vigil, told The Huffington Post. “There’s a lot of confusion, a lot of pain. … The loss of these officers is absolutely tragic. Any loss of life is tragic.”

Elsewhere in the city, mourners gathered to pay their respects. Near a makeshift memorial outside the Bedford-Stuyvesant housing project where Ramos and Liu were killed, bystanders gave nearby police officers hugs, thanking them for their service and expressing their remorse.

At Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens, at least 50 people, including current and former police officers and New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D), huddled closely as members of the group made conflicting pleas. A former firefighter begged for an end to recent protests that have taken over New York City’s streets. A community activist pleaded for peace in the city and around the world. A young girl, the child of immigrants, read a poem she wrote about recent violence in Pakistan.

“People really like to be listened to,” Dromm told HuffPost. “It’s the only way we can move forward.”

At the Bedford-Stuyvesant vigil, 23-year-old Darius Gordon dismissed recent remarks by NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton that linked recent protests against police brutality in New York City to the murders of Liu and Ramos. “It’s not comparable,” Gordon said. Brinsley “shot his girlfriend before coming here from Baltimore. It’s not related at all. Just because [Bratton] says it is does not make it true.”

Still, Gordon stressed that Monday’s event was about stopping all violence. “We’re not here in anger, because a loss is a loss,” he said. “And we grieve as much as they do.”

At a police charity event on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio asked demonstrators to refrain from holding protests until after funerals for Ramos and Liu. “It’s a time to step back and just focus on these families,” the mayor said. “I think it’s a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in due time. In the coming days, as two families prepare for funerals and figure out how to piece their lives back together, that should be our only concern: How do we support them?”

Tensions between New York City’s police unions and lawmakers have been high since Brinsley’s rampage, which began when he shot his former girlfriend in Maryland and ended when he took his own life on the platform of the Myrtle Willoughby subway station, a few blocks from where he fired a fusillade of bullets into Ramos and Liu’s patrol car.

Pat Lynch, the outspoken president of the NYC Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, blamed the officers’ deaths on the mayor and on the protests that have gripped the city since a grand jury decided last month not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner in July. De Blasio has been supportive of nonviolent demonstrations, saying “the way we do policing needs to change.”

“There’s blood on many hands tonight,” Lynch said in a speech Saturday night. “That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall, in the office of the mayor.” City police unions agreed Monday to stop putting out statements blaming protesters for the officers’ killings out of respect for the victims’ families.

A group of NYPD officers turned their backs on de Blasio after he met with grieving relatives of Liu and Ramos at Woodhull Hospital on Saturday night. Bratton acknowledged an “undeniable rift” between the mayor and members of the NYPD in an interview on Monday, during which he also suggested protesters were to blame for the officers’ deaths.

Skipp Roseboro, a 69-year-old retiree from Bedford-Stuyvesant who attended Monday night’s candlelit march, told HuffPost that he wished the department would show the same respect for those killed by police as those who criticize the NYPD are showing toward the slain officers. “Mr. Lynch and others in the police community do not share that compassion the other way,” he said. “That’s one of the problems.”

Black Lives Matter, the grassroots organization behind many of the recent protests, condemned Brinsley’s actions in a statement on Saturday. “An eye for an eye is not our vision of justice, and we who have taken to the streets seeking justice and liberation know that we need deep transformation to correct the larger institutional problems of racial profiling, abuse, and violence,” the group said. “We know all too well the pain and the trauma that follows the senseless loss of our family members and loved ones. We extend our hearts and prayers to the families of those who lost their loved ones this week. No one should suffer the loss of those whom they love.”

In a blog posted on HuffPost Monday, Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi spoke out against Bratton and Lynch’s accusation that the ongoing demonstrations were to blame for the killings of Ramos and Liu. “We challenge the ways in which a senseless tragedy, an isolated incident, is being used to send a chilling message to protesters and to shape a dangerous narrative,” she wrote. “This is a challenging moment, but we must maintain the integrity of our message and moral movement.”

Eric Garner’s daughter, Emerald Garner, expressed support for the families of Liu and Ramos on Monday. She told ABC News she was “never anti-police,” and said Brinsley’s actions were “a mental health crisis” that “didn’t have anything to do with race.”

Meanwhile, New York City residents said they will continue to come together to honor the lives of Liu and Ramos and to speak out against racial injustice. Tammy Rose, 42, a preschool owner who lives in Jackson Heights, took her 13-year-old daughter to the Diversity Plaza gathering because, she said, she wanted to show her child that not all rallies are tumultuous.

