Michael Brown Shooting

AMY GOODMAN: Continuing tactics that sprouted up last week, demonstrators blocked roads in D.C. and other cities, leading to arrests. As the "Hands Up Walkout" took place nationwide, some of the movement’s key leaders were not out in the streets but inside the White House. President Obama’s guests on Monday included seven young activists who have helped organize the protests in Ferguson and in other communities of color. One of those activists joins us now from Washington, D.C. Ashley Yates is an activist, poet and artist raised in Florissant, Missouri, a member and co-creator of Millennial Activists United, and among the group of activists who met with President Obama at the White House on Monday. Ashley, welcome back to Democracy Now! Can you talk about what happened at that meeting?

ASHLEY YATES: What happened at the meeting, Amy — thanks for having me once again. What happened at the meeting was very frank conversation from young activists such as myself who have been on the ground. Four of us from Ferguson, three of us from around the nation — New York and Miami. And we just had really frank conversation but what’s been happening on the ground in Ferguson and around the nation in general and our experience about being black and brown in America and what that really looks like on a day-to-day basis in real time. the president was very receptive and was open and willing to hear our experiences and really get that viewpoint from the other side.

AMY GOODMAN: What did you tell the president, Ashley?

ASHLEY YATES: I told the president, myself, the reason that I know that this movement has to be maintained. I gave him a very personal story about why I continue to do this work, why I am so committed to this work. My family is a large part of that. In particular, one of my younger cousins, who is a very fast runner and less to run everywhere, and I looked the president in his eye and said, I do this because I want to make sure that unlike Tamir Rice and unlike Trayvon Martin and unlike Mike Brown, my little cousin can make it home safely.

AARON MATÉ: Ashley, what were the policy prescriptions that you offered to the White House on Monday and what’s your response to those that they announced; the task force, the tightening slightly of the rules for giving military equipment to police forces, and the body cameras to police?

ASHLEY YATES: Well, the steps that they introduced yesterday are just that, they’re steps, right? They have to lead to something. So, we laid on the table what we’ve said from day one, that 1033 as a program needs to be abolished. There is no reason that our local law enforcement should have military weapons. And especially in the way in which they’ve been using them. They were given as weapons in order to fight terrorism, but they are the ones in acting terrorism upon our communities, therefore, they have proven that program is not effective. And not only is it not effective, it’s being used to oppress American citizens, so it needs to be stripped away.

So, the step that they took yesterday to actually monitor the program, which should have been done in the first place right? But to actually monitor it, that’s a step. We do have to have some accountability as to how these weapons are being used on our American citizens, but we have all seen it. We saw it for the last 115 days in Ferguson. So, to me, that monitoring has been occurring for 115 days. So, now we have to see accountability and we need to see those stripped away. So, that is a step towards progress, but we need to see more, and that’s why we continue. This movement does not stop.

The body cameras? Once again, a step. But, cameras didn’t save Tamir Rice. Cameras didn’t save John Crawford. They didn’t make sure that John Crawford saw justice. So, we know that while that is a step towards ending this real problem, the real root of it has to be addressed. And the real root of it is racism in America. The anti-black sentiments that exist. And we have to have a cultural shift. It’s the reason why Darren Wilson is able to get in front of a grand jury and say that he saw a young black boy as a demon and people can accept that. We have to address why that is reality in our community, and until we begin to address that we really can’t have any real change, and all we have is these small steps towards justice, but we need leaps and bounds.

AMY GOODMAN: Ashley, your response to the grand jury decision and to Darren Wilson resigning from the Ferguson police force?

ASHLEY YATES: Darren Wilson should not have been an able to resign. He should have been fired over 100 days ago. Also, he is resigning a much richer man. It is profitable to kill a black boy. Not only is a profitable, but you get away scott free, as we saw with the grand jury’s decision not to indict him. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and that’s why we continue to do this work, because like we have said time and time again —

AMY GOODMAN: Explain what you mean by he retired — he resigns as a much richer man.

