Mike “Stop and Frisk” Bloomberg Just Launched His Criminal Justice Plan
Michael Bloomberg talks to supporters on February 4 in Detroit. Carlos Osorio/AP Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg released his plan today to tackle racial bias in the criminal justice system and lower the prison population. “Our criminal justice system is broken and unjust,” Bloomberg said in a statement summarizing his proposals. “As president I’ll…
The Tiny Indigenous Village That Ground Canada To A Halt
Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs lead a rally in British Columbia, on Jan. 10, 2020. Jason Franson/AP This week, activists across Canada ground railways to a halt, barred provincial legislatures from meeting, and blockaded ports to demonstrate support for Indigenous land rights. At the center of the battle are three First Nations women from a remote village in British Columbia who were…
On the Anniversary of Oscar Grant’s Death, We Can Now Finally Say Goodbye to a Decade of Police Violence
A protester during a rally outside the LA Criminal Courts building in downtown Los Angeles in June 2010 during the trial of former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer Johannes Mehserle for murdering Oscar Grant. Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times/Getty In the early morning hours of January 1, 2009, a 22-year-old black man named Oscar Grant sat…
How the 2010s Brought Back Strikes, School Walkouts, and Social Movements
Occupy Wall Street protesters wave signs and banners outside the Park Avenue home of JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in October 2011.Andrew Burton/AP With economic inequality at the highest levels in decades, the climate in crisis, and a political system often unable to address popular demands or even elect the people’s choice, the last…
When Your Rape Doesn’t Count
Something about the knock at the front door made Mary-Scott Hunter think a neighbor was in trouble. She had just arrived home from her job at a corporate training company, and she was mulling over an earlier fight with her girlfriend, but the sound jolted her out of it: five loud, fast raps. She could…
Michael Bloomberg Apologizes for “Stop and Frisk” Just a Few Months After Defending It
Thibault Camus/AP Since leaving office in 2013, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has consistently backed his police department’s “stop and frisk” program in which black and Latino people were nine times more likely to be stopped by police than white people, all in an effort to reduce crime. As recently as January of this…