This should be an interesting football season, and year, for that matter, as many American institutions are messily having their come-to-Jesus moments.
For the last two days, a video has been circulating on social media (primarily Facebook) with various black men – shades, ages, professions, geographical locations – covering their favorite NFL jerseys with a black T-shirt.
#Black0utNFL is part of a burgeoning and increasingly surging stand against the National Football League, whose owners have decided to make an example of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided to stand for black lives so callously cut down with regularity and impunity.
Pastor Debliare Snell, of the First SDA Church in Huntsville, Ala., spoke openly on why he is behind the #BlackOut movement in the video.
“In 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick engaged in a silent nonviolent protest,” said Snell. “He did this to raise awareness to the number of brown and black individuals that had been beaten or killed at the hands of law enforcement across this country. Since the end of last season, as a result of this protest, Colin Kaepernick has been unable to find employment in the NFL. I find that strange seeing that the NFL has employed individuals that have been convicted of sexual assault, domestic violence, cruelty to animals, along with driving while under the influence.”
Snell goes on to say that he finds it “interesting” that certain NFL owners have come out on the record saying they are not hiring Kaepernick because they feel a “backlash” from a certain segment of their fan base but have no fear of African Americans, which Snell claims are 15 percent of NFL viewers (not to mention a majority of its players).
“My belief is simply this—if Colin Kaepernick was willing to take a stand for those of us who are noncelebrities who have to interact with law enforcement on a day to day basis …certainly we can take a stand and stand with him.”
The #BlackOut movement advocates four actions steps:
1. Boycott the NFL (no games, no fantasy football, no jerseys, no nothing).
2. Commit to one-two hours during the NFL season to using the time you would have watching games to mentor young black boys and girls.
3. Spread the word to others.
4. “Take a knee” in prayer at 6 a.m. each morning.
On Aug. 23, Spike Lee and others are planning to march on the NFL headquarters in New York City to protest against what many say is a hypocritical and, in a word, racist, NFL. Additionally, some players have begun sitting out the National Anthem during NFL preseason games.
Some have confused Colin Kaepernick’s stance against police violence as an edict against police.
Yet, a contingent of mostly black police officers … and NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico … gathered Saturday in New York to show the blackballed former QB much love.
The cops and a slew of activists, politicians and others came together under the Brooklyn bridge to stand with Kaepernick, who many feel risked his livelihood by taking a stand against injustice by kneeling during the National Anthem during the 2016 football season.
And in what would surely delight many, the dozens of officers, donning black shirts with the logo “#ImWithKap” sang the “Black National Anthem,” formally known as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson
“What Colin Kaepernick did is try to bring awareness that this nation unfortunately has ignored for far too long,” said NYPD Sgt. Edwin Raymond, who helped organize the Brooklyn event, according to the New York Daily News.
“And that’s the issue of racism in America and policing in America. We decided to gather here today because of the way he’s being railroaded for speaking the obvious truth,” Raymond added.
Frank Serpico, famously played by Al Pacino in the 1973 film, Serpico, also turned out in support.
“I am here to support anyone who has the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression anywhere in this country and the world,” said the 81-year-old former detective who exposed corruption in the New York City police.
Support for Kaepernick seems to be coming to a crescendo just three weeks before the official start of the season, with the #BlackOutNFL movement and a planned protest in front of the NFL headquarters in New York on Aug. 23.
“The fact that this man is no longer in the NFL has nothing to do with stats on the football field, but for taking a knee and pointing out some of the flaws that have been tormenting people of color in this country for decades,” said Darius Gordon of the Justice League NYC.
A Charlottesville synagogue was denied extra police protection and had to hire private security to guard against white supremacists gathered for last weekend’s “Unite the Right” rally.
According to a blog post by Alan Zimmerman, president of the Congregation Beth Israel in the Virginia town, police promised to provide “an observer” near the synagogue for Saturday’s rally after groups of neo-Nazis and white supremacists had gathered with torches Friday night to protest the removal of a statue of confederate General Robert E. Lee. The police failed to keep that promise, Zimmerman said, and so the group was forced to hire private security.
Zimmerman described the fear he and others felt as the hate group members marched by the synagogue, chanting “Seig Heil” and other anti-Semitic slogans, some carrying Nazi flags and symbols. As around 40 people prayed inside during services, Zimmerman stood outside with the armed security guard and tried to make sense of what he was witnessing.
