2020 Martin Luther King Days

Featured

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Bob L.

**3000 show up at Spokane Convention Center** LINK TO MORE PHOTOS

2020 HOLY TEMPLE Commemorative Celebration LINK TO MORE PHOTOS

This year we gathered as usual Sunday January 19 at Holy Temple Church of God in Christ for the Commemorative Celebration. Monday January 20 we gathered at the Spokane Convention Center for a video presentation about the MLK East Central Community Center, inspirational speeches, Max Daniels of House of Soul gave his rendition of A Change Is Gonna Come with a slide presentation that illustrated previous MLK rallies and CLICK: Those Who Showed Up during the year to speak to power, marched around several blocks downtown, and returned to the Exhibit Hall where Michael Moon Bear youth drummers entertained.

But there were only two action steps suggested.

One was that we spread the love and brotherhood of Dr. King’s teachings and the other was that we show up February 3 at City Hall to ask the City Council to rename the East Central Community Center as the Martin Luther King Community Center.

People leave these rallies without knowing what they can do. What will you do between now and when we gather again in January 2021 for the MLK rally and march? In the next few weeks there are the impeachment proceedings followed by the campaigns for the presidential and other elections in November. We need to get busy.

100 Discussion to Action Groups

If you believe in CLICK: These Principles we need you to go to your local coffee house and form a discussion group with five to ten individuals to discuss issues, plan strategies and take actions. Begin building the community you want to live in. We want to build 100 of these discussion groups. If we have 100 discussion groups we will be able to turn out 500 to a 1000 people to demonstrate, to knock on doors, to participate in social justice activities. Regardless of whomever is elected we will have built the movement we need to support the human rights and social justice changes that Sam Cooke wrote about in one of the greatest songs of all time A Change is Gonna Come.

If you want to join us TEXT (509) 934-3933 with your name, email address and zip code. We will let you know about discussion groups in your area.

Here are some things that you can do immediately:

Read 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action. Click: https://4comculture.com/archives/14129

Read about the 12 things needed for a movement. Click: Where Do You Want to Start?

Listen to Shaun King’s podcast and take his action steps. Click: The Breakdown

Coffee and Discussion Groups

Innocence Project In Spokane

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Bob L.

Ricky Kidd spoke on his resilient 23 year fight for his freedom at the Gonzaga University School of Law February 24, 2020

If you ever been wrongfully accused how did you feel. Raise your hand if you have. — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZbJKJ0kuGg

In 1996, Ricky Kidd was wrongfully convicted of the double-homicide of George Bryant and Oscar Bridges in Kansas City, Missouri. Witnesses to the crime testified that three men entered Bryant’s home in the middle of the day. The two victims were found dead, Bridges in the basement and Bryant in the street outside his home. Bryant’s 4-year-old daughter was discovered alive in a closet inside the house.

Ricky became the lead suspect in the case after an anonymous tip came in naming him as one of the killers; evidence suggests this phone tip may have been called in by one of the actual perpetrators. Ricky had what should have been an airtight alibi for the crime: he was at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Lake Jacomo Office at the time of the murders, filling out an application for a gun permit.

Le’Taxione Has Come Home After Serving 23 Years

Le’Taxione has come home after serving 23 years of a life sentence without parole in Washington State, despite the fact that the courts held he was not a “Three Striker” and that his sentence was unlawful. Nevertheless the Washington Supreme Court held that they were powerless to correct this error and Le’Taxione™ sought and received a commutation of his sentence from Governor Jay Inslee. Le’Taxione is living now in Spokane. His mission is to create avenues to be used by youth in their journey to success – while simultaneously providing life altering opportunities to help assist them in addressing adverse childhood experiences, violence, criminality, homelessness, expulsions, the school to prison pipeline, addiction, mental health challenges etc. He is promoting mentorship, peer support groups, self-determination and empowerment. We will learn how at his:

IMPACTED YOUTH FORUM

Join Le’Taxione at the Impacted Youth Forum February 29, 2020 from 10:00-1:30 at Spokane Falls Community College in the Student Union Building SUB lounge. Youth are encouraged to speak at this event.

150,000 Wrongfully Accused Are STILL in Jails Today.

Here’s What You Can Do to Help.

The Breakdown with Shaun King The North Star

Visit website

Join Shaun as he unpacks the most important stories of injustice, racism and corruption, but also tells you who’s fighting back and how you can support and join them with practical action steps.
This story that needs our help now:
It’s up to us to free Myon Burrell! 17 years ago, Myon was charged and convicted of a murder that he did not commit. He is completely innocent, and has been in prison since 2002.
Ep. 179 – Do you know about Myon Burrell?
We can’t just stand by. Shaun lays the framework for how we will free him. Listen for two action steps that should leave us looking within.
Ep. 1 80 – FreeMyonBurrell.com

You need to care about the wrongly accused. We need to pressure County Attorney Michael Freeman, his colleagues and other elected officials to vacate Myon’s conviction and create a Conviction Integrity Unit to overturn more wrongful convictions. Myon has spent more than 17 years fighting for his freedom, and he is still fighting.