“I wanted her to see that you can also get together and be peaceful,” Rose said.

Dromm told HuffPost that the recent protests don’t contradict the outpouring of community sympathy for the slain officers. “Just because you are for police reform doesn’t mean you are anti-cop,” Dromm said. “We have to come together.”

This article – 

New Yorkers Express Quiet Grief Over NYPD Murders

I am an African American pastor living in a not-so-common circumstance. Santa Barbara’s black population is just over 1 percent. My local collegial relationships have been with nearly all white church leaders, mostly evangelical. It is not strange to hear expressions of outrage over abortion and gay marriage. What I have not experienced much of, over my 31 years of ministry, is empathy toward African Americans. In 1991 after ensuing publicity over the police beating of Rodney King, I was one of some 30 pastors who gathered, to my dismay, to reinforce our care and support for law enforcement. My experience with local police was definitively different from theirs. Shortly after my…

I am an African American pastor living in a not-so-common circumstance. Santa Barbara’s black population is just over 1 percent. My local collegial relationships have been with nearly all white church leaders, mostly evangelical. It is not strange to hear expressions of outrage over abortion and gay marriage. What I have not experienced much of, over my 31 years of ministry, is empathy toward African Americans.

In 1991 after ensuing publicity over the police beating of Rodney King, I was one of some 30 pastors who gathered, to my dismay, to reinforce our care and support for law enforcement. My experience with local police was definitively different from theirs. Shortly after my family’s move here, I visited a barbershop. The black men welcomed me with a warning, “The Santa Barbara Police know every black male in town.” I laughed it off. Two weeks later, after pulling into a bank parking lot, a squad car approached with two officers. I was asked where I was headed. I said, “To the ATM.” After my withdrawal, they followed my car to my church office. I parked, and with key in hand, strode toward my office. The officers neared and asked, “Where are you going, now?” I said, “To my office.” They asked for my drivers’ license, which I provided. Five minutes later they came back, returned it to me, saying that everything was fine, and “Have a nice night.” It would not be my only unpleasant encounter with local police.

I made a point of meeting city officials. Over lunch with the police chief, I told him about my experience. Later, when a reporter ran a front-page series on alleged power abuse in the department, his interview with the chief indicated that he had never heard of any such thing. That was three decades ago. My sons’ experiences with law officers have been even more outrageous. While I have been conscientious to share my experiences with my pastoral colleagues, this matter does not seem actionable to most. I think they represent American Evangelicalism very well.

My title is not quite correct. This is to all Evangelicals. When you say, “I know what urban America’s problem is!” I can pretty much guess that your next words will be “fatherless homes” or something like that. This may be further evidence that you embrace a racialized form of Christianity, a faith and message that ensure that churches remain safely segregated. I don’t think you intend to insult my friends, inner-city pastors, who grapple with the reality of fragmented African American families every day as though they had overlooked what you can so clearly see. I don’t think you intentionally bypass the irony in how voices from a community where half of marriages fail can so clearly comprehend the effects of hurting children in other communities.

It’s much easier to critique African Americans for suffering from fatherlessness because then one can wash his hands. If the problem is derelict dads, then there is no one else to blame. What to do? It’s harder to admit that one holds a stake in a society that advantages his own family, church and community at the expense of others. Fatherlessness in African America does not appear magically. It is unconscionable to offer that appraisal without facing the causes of fatherlessness. Where is the empathy? In the tenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, a man wants to know what the greatest commandment is. Jesus asks what the Law of Moses says. Jesus affirms the inquirer’s answer, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Having made himself uncomfortable with his own reply, he asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus proceeds with a lesson in empathy. When Evangelicals blithely claim that the evils that plague African America can be reduced to “fatherless homes,” they excuse themselves from empathy, and therefore from humanity.

If you want to truly care for this population you will face the causes of fatherlessness. It is not only a cause. It is a result; our fatherlessness is the result of generations of segregation, ghettoization, job deprivation, housing discrimination, education discrimination, mass incarceration, over-policing and police brutality. In a word, African America suffers from societal humiliation and shame.

My son is not the only young man who has become more willing to share his experiences of mistreatment. The silence is over. This is the beginning. People wonder why Bill Cosby’s alleged victims didn’t all surge forward earlier. Shame is not only a powerful silencer, it renders some people deaf. A white professional friend of mine was troubled by recent vigils and marches in wake of grand jury decisions not to indict cops who killed unarmed African Americans. After we spent an hour over coffee, his eyes were opened and he wanted to know why reasonable people like myself couldn’t just share our stories openly. I told him that the two of us would not have been having the conversation without those demonstrations. These marches are not only about recent cases. Some of us have been all too conscious of police abuse our entire lives, and it has been underway for generations. It’s just that we have, as a country, come to a different place. More people have penetrated the fog of lies, the cover-up.

