BLM Coalition Reveals 6 Point Policy Platform
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Anonymous
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It looks like the BLM folks are becoming more organized. Per the NYT: "More than 60 organizations associated with the Black Lives Matter movement have released a series of demands on Monday, including for reparations."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/black-lives-matter-campaign.html?_r=0 Six Point Plan: https://policy.m4bl.org/ -End the War on Black People -Reparations -Invest-Divest -Economic Justice -Community Control -Political Power One of my main critiques of BLM was that they did not really have a formal platform. Without one, it made it easy for the media and others to define them. Conservative media is very good at this. It also allowed for typical responses like "why do black lives and not other lives" or "All lives matter," or even more common "why doesn't BLM fix black-on-black violence," all of which entirely miss the point (if you plan to say this, please do not bother responding to my post)[i]. Now they have some form of unifying message and platform that they could hold politicians to. Some of the points are a little rough, but I think its a great start for a national discussion. Despite some of the point names, the actual underlying policy points are not all entirely race-based, and would benefit everyone, not just AAs (e.g. universal access to the internet, reformed tax code, end privatization of education, etc). Also, none of the points condemns or blames whites for the issues facing AAs, a common talking point for some folks. Probably the most controversial demand is for reparations, which I know most people do not agree with, but yet probably makes a lot of sense given the history of our government and its record of paying billions dollars in reparations to other groups that were wronged. Not sure how to do it though. Without casting blame on AAs for the issues they face today (ignorant or dismissive of history, and suggests racial inferiority), or telling BLM to focus on "fixing the AA community from within" what do you guys think about the specific points outlined by BLM? |
Anonymous
| Honestly, I think the policy platforms are too broad and detract from the goal of more just treatment by the police and justice system. Why on earth would you need to bring divesting from fossil fuels and military cuts into the conversation? |
Anonymous
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From the Coalition's website:
"Baton Rouge PD, the very police department that killed Alton Sterling, has been under investigation by the Department of Justice for civil rights violations TWICE—including for its harassment of Black people following Hurricane Katrina. Yet, federal officials continue to give them money--in fact, Baton Rouge PD has received 3 million dollars from the DOJ over the past five years." How will defunding a police department help anyone? We need police. I understand the desire to get rid of bad cops but how would not providing funding to an entire police department help and protect citizens? Isn't this funding where police get things like body cameras? Don't you need those to make this problem of police brutality better? Much of these 6 points do not make sense to me. |
Anonymous
eh, this seems solid to me, and I'm dubious about most of the platform. the proposal isn't "stop having police"; police are mostly funded at the state level. Perhaps I am reading to much in here, but it seem to be a proposal to make DOJ funding contingent on certain civil rights standards. which seems reasonable to me. DOJ funding is for a great many different things. DOJ civil rights training probably shouldn't be contingent on civil rights standards, for obvious reasons. Similarly, feds probably shouldn't threaten funding for certain programs that are aimed at reducing racial disparities. And some things are probably too important to make contingent on anything. But access to surplus military weaponry? Training for K9 units? Or grants for particular causes which, while important, would be much improved with adherence to civil rights standards? Eg, substance abuse re-entry programs? |
Anonymous
| They want money. How revolutionary! LOL |
Anonymous
| Not much response thus far. I wonder if people are reluctant to address such a racially charged topic. |
Anonymous
| Oh god, reparations really? My family wasn't even here during the Civil war, they lived in Europe and didn't emigrate here until WWI or just last generation. So, they never owned slaves and didn't come from a country that even had them. That's just stupid... |
Anonymous
| I didn't realize we were having Throwback Tuesday and the same demands from 1987 were on the table. |
Anonymous
| I think they are more like goals, less a policy platform. I am disappointed by how broad they are and how little they seem to be based on research or data. I thought the platform for Campaign Zero was very good and included specific laws that could be enacted. This is... very rough in comparison. |
Anonymous
I also agree with this point. We are very close to getting national momentum on criminal justice reform. This 6-point plan should have been released after more concrete wins on justice reform - at this point it will dilute the work on the cusp of being done. |
Anonymous
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Reparations? Seriously?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/02/new-website-allows-white-people-to-offer-reparations-directly-to-people-of-color/ Lmfao “It’s about reparations for things that happened earlier today, for yesterday, for last Thursday,” she said. “This is for the present tense.” "Here’s the basic concept: White people have created a political and cultural system that discriminates against and excludes people of color every day. Therefore, white people have a responsibility to actively work to level the playing field for the people of color who are disadvantaged and threatened by racism and racial inequality." Uh No My white ass works hard enough & in no way feels responsibility. |
Anonymous
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Strikes me as a lot of demands for "Black Privilege." Ironic since the premise underlying all this is opposition to perceived White Privilege.
- Every single black kid - regardless of aptitude or academic history - gets guaranteed admission to a 4-year public university, and completely paid for by taxpayers? Displaces white kids, even if they're more academically qualified or come from poorer backgrounds? Too bad, I guess. - and even the ILLEGAL immigrants (as long as they're black) get the same deal? Taking space away from white citizens? Who cares. - and the black students who currently have student loans get them forgiven (paid off by taxpayers) while the white students are stuck? - and really, decriminalize drug use and prostitution for blacks? That's a goal? - and have a minimum live-able wage for blacks? So there will be two pay scales: higher if you're black and lower if you're white? Can you imagine the response if this were proposed on reverse? I could go on and on, but these "demands" are insane. Besides, how did BLM - supposedly a movement against police brutality of blacks - expand to a list of demands that essentially create a privileged black class at the expense of whites? |
Anonymous
White people have already done a lot to level the playing field through affirmative action - providing them advantages over whites in admission to college and graduate school.....for jobs.....for promotions. I personally have lost two promotions to less-qualified black applicants (the hiring manager told me, even though she said she'd deny saying it if I ever complained.) Isn't that a form of reparations? |
Anonymous
Yep. It's pathetic. |
Anonymous
Five years ago, I was up against an AA . My creds were better. (I learned this after I was hired.) But there was a diversity push. Thankfully, her boss was honest and slammed - saying she was hostile, never on time, divisive, etc. He could have lied and passed her on. |