“For half an hour, three men dressed in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic rifles stood across the street from the temple,” he said. “Had they tried to enter, I don’t know what I could have done to stop them, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them, either.”
Zimmerman noted a man with a white polo shirt lurking outside the building and became worried he was eyeing the synagogue for an attack. He would recognize the same polo shirt on the neo-Nazi who later drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters 200 feet from the synagogue, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and wounding 19 others. Though it was a different man, Zimmerman suspected the attacker and the man casing the building were part of the same hate group.
“Even now, that gives me a chill,” Zimmerman said.
After the services ended, the group inside the synagogue had to leave the temple through the back door for safety reasons, a move that broke Zimmerman’s heart.
“This is 2017 in the United States of America,” he added.
Each month, Chris Hill gets together with friends to spend a few days in a remote forest in Georgia, deep in the heart of the American South.
They trade stories over a campfire, feast on barbecue food — and practice raids with semi-automatic rifles in case the government decides to come for their weapons.
Dressed in combat fatigues and armed with military-grade weapons, the twenty or so members of the “Georgia Security Force” have gathered on a scorching hot weekend to conduct patrols, fire live rounds and carry out an assault on a mock-up house.
“I’m prepared for civil war, civil unrest, EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) attack from North Korea, Russia, invasion from a foreign government, my own government turning its guns against the people in an effort to disarm,” says Hill, a 42-year-old paralegal who prefers the moniker “General Bloodagent” when leading the group he founded in 2008.
His is one of an estimated 165 armed anti-government militias currently operating in the United States. Their exact goals vary, but they are largely united by a distrust of government, a strong belief in individual liberties such as the right to bear arms, and, since last year’s presidential campaign, an affinity with Donald Trump.
Members come from near and far, though few maintain the beefy physiques seen in the soldiers they admire.
Confederate flags — controversial symbols associated with the racism of the Old South — are draped around the camp, as are black flags bearing the Arabic for ‘infidel.’
Rooster and Yvette DiMaria, a married couple who signed up recently, regularly journey from the neighboring state of South Carolina to be with what they refer to as their “family.”
For Rooster, the attraction lies in “being around like minds who all believe in the same thing, in the Constitution, they believe in Christianity and doing the right thing.”
His wife, Yvette, is the only woman in the militia this weekend, and maintains a perfect manicure as she unloads rounds from her assault rifle.
Both were disillusioned by politics until Trump announced his candidacy last year, and Yvette says she often found herself derided by her peers who called her views racist and homophobic.
“Instead of being at my home and griping about it, not doing anything, I joined a movement where I’m now out in the open. I can voice my opinion,” she explained.
Militias frequently provided security during Trump’s campaign rallies, to counter any possible protests by “Antifa” (anti-fascist) groups.
Carol Gallagher, a professor at American University in Washington DC, explains that many ultra-conservatives who had given up on mainstream politicians were attracted to the New York billionaire’s tough rhetoric on undocumented immigrants and US jobs going abroad.
“The typical person who’s in the militia movement is white working class, they’re not obviously poor but they have kind of a low paying job and for them Trump is attractive,” she said.
Some are survivalists, preparing for a dystopian future bereft of modern amenities, while others believe in hard right politics, including at times white supremacism.
“If you go back at American history these armed militia groups have been with us since the very beginning, and part of it has to do with when people came here, there weren’t established police forces, there weren’t established military forces so people created their own militias to protect themselves,” said Gallagher.
– Growing threat? –
These days, however, they are seen as extremist movements and are on the radar of law enforcement agencies like the FBI.
According to research carried out in 2016 by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an anti-extremism non-profit group, 623 anti-government groups operate in the United States, including the 165 militias.
And the shocking killing of a protester in violence surrounding a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12 has brought renewed attention to ultra-conservative forces — whether they identify as Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the Alt-Right or simply call themselves a “Patriot militia” like the Georgia Security Force.
Asked whether any GSF members were at the event or provided security, Hill said, “No comment.”
Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety over the weekend began running a meme showing a Florida state concealed weapon license purportedly owned by George Zimmerman layered over a person with a Marksman air pistol shoved haphazardly into the waistband of their jeans.
“Some states have low or no standards for who can carry a concealed weapon in public,” says the text over the ad.