Just as I take no pleasure in Bill Cosby’s fall, I wish the bad behavior of so many police had never happened. But people are finally listening and I feel vindicated.

Source – 

A Word to White and Black Evangelicals in America

What are you talking about Rudy?!? The extremist right-wing absolutes have to stop! When did Obama ever say that people should “hate the police?” That’s the latest divisive rhetoric from former mayor Rudy Giuliani, and others, in response to the killing of two officers in NYC, meant to distract people from those not taking responsibility for policies that ran unchecked when he was mayor, on top of glaring disparities that exist across the nation allowing bad, poorly-trained, and under-resourced cops to get away with killing. Killing a suspect, particularly innocent unarmed ones, shouldn’t be written off as some occupational hazard, or an inevitable consequence of the job. Nor should large communities of people of a variety of races feel…

What are you talking about Rudy?!? The extremist right-wing absolutes have to stop! When did Obama ever say that people should “hate the police?” That’s the latest divisive rhetoric from former mayor Rudy Giuliani, and others, in response to the killing of two officers in NYC, meant to distract people from those not taking responsibility for policies that ran unchecked when he was mayor, on top of glaring disparities that exist across the nation allowing bad, poorly-trained, and under-resourced cops to get away with killing. Killing a suspect, particularly innocent unarmed ones, shouldn’t be written off as some occupational hazard, or an inevitable consequence of the job. Nor should large communities of people of a variety of races feel threatened by the police who serve and protect them. These protests aren’t about all cops, but there is a problem of excessive force with some. As people take responsibility for their communities and trying to tackle the socioeconomic issues and complexities that contribute to crime in general, so too should a seemingly intelligent man and those of his ilk who implement, or ignorantly justify, policies that do more harm than good. This in my mind shows no leadership, which Giuliani swears by (I read his book, entitled…”Leadership,” well, most of it); these statements, at best, are cheap strategies to stay relevant and drum up irrational anger, continuing the political gridlock and gamesmanship that is plaguing our system and leading to another year of a mostly ineffectual and inefficient Congress.

In reality, however, this statement, and others like it, may be some desperate reflex in response to the recognition that the dynamic of inequality in our country is about to shift, and those in positions of power are threatened by that change and are reacting from base emotions of fear and vulnerability. It’s sad. If people are resorting to vigilantism with cops as the targets, then we should all work to swiftly and sternly serve justice appropriately and show no tolerance of such acts. Similarly, we should take action to stop vigilantism of cops overstepping their duty to kill innocent black men. There are examples of a long-neglected problem of mistrust, unrest, racial disparities, racism, and misallocated resources. If all lives matter, then the response should be mutual outrage and remorse for the loss of life. That should include the lives of cops and citizens, whether black, white, or of any race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. We are reminded that part of the bloody rampage included the gunman’s ex-girlfriend back in Baltimore. Throughout these struggles, many victims are being ignored. You arrive to these conclusions by a different series of events, but the net sum, or reaction should be the same. This is a national tragedy, and the loss of life that has us embroiled in such tension should be upsetting to us all.

Much like people feeling uncomfortable and confused about cries for riots and shutting things down as people have die-ins across highways, the same puzzlement could be attributed to the supposed pro-cop movements that are mocking the subsequent response to the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and others. How is “I Can Breathe” a helpful retort? Is “Hands Up, Don’t Loot” really a productive reply? This cranky conservatism is not productive. To be clear, none of the families who lost loved ones at the hands of police, now thrust into the national spotlight, and attributed to these movements are anti-cop, neither are President Obama, Mayor de Blasio, or Al Sharpton. They are against the killing of innocents. They are anti-murder and are also seeking justice. Here’s another parallel to consider, as people of a variety of ages and races marched in protest against police brutality across NYC, the vigils for the slain officers in Brooklyn have a variety of faces as well, the torment felt for both tragedies is not mutually exclusive. Until we realize this and act for change, the pursuit of blame will become quite disappointing as we discover if we do nothing… we’re all to blame.

Original post: 

Cause, Effect, and Justice for All: Cop Killers Should Be Brought to Justice, and So Should Cops Who Kill