The police killing of Keith Scott in Charlotte is simply the latest evidence that the United States is fundamentally unable to protect communities from state-sanctioned violence. Therefore, I’m calling for an international response from agencies designed to monitor and hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations around the world.
While the media tends to see each of these incidents in a vacuum, the bigger picture underscores the need for oversight and action from another source: According to a comprehensive database published by The Guardian entitled The Counted: People Killed by Police in the U.S., law enforcement has killed 791 people in 2016 alone. This is a staggering and unacceptable figure. Only 13 police officers have been convicted of murder or manslaughter since 2005, in spite of the abundance of cell phone and police videos that suggest a much higher murder rate.
The spate of police killings around the country argues for serious investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice as well as local and state police forces, yet what little has been done seems more geared toward demonizing the victims and protecting the status quo than engendering any change. Increased legislative efforts to limit public access to police bodycam and dashcam footage is but one example of where official priorities lie.
People in the U.S. are no longer willing to put up with police departments continuing to offer paid leave and deskwork for officers who kill black, Latino and indigenous people. In addition to documenting and drawing attention to racist state violence, social movements throughout the United States – many led by black women – have developed proposals to address the assault on our people. Those proposals have gone largely unheeded.
Many people in the U.S. recognize that the criminal justice system is broken and that it will not fix itself. In other countries around the world, the U.S. supports international oversight mechanisms to end impunity and increase accountability. For example, the U.S. has provided the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala with millions of dollars in order to strengthen Guatemala’s judicial system and prosecute criminals, regardless of whether or not they are state officials.
It is long past time to invite a similar commission to the United States. This has been a central demand of black social movements for more than 50 years, and today it is more relevant than ever. We are in the midst of a human rights crisis, and the Obama administration has been unable to make black lives matter to representatives of the state. They are killing us, and we need international oversight in order to reign in state-sponsored violence against civilians throughout the U.S. Applying the same international human rights standards to the U.S. that the government expects of other nations has been a central theme of my work for the last three decades, and will be at the top of the priority list for a Green Party administration.
Why Aren't Police Held Accountable for Shooting Black Men (US NEWS)
White cop convicted of manslaughter for shooting unarmed black man outside Va. Walmart
The most recent appeal from the Democratic party "warning" voters that a vote for a third party candidate is like a vote for Trump is evidence of a real shift in the awareness of the American people. First, let me clarify: A vote for Trump is a vote for Trump; A vote for Clinton is a vote for Clinton. Using fear to persuade voters to support political parties that have continually disappointed on major issues from foreign policy, education, healthcare and the economy, is the epitome of a failed democracy. Second, let's address the fact that the Democrats are admittedly launching a "multimillion-dollar digital campaign that talks about what’s at stake and how a vote for a third-party candidate is a vote for Donald Trump." Yet they refuse to #OpenTheDebates. It's interesting how quickly millions of dollars get thrown at attempts to control the minds and opinions of the people when over half of the workers in this country make less than $30,000 a year.
The Green Party would like to address important issues like chronic underemployment; failing school systems; decreased salaries and rising costs of living; systemic racism & environmental injustice; our corrupt judicial system, lack of decision-making power over local spending; the outrageously rising costs of healthcare and our inflated military budget, not to mention the fact that the US has more military bases around the world than any other country, empire or nation in history! We pay for that, yet have very little say in how the money is spent. The democrats are afraid of how woke everyone is. Folks are not interested in our candidates' cholesterol levels or blood pressure! No longer disillusioned by slogans of "hope" and "change," it is power--an actual decision in how our society functions--that people in this country have been demanding. And history shows that neither the Democrats or Republicans are invested in real change. So they'll pay to convince you that they are, but won't pay to fund our failing schools. #StayWoke and take this appeal as evidence that we are winning and that this shift in consciousness will continue to extend beyond the presidential election.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s remarkable struggle to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline sparked a movement. Thousands of people – including representatives from more than 180 indigenous nations – traveled to North Dakota in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as they defend their rights and protect nature. The companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline responded by using attack dogs and bulldozing their sacred sites in order to forcibly displace them. Mounting pressure from the movement forced the Obama administration to intervene and temporarily stop the construction of the pipeline on indigenous land. However, it would be a mistake to believe that the struggle is over. The U.S. government has a long way to go in regards to respecting its treaties with Native American peoples.
In an act of desperation, local authorities slapped journalists and activists, including Dr. Stein and myself, with misdemeanors for trespassing. Yet the federal government and the companies behind the pipeline should face charges for violating the international rights of indigenous peoples to free, prior, and informed consent. This legal framework – established in International Labor Organization Convention 169, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System of the Organization of American States – puts power back into the hands of the people by recognizing their right to reject any legislation or project that could negatively affect them and their ancestral lands. The imposition of this pipeline, as well as several other extractive industries throughout the United States, threatens indigenous ways of life and the environment as a whole. The movement at Standing Rock makes it clear that indigenous issues are global issues. We are unequivocally committed to adhering to treaties with Native American peoples and ratifying international human rights frameworks that protect indigenous rights. The U.S. government has an obligation to respect indigenous sacred lands and the sovereignty of indigenous people. The degradation of the planet and the threat to the most precious collective gift from the earth, water, obligates the US government and all rational people to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Judge Temporarily Halts DAPL Construction on Select Land but Not on Desecrated Area
Thousands of incarcerated men and women throughout the United States are participating in a coordinated strike to protest the inhumane conditions in U.S. prisons. The United States currently imprisons over 2.4 million people -- far more than any other country in the world. Structural racism in the U.S. criminal justice system ensures that people of color disproportionately fill these jails. In 2005, an Amnesty International report referred to the U.S. prison system as the "gulag of our times." This strike reveals how conditions have only gotten worse.
