Hertha Berlin Takes A Knee In Germany

The NFL players taking a knee just got additional support from their fellow athletes across The Pond who play the other football.

The German soccer club Hertha Berlin took a knee yesterday before their Bundesliga match with Schalke which unfortunately for them was a 2-0 loss   The Hertha Berlin starters linked arms and took a knee on the pitch while their coach Pal Dardai, General Manager Michael Preetz and the rest of the Hertha team kneeled on the sidelines before kickoff in solidarity with NFL players.

"We wanted to take a stand against racism," said Hertha captain Per Skjelbred in an interview after their 2-0 loss

The symbolism of this 'take a knee' protest was magnified because Hertha Berlin plays its home games in the renovated Olympiastadion, which was built for the 1936 Olympic Games by Nazi Germany.

Germany in recent years post reunification has also had their problems with racism rearing its ugly head there as the country becomes more diverse.

The Olympiastadion stadium announcer said to the more that 50,000 fans in attendance, "Hertha Berlin stands for diversity and against violence.  For this reason we are joining the protest by American athletes and setting a sign against discrimination."

Hertha Berlin also said in a statement on the team's Twitter account "Hertha BSC stands for tolerance and responsibility!  For a tolerant Berlin and an open minded world now and forever."

Hertha Berlin's players were unanimous in their support for yesterday's action and admitted they were inspired to do so by the NFL protests. 'We stand against racists and that's our way of sharing that  We are always going to fight against this kind of behavior as a team and as a city," said Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou.

This is just another undeniable sign that the NFL players are on the right side of history.  The rest of the world is watching the unjust things you do, and are commenting on it.

And in some cases, thy are doing so by taking a knee.

Po-po's, Stop Killing Black People

One of the things I'm beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of is turning on the TV to hear of another instance where an unarmed Black person is shot and killed by trigger happy predominately white police officers.

It needs to stop, and we know y''all have the training and capacity to do it, especially when it comes to white criminals.  Y'all took Dylann Roof alive and then fed him on the way to booking him for killing nine Black people at Mother Emanuel church, so why can't they exhibit the same respect for white lives when it comes to unarmed Black citizen just trying to get through their day alive after encountering you?

If you are afraid of Black people, and yeah anti-Blackness and irrational hatred of Black people is a major component of why this is happening..then you don't need to be wearing a police uniform.

Thank you Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler for expressing on The Talk the frustration of  Black Americans over the ongoing slaughter by cop of our people.

And yeah, a cop that shoots an unarmed civilian that is no resisting and doing everything possible to communicate to you they are not a threat to you is a bad cop.



Po-po's stop killing Black people.  Good cops, call out the bad ones, and police departments need to do more to weed out the bad ones and also communicate to their offices that they need to treat Black lives with the same level of reverent restraint they treat white ones or face termination and permanent blocking of your ability to work as a peace officer anywhere in this country...

It's either do that or watch the frustration that Black people have with death by cop boil over into the language of the unheard while singing a certain NWA rap song..

Stop Killing Black People

"If that were happening to your community and it was your kids being depressingly killed every year by police that don't look like them or even live in their neighborhoods, would you be sitting silently on your hands about that injustice?"  
TransGriot, August 14, 2014
We have had in the last week three Black men killed by police officers in Baton Rouge, LA (Alton Sterling), a St Paul, MN suburb (Philando Castile) and in my hometown Saturday (Alva Braziel) mere hours after a Black Lives Matter rally that sought to bring down tensions between HPD and our citizens.

It's not like Death by Cop isn't a new problem for our community or the community's internal response to it.  One of the things I was told in 1978 after I'd passed my written test for my drivers permit by my parents was "Congratulations!  Now this is what you don't do in a traffic stop."

And two years later I violated one of those rules in a Highland Park, TX traffic stop because I was pissed off about being jacked with by the Highland Park PD for the crime of looking at Christmas lights while Black with my cousins.

Three years later I was dealing with the same crap again outside a then popular SW Houston nightclub called the Tyler Rose because my then homeboy's tail light on his car picked that moment to go out with two white male HPD cops in the mood to mess with some Black people.on our bumper at the Fondren and West Bellfort traffic light.