The measures, the H.R. 38 and S.446, respectively, would expand carry rights nationwide, in effect forcing states and local jurisdictions to respect all valid concealed carry permits, a move the advocates feel is a mistake which would lead to a “race to the bottom” to recognize permits from states with no training requirements and slim vetting.
The groups, backed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have retained a big-name Washington, D.C.-based advocacy firm to help with future legislative pushes and has promised to spend as much as $25 million to defeat the push.
Ironically, despite the one-two punch of the meme, Florida — once seen as the leader for concealed carry law reform — now has one of the more demanding processes in the country to obtain such a permit, especially among other “shall-issue” states.
Applicants have to prove they have had prior firearms training, pay as much as $112 in fingerprinting, licensing and convenience fees for initial licenses, and wait up to 90 days for a permit. The state denied 6,470 licenses in the year between July 2016-June 2017, about half for incomplete documentation, and half for “ineligible” applicants.
Further, Florida law prohibits both concealed carry without a license and open carry altogether except under narrow circumstances. By comparison, licenses in neighboring Georgia and Alabama are both generally cheaper and do not require training. Meanwhile, at least a dozen states, including Mississippi– just an hour away from the West Florida line– have adopted permitless carry laws, and 45 states allow for open carry.
As the number of female and minority gun owners continues to grow, one Georgia-based firearm instructor aims to teach black women how to shoot.
Marchell Tigner, owner of Trigger Happy Firearm Instruction, is a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor whose personal mission is to provide training to 1 million women.
“It’s important, especially for black women, to learn how to shoot. We need to learn how to defend ourselves,” Tigner told the Associated Press, noting that black women are more likely to become victims of domestic violence.
According to her website, Tigner, whose love of firearms stemmed from spending seven years in the National Guard and later working at a firing range, started her company last year after she noticed a lack of representation for black women in the gun community. Tigner said she worked at a firing range and would often see women trying to learn how to use a firearm at the instruction of their significant others, something which, she said, made her uncomfortable.
“Sometimes it’s hard to believe you can do something until you see someone who looks like you in that position,” Tigner noted.
Thus, Tigner’s firearm instruction company was formed.
As part of the training, Tigner provides plastic replicas to women as she goes over basic safety rules and proper stance, grip, and handling. The instruction then moves to the range where women learn to load a magazine and, finally, shoot the target.
“The bad guy’s dead. He’s not getting back up,” Tigner tells a student as they look over a bullet-riddled target during a recent class in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The class was made up of about 20 women; some experienced with firearms, some not.
Jonava Johnson, 50, who attended the class, noted that gun ownership has also been rather frowned upon in the black community. Johnson admitted her own fear of guns, which stemmed from a domestic violence situation when she was just 17 years old. Johnson’s ex-boyfriend, armed with a gun, threatened her before he fatally shot Johnson’s new boyfriend in front of her.
About 30 years after she witnessed the death of her high school boyfriend, Johnson considered getting a gun after her daughter was sexually assaulted in their own home. Johnson instead decided to get a guard dog, but she’s now a proud gun owner.
“I hope I never have to kill anybody, but if it comes down to me or my children, they’re out,” Johnson said.
Tigner said it’s important for women to feel like they’re in control of their own safety.
“I’m just here to empower women and make sure that no one else becomes a victim,” she said.
A Louisville gun safety activist is encouraging gun owners to use gun locks and safely store their guns, an issue he’s taken all the more seriously since his grandson was fatally shot in January 2016.
Luther Brown, a retired construction worker and avid church goer, found his calling advocating gun safety after his neighbor was killed and her 2-year-old daughter severely wounded and blinded in one eye from a shooting in May 2006, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.
His research into gun violence in Louisville led him to start the nonprofit educational program Little Hands Little Feet, which warns children to stay away from guns and urges adult gun owners to use gun locks and practice safe gun storage in order to prevent accidental shootings.
Brown has given away more than 500 gun locks at events around the West Louisville community where he resides, and hopes to get a gun lock in every house.
“Not every dope dealer is gonna want to use a gun lock,” Brown said. “But the mamas of the dope dealers sometimes insist on it. They know there are children in the house; they know how children are curious. It’s the mamas who come back to me sometimes and ask for a lock. If we can get locks on even a few of the guns out there, then you know what? At least that’s something.”
