This is not the movement we started in Ferguson,<br><br>”In his lecture, Roberts described Black Lives Matter in 10 terms — a human rights movement, intersectional, feminist, LGBT-driven, youth-led, against the politics of respectability, abolitionist, global, artistic — and a prayer. “<br><br>In Ferguson we stood united as/for black people… black first, allies respected that. We didn’t want a seat at the table, we wanted to flip that mutha over and create our own. <br><br>Black women were not excluded… Jamala Rogers was a voice. Traci Blackmon was a voice. Jamilah Nasheed was a voice. Maria was a voice. Netta was a voice. Ashley was a voice. Brittany was a voice. Toni Taylor was a voice. I was a voice. The whole black women were excluded narrative was a lie.<br><br>Black men were not MIA… they were front and center, face to face, toe to toe, brothas whose names you will never know. The second lie. The black men were missing in action narrative was a lie. <br><br>Nobody cared who was gay and who was straight. Those things don’t enter your mind when you’re being teargassed,chased by tanks, soldiers armed with assault weapons.<br><br>Black Lives Matter passed off the sacrifices of many as their own. With the help of locals who were elevated and anointed leaders. The third of numerous lies, false narratives and outright deception. <br><br>We did not have riffs until Black Lives Matter touched down, co-opted then created riffs as a means to push intersectionality. Standard operating procedure in every place they touched down.<br><br>The older negro guard is dying. BLM is the new younger, Democratic blueprint. They need negros to be about more than negros issues… and to work the plantation.
All PR. Once Starbucks brass high tailed it out of Ferguson, they haven’t said shit else about the Ferguson store until now… To pat themselves on the back. If their “type” of workplace training really took off after Ferguson they wouldn’t be in the situation they find themselves in today or have to close thousands of stores to teach employees not to call the police on black people requesting to use the restroom, okay?
To limit this to Starbucks is to ignore the larger issue,<br><br>”These laws criminalized being idle, poor, immoral and dissolute, wandering about with no apparent purpose, being a habitual loafer or disorderly person and more. Where most American laws required people to do something criminal before they could be arrested, vagrancy laws made it criminal simply to be a certain type of person”<br><br>Yeah, black.<br><br>”Police used these laws to keep a vast array of people in certain places and out of others, to deny their freedom and to exclude them from political power, social life and cultural acceptance.”<br><br>Used? As if this is not still happening today…
Photo – I went to Starbucks in Ferguson… not thinking Starbucks was a solution or an end all, but to witness their community engagement in action. On the surface everything was cool, employees were friendly. The community came out for the same reason I did, to see Starbucks community engagement in action. Elected leaders totally dropped the ball, residents were starved, look for and willing to accept anything. <br><br>I worked out of this Starbucks for about a week… lots of traffic from establishment Democrats and black elites, lots of photo opps, the Urban League claiming ‘mission accomplished’, you know the drill… <br><br>My emphasis was on people, residents, employees… all full of hope, all optimistic. The employees were optimistic, the community was optimistic but at the end of the day Starbucks moved on when the cameras moved on, this signature store faded into obscurity, no diff than any of the others. <br><br>Most folk already forgot it existed. <br><br>This is how they get us, with a temporary fix, feel good rhetoric, smiles for the camera, exaggerated action like closing 8000 stores to teach employees not to call the police on black people who ask to use the restroom. There are black people who view this as progress and preferable over building our own.
This isn’t Starbuck’s first rodeo. How quick people forget… <br><br>”“We’ve long considered how we can help deliver social impact in ways that drive our business forward,” said Rodney Hines, Starbucks director of Community Investments for U.S. Retail Operations. “We have always seen investments in the communities where Starbucks partners live and serve as investments in our business and brand. As we got to know the Ferguson community over the last year, we heard incredible stories of strength, empathy and understanding. We also heard loud and clear the need for business leadership and investment in the form of new jobs and training opportunities, particularly for young people. That’s why we are proud to be here with the community as we prepare to open our doors. Together, we want to help demonstrate that coming to a city like Ferguson is not just good for the community, but good for business too.” “<br><br>Key phrase, “Good for business”… they milked millions in free positive press from opening a Starbucks in Ferguson then went back to biz as usual when the cameras left.
While black people debate whether to boycott Starbucks, these brothas lawyered up and flipped the scrip… going so far as to say “this is not just a black people thing; this is a people thing.”<br><br>They’re not even going to trial… whatever settlement they receive is to remain confidential…<br><br>”Cohen said he and his clients suggested that along with Starbucks, they engage in a mediation with a retired federal judge in Philadelphia. Cohen said Starbucks agreed to that proposal, which necessitates that the conversations between executives and Nelson and Robinson remain confidential.<br><br>“Everyone is blind to it, but they know what’s going on,” Nelson said. “Just really taking those actions and putting them into place. And helping people understand this is not just a black people thing; this is a people thing.” <br> <br>What Malcolm say about dem dollas? <br><br>“You can cuss out colonialism, imperialism, and all other kinds of ism, but it’s hard for you to cuss that dollarism. When they drop those dollars on you, your soul goes.”

Sunken Space | STL January 12, 2018 Sunken Place St Louis

Photo – Mayor Lyda Krewson, Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards and Chief Hayden each have over 20 years in ‘public service’. If they were part of the solution wouldn’t we have seen it by now?

Mayor Lyda Krewson, Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards and Chief Hayden each have over 20 years in 'public service'. If they were part of the solution wouldn't we have seen it by now?