43 min listen
Strange Fruit #130: Dr. Britney Cooper on the Movement for Black Lives Convening and Police Violence
FromStrange Fruit
Strange Fruit #130: Dr. Britney Cooper on the Movement for Black Lives Convening and Police Violence
FromStrange Fruit
ratings:
Length:
30 minutes
Released:
Jul 31, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Last week in Cleveland, activists from across the country came together for the Movement for Black Lives Convening. Panels and breakout groups talked about police violence, LGBTQ inclusivity, self-care, labor organization, and all sorts of topics relevant to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Dr. Britney Cooper was there, and two incidents stand out in her mind: First, conveners were at a nightclub when one of them - a trans man - was forcibly removed from the men's restroom. En masse, attendees exited the club in protest and solidarity. They stood outside the establishment chanting, singing freedom songs, and documenting the whole thing under #ShutItDown. Then, on the last day of the conference, they witnessed a 14-year-old black boy being arrested for intoxication. Activists surrounded the police cruiser in protest, and some were pepper sprayed by a Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority police officer. After negotiation between organizers and officers, the young man was released into his mother's custody instead of taken to jail. Dr. Cooper joins us this week to talk about her experiences at the convening, and what she sees as some of the next steps for those working to put an end to police violence and lack of accountability. We also talk about the indictment of University of Cincinnati Officer Ray Tensing, who is charged with murder for shooting Sam Dubose in the head during a routine traffic stop. Tensing had claimed he feared for his life after being dragged and nearly run over by Dubose's car; his body camera later proved his account to be untrue. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called the shooting "the most asinine act I've ever seen a police office make," "totally unwarranted," and "an absolute tragedy." And we also talk about the latest casting news in the live television version of The Wiz: Queen Latifah will play the title character, with Mary J. Blige in the role of Evillene. And it's Jaison's birthday week! Doc sings the praises of those born under the Leo sign, and we raise the question of whether Vanity Smurf was a butch queen.
Released:
Jul 31, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Strange Fruit #31: Urmi Basu of New Light India; Kaitlyn Hunt, Statutory Rape & Queer Relationships: Activism runs in Urmi Basu's family; her grandfather was a doctor who set up a school for _dalit_ children (India's untouchable caste) in his own home. Urmi says her family "always challenged everything that's traditional in India." Thirteen years ago, she combined her passion for gender equality and her background and education in social work—along with 10,000 rupees, or $200—to found [New Light India](http://www.newlightindia.org/). New Light is non-profit organization based in the red light district of Calcutta, intended to help victims of sex trafficking and provide healthcare to people living with HIV/AIDS. With an estimated 40,000 new trafficked sex workers in the city each year, it's no small task. But Urmi is a woman of great determination. She was in Louisville recently and she sat down to talk with us about her work, and how sex trafficking in India is part of the larger globa by Strange Fruit