Brown knows all too well what it’s like for a family member to be killed in an accidental shooting. On Jan. 9, 2016, his 8-year-old grandson Andre O’Neal Jr. was accidentally shot and killed at a family barbecue.
The man responsible for the shooting, 21-year-old Elgin Anders, allegedly dropped the gun by accident when it fired and struck the child.
“We was grilling and everything. I came out to the grill. I had barbecue sauce on my fingers. I licked the sauce off my fingers. It just slipped right out of my fingers,” Anders told WDRB-TV.
Anders has been charged with reckless homicide and the case is still ongoing. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison, but Brown doubts Anders will stay in prison for even that long.
“That man might go to prison for a year for killing Baby Dre,” he said.
“The problem is, we don’t take these deaths seriously. People leave their guns out, bam, a child is dead, but it’s just an accident. People drop their guns, bam, a child is dead, but it’s just an accident. You were careless and now a child is dead, but hey, we won’t charge you with a crime, we think you’ve suffered enough. If we charge you with anything, maybe you get a year.”
After his grandson’s death, Brown continued his gun safety programs, and was even invited to attend the funeral of another boy who had been shot and killed by his 11-year-old brother when playing with a loaded handgun left unlocked in their home.
At the funeral, Brown handed out gun locks and gun safety pamphlets, a day he said he would take with him to his grave.
While Brown has vowed to keep up his efforts in Louisville, other gun safety programs are also trying to make a difference around the country.
One such program — Project ChildSafe, sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation — recently teamed up with the San Angelo Police Department in Texas to raise awareness about safe gun ownership in the community.
According to an SAPD news release, free gun locks and safety kits will be available for pickup at Police Headquarters from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tennessee cities are working to implement a new law that allows handgun permit holders in the state to carry their firearms onto public transportation.
The Associated Press reported that Tennessee’s four major cities — Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Memphis — intend to comply with the law, which took effect July 1, but have so far posted vaguely worded rules that may leave riders confused as to what the policy actually is.
Transit authorities in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga put the onus on riders to educate themselves on who’s allowed to carry guns, while Memphis authorities are still revising the wording of their policies but have begun allowing permit holders to carry firearms.
Nashville has changed its transit system’s code of conduct to only ban weapons that are “unauthorized,” but does not mention the new law.
Chattanooga’s revised transit policy mentions the law without explaining what it actually means in practice, while Knoxville signs were changed with similarly vague wording.
Lisa Maragnano, Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority executive director, implied such wording was purposeful.
“We will comply with the law, we won’t encourage it,” she said in an email.
The new law, backed strongly by the National Rifle Association and signed by Gov. Bill Haslam in May, calls for cities and counties to either install metal detectors and post security guards at public facilities or allow lawful gun owners with handgun permits to carry their firearms.
The measure will also provide lawful gun owners with a private cause of action to challenge local firearms rules they feel are not being implemented properly.
While gun control advocates claim it could endanger the lives of commuters, gun rights advocates argue the law will have just the opposite effect by letting lawful gun owners carry their firearms as protection against those with criminal intentions.
B.G.O.A Member Tactical snow flake will be interviewing 2 Atlanta Metropolitan police offers to discuss to proper procedure for motorist when pulled over while carrying
NRA spokeswoman comments on Philando Castile shooting (VIDEO)
A National Rifle Association spokeswoman said the comments she made this week on the death of Philando Castile, a black man killed by police after disclosing he had legal concealed weapon during a traffic stop, was the organization’s official stance.
“ILoesch made the appearance to defend comments she made in an NRA membership video against critic Tamika Mallory, president of the Women’s March, who appeared alongside her on CNN. Mallory had penned a letter asking the NRA to retract Loesch’s video because it “appear(s) to be a direct endorsement of violence” against people, especially those of color, for exercising their right to free speech. She also requested the NRA, as a civil rights organization, defend Castile’s Second Amendment rights and demand justice for him.
Shortly after the incident last July, the NRA as an organization released an official statement calling Castile’s death “troubling” and that it would “have more to say once all the facts are known.” Loesch has been the only NRA representative to give an official statement since then.
Yanez said he thought Castile was a robbery suspect when he stopped the vehicle. Castile informed Yanez that he had a legal concealed weapon and began reaching for his wallet, but Yanez mistakenly thought Castile was reaching for a gun, so he opened fire.
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