Make Calls

Sign a Petition

Visit FreeMyonBurrell.com right now for more details.

Nikki Supports All of Us

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Bob L.

Ballots Due by November 5

Vote for Nikki Lockwood for School Board

Spokane People of Color Legislative Conference

Posted on October 13, 2019 by Bob L.

People of Color Legislative Conference
Areas of Focus Discussion for Spokane Region
Saturday, October 12th, 2019

The summit has three main goals: 1) to stimulate dialogue between diverse POC organizations, community leaders, and state legislators of color to build statewide solidarity, unity and mobilizing capacity on the most important issues to our collective communities of color; 2) to organize a platform for community leaders of color to develop a Legislative Agenda of top priorities for the Senate and House Members of Color Caucus (MOCC) to push forward; and 3) to come out with a working list of who’s working on what issue in what region, so that organizations across the state can build on momentum made at the summit. This is not meant to pre-empt any individual community’s legislative priorities, only build a resource for connecting people and organizations with shared issues.

Racial Justice Community Leaders

“Racial Justice Community Leaders” were invited to the summit and asked to bring their organization’s legislative priorities and were “welcome to invite POC community leaders you know to register for the event.”

Community Leaders of Color

The purpose of the summit was to hear from and connect people of color community leaders and legislators of color to build solidarity and mobilizing capacity across the state for issues that are of highest priority to our collective communities of color.

Below are Spokane’s top 10 priorities for each of the categories discussed.

Racial and Criminal Justice

End cash bail
Decriminalize driving with 3rd degree suspend license
Decriminalize poverty
I-1000 (pro) affirmative action (ref. 88 on ballot)
Expedition of voting rights restoration of people with felonies
HB 1517: Risk assessment, etc. for DV and IPV (need racial equity lens plus broader rep from impacted population)
Rights and education for women who enter prison while pregnant
True blood legislation

Housing, Homelessness, Displacement, & Human Services

Statewide rent control
Just cause eviction statewide
Fair chance housing
Enhance reentry housing
More $ for permanent affordable housing
Rental inspection
Landlord registry
Civil-legal aid/right to council for eviction court
Build in rent grace period or remove 3 notice protection revocation
Decriminalizing public camping
Data privacy

Education

Loan forgiveness
Universal voluntary access to ECAP
Full day kindergarten, Headstart
Raise ECAP poverty threshold so more people qualify
Cultural competence for Pre-K teachers
Increase support for teachers plus families for accessing development resources
Fund to provide disciplinary diversion to keep kids in classroom
More teachers/authority figures of color
Race pay equity-equal pay

Other

Racial health equity (tied for first priority)
Consideration of voting rights/participation in underrepresented communities (tied for first priority)
Ask for expulsion of Matt Shea (tied for second priority)
More $ resources towards impact of nuclear industry on communities of color (tied for second priority)

If you want to know what organizations and individuals registered for the event and represented people of color in our Spokane community, contact Terri Anderson and Jac Archer, the facilitators of the Spokane summit.

If you would like to see the entire list of issues suggested for consideration click here.

Something You Can: Vote

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Bob L.

Can they do it FOR us?…

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Bob L.

Without Us? I Don’t Think So!… What Do You Think?

The deadline for registration has been extended to Tuesday, October 8th for the 2nd Washington State People of Color Legislative Summit (POCLS).

Community leaders of color across Washington are cordially invited to join us on Saturday, October 12th, 10am-4pm at one of nine locations. The purpose of the summit is to hear from and connect POC communities leaders and legislators of color to build solidarity and mobilizing capacity across the state for issues that are of highest priority to our collective communities of color. Further updates:

Spokane location: Spokane Falls Community College Buyilding 30 room 212 3410 W Fort George Wright Dr. Spokane WA 99224
You can watch a live stream of the Opening and Full Plenaries here: https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2019101012 . You cannot engage over live stream.

You are welcome to invite POC community leaders you know to register for this event. Snacks and refreshments will be provided at each location. All locations have parking and are ADA accessible. This statewide summit will have separate meeting rooms sited at college campuses around the state, virtually joined together using “Zoom” video conferencing. Each site will have a lead facilitator and staff to provide support and ensure a productive conference. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the project manager at jenny.chang@leg.wa.gov.

Below are photos from the People of Color Coalition Candidates Forum Sept 28 at East Central Community Center. Photographs By Robert Lloyd

DSC0096 Download

No New Jail

Gallery

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Bob L.

This gallery contains 42 photos.

Here Is something you and others can do. Ask your friends to copy, fill out and send the form below to Spokane County Commissioners: 500 N Cedar St Spokane WA 99201

Black Prisoner’s Caucus Family & Community Summit

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Bob L.

Duaa-Rahemaal Williams

Duaa Williams organized this summit held at The Carl Maxey Center on September 28 2019 to bring the formerly incarcerated together with the communities they are still a part of. The goal is to bring “humanizing and fellowshiping” into the incarceration system, as NAACP President Kurtis Robinson said in an interview on KYRS radio: