Black Lives Matter

Berkeley News: “Why were Trump loyalists allowed to storm the Capitol?”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Featuring a former student of mine and current tribal cultural resources policy fellow at Berkeley Law, Nazune Menka, here.

An excerpt:

In 2016 and 2017, we saw what the police response was to the Dakota Access Pipeline and water protectors. The use of water cannons and rubber bullets on peaceful people at the Water Protector Camp was reminiscent of the police treatment of activists during the civil rights movement in the South.

This summer, we saw what the police response was to the Black Lives Matter movement. The protests that were happening were largely calm. They were respectful, peaceful protests. People came in from out of town to counterprotest, and that’s where the clashing and violence came from. I don’t think that any of the violence this summer was at the behest of the Black Lives Matter movement. I think quite the opposite — these events were targeted to skew the optics in the media to basically demonize people of color even further. Thinking about this in contrast to the police response at the Capitol is heartbreaking to me.

Bridge Magazine: “In solidarity: Indigenous communities join Detroit’s Black Lives Matter movement”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Police Brutality Claim Brought by Pomo Tribal Member against City of Santa Rosa arising from BLM Protest

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Martinez v. City of Santa Rosa (N.D. Cal.):

1 Complaint

National Native American Bar Association Declares Takomni Hasapa Wiconi Hecha (Black Lives Matter)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

Study after study confirms what we already know to be true, and in some cases, have experienced ourselves – the bias against black and brown people in the criminal justice system corrupts nearly every encounter. From the treatment of victims, handling of suspects, stops for “suspicious activity,” to any other type of encounter, racial biases are present. The constitutional and civil rights of black and brown people are violated on a daily basis. Law enforcement kill black and brown people at alarming rates. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, law enforcement killed Native Americans at the highest rate from 1999 to 2015, just above the rate for Black Americans. In the Ninth Circuit alone, Native Americans have 18 times as many fatal encounters per population as whites. Historic trauma and mental illness are pervasive factors in Native encounters with police, particularly those that result in death. The criminal justice system is out of balance and unjust, and the wounds run very deep

Courtney Liss: “Want to change the law? Change law school.”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

At my school, it took dozens of students elevating each other’s voices and alumni’s threat to withhold thousands of dollars in donations before the school considered breaking the precedent. It took each of us sharing heartbreaking personal narratives, demanding the public and the administration look into our wounds directly for administrators to be great lawyers who could understand the purpose of the old precedent (to help foster a diverse and inclusive educational environment) and create new methods of achieving that purpose, including saying publicly that Black Lives Matter and sharing the Black Law Student Association’s demands with students and alumni to drive accountability.