ASHLEY YATES: I think it is pretty public knowledge that he — there are several people who set up a GoFundMe for him, which is a reason why I don’t support that site. They set up a GoFundMe, he raised over $500,000, and there is also speculation out there that the interview he did, he also received some attention for. But, we definitely know that there is money being put into his pocket from several different places, and the only reason is people are supporting him throughout this. The only thing we know about him is that he killed a black boy. He has been scrubbed clean. Meanwhile, Mike Brown has been demonized in the media, and they’ve done everything they can to dehumanize him and defame his character. So, like I said, it’s absolutely heartbreaking that this can occur in America. It is absolutely heartbreaking that we didn’t see justice in this case. It’s absolutely heartbreaking that I had to sit in front of Lesley McSpadden and watch her breakdown because she had an expectation that the American justice system would work for her family, and it didn’t. So, we continue to do this work so we don’t have to see another family go through that.

One week after the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case, President Obama has given his first major policy response to the protests from Ferguson and beyond over racial profiling and police brutality. At a meeting with activists and officials from around the country, Obama unveiled a process to address what he called "simmering distrust." The administration’s response comes as protests continue nationwide over the non-indictment of former officer Darren Wilson over killing Brown. On Monday, demonstrators walked out of workplaces and classrooms in some 30 cities with their hands raised, the symbol of Brown’s death and the movement that has emerged since. As the "Hands Up Walk Out" took place, some of the movement’s key leaders were not out in the streets but inside the White House. Obama’s guests included seven young activists who have helped organize the protests in Ferguson and in other communities of color. We are joined by one of those activists: Ashley Yates, an activist, poet and artist who is co-creator of Millennial Activists United. "While that is a step towards ending this real problem," Yates says of Obama’s reforms, "the real root of it has to be addressed. And the real root of it is racism in America, the anti-black sentiments that exist. Until we begin to address that, we really can’t have any real change — all we have are these small steps towards justice. We need leaps and bounds."

"If poor people knew how rich rich people are, there would be riots in the streets," Chris Rock said in a recent interview with New York magazine.

The multi-millionaire comedian pointed out that poor people would be particularly shocked if they knew all the perks rich people get for being rich.

"If the average person could see the Virgin Airlines first-class lounge, they’d go, 'What? What? This is food, and it’s free, and they… what? Massage? Are you kidding me?'" he said.

If you have never flown Virgin Airlines first class (or first class at all, for that matter), these lounges of which Rock speaks are where "Upper Class passengers" can kick back with some "amazing food, fantastic facilities and a chilled out atmosphere," according to the Virgin website. At London Heathrow Airport, the Virgin lounge has a spa and showers.

Virgin Atlantic didn't respond to The Huffington Post's requests for comment.

Lavish air travel is just the start. Rich people often get paid to wear jewelry. They get paid to lose weight.

They're given free laptops and TVs. They also get paid thousands of dollars to just show up at clubs.

They get gift bags just for attending big award shows, bags filled with goodies worth $20,000 -- which is more than a full-time minimum wage worker earns in a year. Their kids' birthday parties have corporate sponsors.

The divide between the haves and the have-nots is nothing new in America, but in recent decades that gap has been getting wider as the middle class shrinks and the very richest Americans keep getting richer. Meanwhile, economists are warning that the world is heading toward Gilded-Age levels of inequality unless we do something to stop it. It's already worse than most of us realize.

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

rgambs said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

muskydan said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

muskydan said:

That was a great movie and song, I would be honored. As I have said a few times already, the truth hurts, nobody ever wants to hear truth, especially in my business…all we want is the truth right??? Why is it that some people cannot handle opinions that are the complete opposite of others on here?? Isn't that what this country and PJ music is all about? I have been entertained daily by many posts on here.

Actually, I like your posts.

You and I should get together this weekend and have a few drinks. Then we can go out and hang out at Food for Less.

We can keep track of how many assholes pay with their link card.
Then drive away in their $30,000 car.

Hahaha

first drink in a bag is on me

Did you read about the 5 rascals in St. Louis who beat the Bosnian guy with hammers?
Beat him to death.

Was that a hate crime?
Hmmmm

and how come that crime gets nowhere near the attention as the police officer who was doing his job?

Hate crime or not, thats a major false equivalency, civilian on civilian crime is not the same as an incident involving an agent of the government paid to protect.
Fox news has been harping on this, riling their racist fan base, which is their prerogative, but the two cases are wholly unrelated and not worth comparing.

You are correct. They cannot be compared.

One is a senseless crime, while the other is an act of self defence where an unruly criminal attacked an armed officer of the law and met his end as a result.

Oh Snap…..