anarcho-queer:

NYPD Data Proves White People Are More Likely To Possess Drugs Or A Weapon Than Racial Minorities When Stopped, Yet 84% of Stop & Frisk Victims Are Black/Latino

During the just-concluded trial on the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program, the city argued that officers’ disproportionate targeting of black and Latino New Yorkers was not due to racial profiling but because each stopped individual was doing something suspicious at the time. The data, however, tells a different story: weapons and drugs were more often found on white New Yorkers during stops than on minorities, according to the Public Advocate’s analysis of the NYPD’s 2012 statistics.

White New Yorkers make up a small minority of stop-and-frisks, which were 84 percent black and Latino residents. Despite this much higher number of minorities deemed suspicious by police, the likelihood that stopping an African American would find a weapon was half the likelihood of finding one on a white person.

• The likelihood a stop of an African American New Yorker yielded a weapon was half that of white New Yorkers stopped. The NYPD uncovered a weapon in one out every 49 stops of white New Yorkers. By contrast, it took the Department 71 stops of Latinos and 93 stops of African Americans to find a weapon.

• The likelihood a stop of an African American New Yorker yielded contraband was one-third less than that of white New Yorkers stopped. The NYPD uncovered contraband in one out every 43 stops of white New Yorkers. By contrast, it took the Department 57 stops of Latinos and 61 stops of African Americans to find contraband.

It’s unlikely that the appropriate lesson to take from these findings is that stops of white people should increase because they are more likely to carry weapons and drugs. Rather, they suggest that police are excessively targeting minorities. Officers may be netting more successful stops of white New Yorkers because they are only likely to stop a white person when they actually suspect that person of committing a crime. Considering one officer’s testimony that superiors explicitly directed him to target young black men, minorities are judged by a much more flexible definition of “reasonable suspicion.”

In general, stop-and-frisk has proven to be remarkably ineffective; nearly 89 percent of all stops result in no charges. The city has also had to settle a surging number of civil rights lawsuits against police to the tune of $22 million in one year.

23 May 3037 anarcho-queer Permalink

poc-creators:

SHADOW AND ACT: Al Jazeera Profiles ‘The New African Photography’ In 6-Episode Series

Al Jazeera English will premiere a new 6-episode series on Artscape, titled The New African Photography, which will document changes across the continent through the eyes of its photographers, in an effort to “take back control” of images of Africa with more nuanced, varied depictions of the continent, instead of the extremes we often get. Expect nods to pioneers like Malick Sidibé and autodidact Seydou Keïta.

The six episodes (one of which was executive produced by Viva Riva director Djo Munga) will premiere on April 22.

They are:

1. Invisible Borders (22 April 2013) Nigerian Emeka Okereke is the founder of Invisible Borders, an annual photographic project that takes African artists on a road trip across the continent. Invisible Borders follows Emeka and fellow Nigerian photographer Lilian Novo on the most recent journey, from Nigeria through Cameroon and Gabon. Emeka says, “Everywhere we go in Africa, we see our generation talking about doing things for themselves. This is the time to actually go in and experiment.”

2. The Red Dress (29 April 2013) Barbara Minishi is a leading fashion photographer in Kenya. For her latest project, Barbara swapped skinny models for normal people, photographing a wide range of women all wearing the same red dress, as a symbol of unity and national identity in the aftermath of the 2007 post-election violence in which more than 1 000 Kenyans were killed.MORE

22 May 1157 poc-creators Permalink

knowhomo:

LGBTQ* (USA) Politics You May Have Missed

LGBTQ* Same-Sex Couples Dropped from Immigration Reform Bill  This Week

If you haven’t heard, LGBTQ*individuals were dropped from equal protections under the newest immigration bill to move through congress. It is speculated that this was done to gain favor with more conservative members of Congress.

From the Washington Post:

“Today it became clear that our so-called ‘friends’ don’t have the courage or the spine to stand up for what’s right,” Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, co-director of the social-justice organization GetEQUAL, said.

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The team at KNOWhomo will do their best to continue to update our family and friends on the progression of this bill. In the mean time, remember, if you are able to vote, it also means your voice is important to your state representatives. Send a message with sincere thoughts and feelings to your local representative and express your right to share your need for equal representation. 

Photo Source

22 May 640 knowhomo Permalink

cleophatrajones:

skyline1288:

Bookmobile circa 1950s. Photo courtesy of the State Library of North Carolina

We used to love the bookmobile when I was a kid. Haven’t seen one around these parts since the early 80’s…

21 May 101 soulbrotherv2 Permalink