And once again I got snarky when I and my friends got asked why we all had South Park addresses on our drivers licenses when he and his partner saw us pulling out of the Tyler Rose parking lot.

My response to the question?  "Since when did it become a crime for people who live in South Park to be in Southwest Houston?"

I was fortunate that neither episode resulted in me or my friends dying because of my big injustice hating mouth, but that was the 80's.   Now it seems as though in the 2K16 white cops have a problem with Black people be they male or female no matter their age.   They are 'in fear of their life' so much when they encounter us they are straight up killing us and to our disgust not getting punished for it.

Black women not only have to be concerned during their interactions with police about getting shot to death or brutalized, they also have to be worried about being sexually assaulted or violently body cavity searched.

That crap needs to stop.  Today.

We are tired of having our humanity dismissed, ignored and being killed for BS reasons by police officers that are supposed to protect and serve our communities, and not getting punished for it. That's a major reason why you're seeing peaceful (for now) protests all across the country.

But if things don 't change for the better soon in terms of the longtime historically negative relationship between Black people and white police officers, then all bets may be off about those protests staying that way.

White People, Before You Start Throwing Racist Stones Over Baltimore, Check Yourselves

"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard."
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,  'The Other America' , March 14, 1968

Yesterday afternoon the anger of the April 19 death of 25 year old Freddie Gray, who suffered a spinal cord injury while in Baltimore police custody exploded into a riot after his funeral.

As the rebellion played out on the nation's TV screens, a 10 PM-5 AM EST curfew was announced by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a state of emergency was declared by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) and the Maryland National Guard was deployed, once again there were some white folks determined to show their Archie Bunker sides on social media.

I know you mofos ain't trying to talk trash about Black folks in Baltimore who are as Dr King pointed out in that 1968  'The Other America' speech mere weeks before his assassination,  are in violent rebellion mode once again because of being sick and tired of watching Black people die at the hands of predominately white police forces and them getting away with it, and feeling powerless to the point they feel this is the only way they can get attention.

And FOX Noise won't tell you this because they were busy race baiting as usual, but there was another march going on in West Baltimore yesterday that involved a group of local clergy.

Yeah, can you hear us now?   Baltimore has a history of police brutality aimed at communities of color to the point the city is paying thousands of dollars in settlements to the victims of it, a man had his spinal cord severed while in police custody back on April 12 and people are supposed to sing kumbaya about that?   If you're more concerned about property damage than non-white people being killed by police without retribution, then your moral compass needs some serious recalibration.

And I don't want to hear one syllable on social media or the media attacking the Black community for this when white people have rioted because their favorite sports teams won or lost and you are never called by society to take personal responsibility for your own fracked up behavior.

What is pissing me off is the racist invective getting launched in social media by smirking white folks drunk on vanillacentric privilege and ignorant of their own people's riot filled history.

So before you even think about hurling racist invective at Black people in rebellion over something that has been building for years in Baltimore , have a seat.

Brazilian Trans Woman Beaten After Arrest

Trigger Warning  anti-trans violence and police brutality.

It's been way too quiet news wise about our trans sisters in Brazil, and this police brutality story was brought to my attention by my sis Aleika Barros

Model Veronica Bolina, for reasons that are still unclear, was arrested for assaulting a senior citizen in her apartment building April 12 in Sao Paulo.

She was sent to a male prison, which is problematic to begin with, and during a prison transfer allegedly got into a scuffle with a police officer that resulted in half his ear getting bitten off.

The police claimthey didn't do it, but how did Veronica end up with her hands and feet handcuffed, breasts exposed, head shaved and severely beaten to the point she was hospitalized?  

The Brazilian media predictably misgendered Veronica, and focused on her alleged scuffle with the police officer while conveniently neglecting to mention what they may have savagely done to her.

Bolina told Alessandro Melchior, the coordinator for LGBT policies in the city of Sao Paulo, that she was also attacked in the hospital she was sent to recover in from the injuries she received from the police beating.

The horrific pics are circulating on Brazilian social media and has the Brazilian trans and LGB community outraged over what has happened to Veronica.  

They are tweeting #SomosTodasVeronica (We Are All Veronica) in support of her.

