When the writing for this segment started, the murder of Eric Garner by the NYPD was the obvious topic. Since then, breaking news that Renisha McBride’s killer had been convicted was botched by the Associated Press headline writers and a young teen named Mike Brown was gunned down by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

Simply keeping up with the number of young, murdered black Americans and their treatment by the injustice system and the media is an impossible task. The hashtags #JusticeForEricGarner, #RememberRenisha and — the latest — #IfTheyGunnedMeDown became a chorus of community expressing sorrow and rage over the past several days.

In New York, Eric Garner’s death has officially been ruled a homicide — a painful death at the hands of an officer who wielded a deadly chokehold for the crime of selling untaxed cigarettes.

"The motto can no longer be 'to protect and serve' if that only applies to certain people,” writes Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation. "We can't cede the idea of crime prevention to an armed police force, and then allow them the discretion to determine which crimes are worth preventing. The reality of policing in America is that it upholds a system of racism and oppression of the poor. There is no justice, for Eric Garner or anyone else, until that changes.”

The white supremacy power structure in this country is deadly; that doesn’t change until more than a minority of us stand up and demand justice.

UPDATE:

Since the production of this episode, a nationwide moment of silence and accompanying vigils in 50 cities has been planned for THURSDAY Aug 14 at 7pmEST. #NMOS14 is being coordinated by Feminista Jones who's Twitter you can follow for information.

TAKE ACTION:

Sign the ColorOfChange.org letter to Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton: #JusticeforEricGarner

Additional Activism/Resources:

Sign: White House petition demanding a statement (at the very least) on the killing of young, black men

Read and join in these Twitter conversations:

”Black Women Matter: #RememberRenisha”

"#IfTheyGunnedMeDown Shows How Black People Are Portrayed in Mainstream Media” by Yesha Callahan at The Root

Sources/further reading:

"News coverage of the Michael Brown shooting: headlines matter” via The People’s View

"When Parenting Feels Like a Fool’s Errand: On the Death of Michael Brown.” by Stacia L. Brown

"Surprise! NYPD Commissioner Bratton Doesn’t Think Race Had Anything to Do With Eric Garner’s Death” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"Eric Garner’s Death and the Exasperation With Police Violence” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #851 "To selectively protect and serve (Injustice System)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

TEXT “AID” to Save the Children at 20222 to donate $10

Learn exactly where your support is going at: U.S. Border Crisis: 'Save the Children’ Meeting Immediate Needs of Children

Sources/further reading:

Read and watch stories from those crossing the boarder at: Save the Children’s “U.S. Border Crisis” page.

"Border children need immediate cooperation" via Save the Children at USA Today

"To Address Honduran Refugee Crisis at the Border, US Should Stop Financing Repression in Honduras” by Laura Raymond at Truthout

"This Is What an Overcrowded Holding Center for Migrant Children Looks Like” by Steven Hsieh at The Nation

Hear the segment in context:

BOTL Episode #847 "Refugees at the border (Immigration)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

BOTL segment excerpt:

From the Color of Change campaign:

It's time to end so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws and other such laws that undermine public safety, senselessly put people at risk, and enable the kind of tragedy we've witnessed in the cases of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis. I'm calling on you to take leadership and undo these dangerous laws now.

Take Action:

Contact your representatives: ”Stand Against ‘Shoot First’ Laws” petition from ColorOfChange.org

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTL Activism: Stand Against ‘Shoot First’ Laws, episode #805 "Unequal Justice Under the Law (the (in)justice system)”

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

BOTL segment excerpt:

The ineffectiveness of the “war on drugs” is not a new concept to listeners of this show. We regularly discuss the for-profit prisons, racist structure of the court system and hurtles impeding a return to full citizenship in clips as well as in our voicemail and commentary segments.

What’s often left out is a major (and politically inconvenient) cause of our prison population spike: mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Congress passed mandatory minimum sentencing laws in the 80’s as part of an attempt to appear “tough on crime.” Since then, the federal prison system has seen a nearly ten-fold increase in incarcerations. Consequently, one out of every four Department of Justice dollars is spent on locking up mostly nonviolent drug offenders in federal prisons.

Take Action:

Add your voice in support of common sense reform: Tell the Commission: Cut These Drug Sentences!” from Families Against Mandatory Minimums

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTL Activism: Families Against Mandatory Minimums, episode #798 "Learning to play nice with human nature (War on Drugs)”

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

BOTL segment excerpt:

2,200 people are held in a tiny cell for 23 hours hours each day, with no access to commissary or phone calls in the state of Illinois. This, predictably, results not in rehabilitation, but in the emotional, mental and physical deterioration of the inmates subjected to this human rights violating practice.

The Illinois Coalition Against Torture, an association of individuals and community-based organizations, formed in 2010 to end torture on all levels — local, state and international. Drawing on the Chicago City Council’s 2012 passage of the ICAT sponsored resolution to make Chicago “torture free,” they have just launched The Campaign to End Solitary Confinement in Illinois.

Take Action:

End Solitary Confinement In Illinois petition from CREDO and hard copy petition from Illinois CAT.

Printable info flier to circulate.

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTLActivism: Campaign to End Solitary Confinement in Illinois Prisons, episode #819 "Incentives have consequences (Injustice system)”

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

BOTL segment excerpt:

In the words of NARAL president Ilyse Hogue:

Judicial appointments to the federal bench may be the most significant legacy a president leaves behind. These lifetime appointees have incredible power and often provide the final word on questions of constitutional law, including those of equality, rights, and justice...Michael Boggs actually believes that there is one definition of what it means to live your life as an American. The thing is, that’s anti-American.

Take Action:

Contact your representatives to stop this nominee from being confirmed:

Stop Michael Boggs’s Confirmation from NARAL Pro-Choice America

Stop Michael Boggs’s Confirmation from MoveOn.org

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTL Activism: Stop Michael Boggs's Confirmation, episode #807 "Like Men, Only Cheaper (feminism)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich