BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — A Vermont tattoo artist who has long offered free removal or covering of hateful skin art like swastikas, SS lightning bolts or the words “white power” says he’s seen an uptick in business recently following George Floyd's death. Alexander Lawrence, who runs Mountainside Tattoo from a storefront in...
Crowds Tear Down Statues, Attack Wisconsin State Senator
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday he was prepared to activate the National Guard to protect state properties after protesters outside the Wisconsin Capitol tore down statues commemorating an abolitionist and women's rights and threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building during a night of violence that...
Poll Shows Nearly All in US Back Criminal Justice Reform
WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly want clear standards on when police officers may use force and consequences for officers who do so excessively, according to a new poll that finds nearly all Americans favor at least some level of change to the nation’s criminal justice system. The new poll from The...
Opinion: Black Workers’ Jobs Matter, and GOP Wants to Cut Them
By Hayley Brown and Dean Baker The wave of protests after the police killing of George Floyd has prompted a re-examination of racism in all areas of American society. In many cases, policies that may initially seem unconnected to race are major contributors to racial disparities. Current Republican efforts to force major cuts...
While Confederate Statues Come Down, Other Symbols Targeted
RALEIGH, N.C. — Spectators in North Carolina's capital cheered Sunday morning as work crews finished the job started by protesters Friday night and removed a Confederate statue from the top of a 75-foot monument. Across the country, an initially peaceful protest in Portland, Oregon, against racial injustice turned violent early...
Why I (Almost) Put a BLM Bumper Sticker on My Car Even Though I Don’t Agree with the BLM Movement as a Whole
I was one of those people who said “Well of course black lives matter, but….” The problems I had (and still have) with several of the more radical organizations under the Black Lives Manner banner are substantial, and I think there are many parts of the movement that have destructive...
Juneteenth: A Day of Joy and Pain – and Now National Action
In just about any other year, Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that all enslaved black people learned they had been freed from bondage, would be marked by African American families across the nation with a cookout, a parade, a community festival, a soulful rendition of “Lift Ev’ry...
AP-NORC Poll: Majority of Americans Support Police Protests
NEW YORK — Ahead of the Juneteenth holiday weekend’s demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality, a majority of Americans say they approve of recent protests around the country. Many think they'll bring positive change. And despite the headline-making standoffs between law enforcement and protesters in cities nationwide, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center...
Statue of Columbus on Display Since 1883 Will be Removed from California Capitol
SACRAMENTO — A statue depicting Christopher Columbus that has been the centerpiece of the California Capitol rotunda since 1883 will be removed after legislative leaders decided it is out of place “given the deadly impact his arrival in this hemisphere had on indigenous populations.” The decision, announced Tuesday by legislative...
Voices of Protest, Crying for Change, Ring Across US, Beyond
They are nurses and doctors, artists, students, construction workers, government employees; black, brown and white; young and old. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in big cities and tiny towns in every U.S. state - and even around the world - to protest the killing of...