Aleika and other Brazilian trans women would agree that what Veronica is accused of doing in the assault is unacceptable, and if she committed the crime, she should do the time for it.

However, my Brazilian sisters would also tell you they draw the line at Veronica being thrown in a male jail cell, exposing her to the possibility of sexual assault, having her head shaved and being savagely beaten. 

Being savagely beaten and humiliated by the police or whoever did it should never be part of a jail sentence, and it points out the  need for human rights laws in Brazil that cover trans women in a country in which 113 trans women were murdered last year,

It's even more imperative trans human rights coverage happens in a Brazil in which faith based hate is directed at the Brazilian trans community on an almost daily basis.

Jordan Baker Protest At Houston City Hall

One of the things that will continue to be an issue in Houston and elsewhere around the country is unarmed Black people continuing to be shot and killed by predominately white police forces.

And yeah, the Black community is beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of it.

And before you pro-police peeps go there and start spouting insulting FOX Noise talking points such as my people need to learn respect for the po-po, how about the police officers who look like you turn off the right wing radio and stop using my people as gun practice targets?

In the Houston area, we have the Jordan Baker case to sadly contribute to the national conversation about the death by po-po of Black people of all ages and what needs to happen to end it. 

And as per the disgusting pattern that has played out elsewhere, the HPD officer in question was NOT indicted.

At the same time we have another fatal incident that occurred i n Texas City that has exacerbated racial tensions there to the point that a protest by the family of Carlton Smith was bumrushed by predominately white pro-police supporters.

Since today is the first city council meeting of 2015, a protest will happen at 1:30 PM CST on the steps of city hall in advance of the city council meeting in which people have signed up to speak about the Baker shooting and policing HPD style.

Yep, definitely will be checking it out.

Michael Brown Funeral Eulogy

Michael Brown, whose cause of death in Ferguson, NO was assassination by po-po, was buried today.

The funeral at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church was attended by thousands of people including Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).  It was paid for by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc and featured a fiery eulogy by MSNBC talk show host and longtime activist Rev. Al Sharpton.

Here's the video of it for those of you who missed it.

Moni Speaks At The Houston #NMOS14 Rally

Since the local #NMOS14 rally was happening just up the street from me at MacGregor Park, it was a no brainer about whether or not I was going to check it out.  

After it started a little after 6 PM CDT, we had the moment of silence starting around 6:20 PM to commemorate the life of Mike Brown, what the people in Ferguson, MO were going through and all the victims of police brutality and misconduct.

The floor was then opened by organizer of the event Ashley Williams to anyone who wished to speak to do so. 

And yeah, you know once that happened, I was going to take the opportunity to do just that and represent the Houston TBLG community while doing so. 

When my opportunity to speak to the crowd came, I pointed out that I was there on behalf of myself and the Houston TBLG community, and that Black community issues like police brutality are LGBT issues and vice versa.

I then pointed out that trans people are affected by negative policing behavior. and used the Monica Jones case in Phoenix as a example of it before pivoting back to the reason for the event.  

I pointed out that Black women were experiencing death by po-po and not to forget that.   I also reminded everyone that we have an election coming up on November 4, and that is your best tool for societal change before I stepped down.

I hung around to talk to people and listen to more speakers before I finally left about 8:30 PM. 

One of the chants was 'No more!' in reference to not having another unarmed Black child die due to death by po-po. 

But I wondered as I walked toward the bus stop with the MLK statue in my sights if we were on the road to actually making that happen or we'd be gathered once again at another Houston location to mourn the loss of another African-American child due to police brutality.

I hope not.   But we have a lot of work to do to make no more Black kids dying at the hands of police officers a reality.

Tired Of Black People Being Attacked In Ferguson, MO And Elsewhere

'But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard.'
-Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, 'The Other America'

That Dr.. King quote is what is going through my mind as I see my people being attacked by Officer Oppressor in Ferguson, MO and other places inside the borders of the United States.

This isn't a post-racial society.  It is still racist because white people refuse to see and keep trying to delude themselves into thinking that this country has evolved when it comes to race relations. 

Sadly, it hasn't.  This country is more polarized racially than it was when I was a kid growing up in the late 60's and early 70's.  I'm also well aware of the fact as Dr. King also eloquently pointed out in that same 'The Other America' essay, this is a racist country dominated by whiteness, white supremacist attitudes and actions.  

We also have the problem that because of the toxic legacy of slavery, for the last four centuries Black lives have been dehumanized to the point that our kids get shot by the police and Zimmerman wannabees with no punitive consequences to the perpetrators of those shootings.

And enough is enough.  Far too many of our kids are experiencing death by po-po. 

It's clear to our nation and the world the racist nature of American policing when police do everything possible to deescalate an armed standoff with Cliven Bundy and his white-wing thugs, but respond with over the top paramilitary force, tear gas, rubber bullets and drawn guns to peaceful African-American protestors demanding justice in the murder of an unarmed Michael Brown.

All Ferguson, MO residents and by extension, the African-American community wants are answers to why an unarmed Black college-bound kid was shot and killed Saturday by a white police officer.  

We have been met by stonewalling, refusal to name the police badge wearing perp out of 'concerns for his safety', cricket chirping silence, racist disrespect and over the top paramilitary police force.

If that were happening to your community and it was your kids being depressingly killed every year by police that don't look like them or even live in their neighborhoods, would you be sitting silently on your hands about that injustice? 

Nope, I don't think you would.   

As civil rights movement icon Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) said, "The death of Michael Brown is a grave tragedy the community of Ferguson, Missouri should not have to bear. How many more young men of color will be killed before we realize that we have a problem in America? We are permitting the incarceration and shooting of thousands of black and brown boys in their formative years who might have become great artists, leaders, scientists, or lawyers if we had offered them our support instead of our suspicion?"


The bottom line is oppressed people will not remain oppressed forever, nor will they allow themselves to be continuously disrespected.  Sooner or later there will be a reaction to the injustice, hence the protests you're seeing play out in Ferguson and now other cities around the country.
 
It's also why you're hearing that classic NWA rap song right now as the soundtrack to what's going on in that suburban St Louis city.
 
Since the Ferguson, MO police and leadership in that community failed to respectfully respond to those legitimate questions the family and others in the city had concerning the Brown murder by po-po, now you're hearing them articulated in the language of the unheard.

Race Wasn't Involved In NYPD Garner Killing? Yeah, Right

As my brother Dr. Kortney Ziegler pointed out, in a life imitates art moment, 43 year old Eric Garner's cause of death last Friday, like Radio Raheem in the Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing, was death by po-po.

Spike Lee thought so as well.   He recently mixed the video of Garner's fatal encounter with the NYPD with the Radio Raheem fictional one from the film.

The father of six was killed by an illegal choke hold after being agitated about being harassed by NYPD police.

Eric Garner's funeral was yesterday, but the firestorm surrounding this latest episode of NYPD behaving badly when it comes to non-white denizens of New York  is just getting cranked up.  

You add to it the ridiculous statement by NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton. who is in his second stint of leading NYPD (1994-1996 was the previous one), that "race didn't have anything to do with the tragic death of Garner."

Seriously?  You may wish to rethink that based on the racist online comments of NYPD officers let loose in the wake of last Friday's murder by po-po of Garner and the negative spotlight once more being shined on the New York Police Department.

When now thirteen people of color have been killed in various ways over the years by NYPD officers, other non-white New Yorkers complain of harassment and less than respectful treatment, and the reaction you have to it is deny you have a race problem, not good.

It damned sure was about race.  It's about the vanillascented privileged mentality that too many white police officers have when they come into our neighborhoods from their gated suburbs and treat us as less than human.  

If you're a bigot with a badge and gun, that is destined to cause a problem sooner or later.       

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the comment of Eric Garner 'bringing it  it upon himself'   In what FOX Noise addled conservaworld did you come up with that specious crap? 

How does breaking up a fight justify death by po-po?

All y'all had to do was let Garner off with a warning and let him go on his merry way. home   But y'all couldn't resist the temptation to go into Officer Oppressor mode, and one of you went too far with the fatal choke hold which BTW, is illegal under NYPD policy..

Meanwhile we people of color keep finding ourselves in the situation of having to bury our loved ones after negative and deadly interactions with predominately white cops fir trivial crap..   

And we're sick and tired of it.