I have worked for prisoner rights at many capacities throughout my life. For more than a decade, I worked tirelessly against the death penalty meeting with prisoners on death row and their families. I can attest to the ruthless violations of their human rights. Solitary confinement. Psychological and physical abuse. Systematic racism. Slave labor. The state is responsible for these criminal activities and must be held accountable.
Today, strikers commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison uprising, where 33 inmates were executed for protesting similar conditions. Then and now, U.S. politicians routinely exploit prisoners and expect people not to notice. They are wrong. We stand in solidarity with the strikers as they struggle against injustice and a system that continues to fail them.
The leaked memo from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) about how to deal with Black Lives Matter should not surprise anybody. Nor should anyone be surprised that the memo’s author now works for the Clinton campaign. This memo is consistent with the long history of a commitment by Republicans and Democrats alike to marginalize and ultimately obliterate black movements for justice in the U.S. and around the world. As the memo so clearly demonstrates, the Democratic Party tries to string along exploited people by saying that they hear their demands, yet they offer no place at the table and instead try to put our aspirations on hold. But the oppressed can no longer afford to wait.
From Patrice Lumumba to Patrisse Cullors, the U.S. has acted decisively to undermine legitimate movements with diversionary tactics, coup d’états, and smear campaigns. Violence and “inclusion” are not contradictory for people of color in the U.S. We do not want the DCCC to “lead from behind.” Instead of calculating how to manipulate Black Lives Matter, they should advocate for the Department of Justice to prosecute police officers getting away with murder and for the restoration of economically ravaged communities. People around the country demand justice, not appeasement. That is why we are campaigning to transform this corrupt political system controlled by the elites of both parties.
The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC is an important step in bringing peace to the countless victims of this war. In the last 25 years alone, armed actors forced nearly six million people out of their homes. Our black and indigenous sisters and brothers often felt the heaviest burden of the conflict. The inclusion of the Ethnic Chapter in the Peace Accord is a testament to their tenacious struggle for autonomy and justice.
The U.S. has a debt to the Colombian people because it also played a dirty role in this cruel war. The U.S. trained and supplied the Colombian military with billions of our tax dollars as it committed human rights abuses against its own people. We know that the so-called “War on Drugs” was really a war on our people in the United States and in Colombia. U.S. policymakers – Republicans and Democrats alike – pushed for a free trade agreement while trade unionists were murdered with impunity for fighting for a decent wage.
This is unacceptable. The U.S. needs to promote policies domestically and abroad that defend social and environmental justice, not militarization and avarice. As Colombia moves away from war, the U.S. must develop strategies to close its military bases there and support community-based peace initiatives. The Colombian social movements that I have worked with for more than twenty years inspire me profoundly, and we look forward to continuing to work in solidarity with them as they struggle to make peace a reality.
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El acuerdo de paz entre el gobierno colombiano y las Farc es un paso importante en construir la paz para las victimas incontables de esta guerra. En solamente los últimos 25 años, actores armados obligaron a casi seis millones de personas salir de sus casas. Nuestras hermanas y hermanos negros e indígenas frecuentemente sintieron la carga mas pesada del conflicto. La inclusión del Capitulo Étnico en el Acuerdo Final es un testamento a su lucha tenaz por la autonomía y la justicia.
Los Estados Unidos tiene una deuda con el pueblo colombiano porque también jugó un papel sucio en esta guerra cruel. EE.UU. ha entrenado y apoyado a la Fuerza Publica con miles de millones de dólares de nuestros impuestos mientras que la Fuerza Publica cometió abusos de derechos humanos contra su propia gente. Sabemos que la mal llamada “Guerra contra las Drogas” realmente fue una guerra contra nuestra gente en los Estados Unidos y en Colombia. Políticos estadounidenses – Republicanos y Demócratas – promovieron un tratado de libre comercio mientras que se asesinaron con impunidad a sindicalistas que buscaban un sueldo decente.
Esto es inaceptable. Los Estados Unidos debe promover políticas dentro del país y en el exterior que defienden la justicia social y ambiental, no la militarización y la avaricia. Mientras Colombia se aleja de la guerra, los Estados Unidos tiene que desarrollar estrategias para cerrar sus bases militares allí y apoyar iniciativas comunitarias por la paz. Los movimientos sociales colombianos y las organizaciones comunitarias con quien he trabajado por mas de veinte años me inspiran profundamente, y estamos animados por la posibilidad de seguir trabajando en solidaridad con ellos mientras que luchan por hacer la paz una realidad.
With the highest population of prisoners in the world (we're 4% of the world's population but house 22% of the world's prisoners), it is imperative that we re-evaluate the way our country attempts to create order, peace and stability. Because when the systems that are here to help make society "safer" actually foster more chaos, violence and instability--they cannot go unchecked by the people. On the campaign trail a young sister asked me to follow up on a question about about incarceration for minor offenses. She asked "Well if low-level drug offenders don't belong in prison, who do you think does?"
I was glad that she asked because in mainstream media and even alternative media there's some conversation about what is wrong with our judicial system and how ineffective it has been in "rehabilitating" or providing tools for living a healthy, productive life, but very little discussion takes place on the practice of isolating human beings from society in general. And even less on the overall economic, mental, emotional and spiritual impacts of our prison system.
I'm someone who believes in prison abolition -- meaning that I believe we can build a society where prisons are not necessary and restorative justice can be a tool we use as we evolve as human beings. Evolution is simply the characteristic change of a society over generations; and I feel strongly that as we continue to dream and create a world where human rights are at the center of our dealings with one another, we can disengage from the practice of separating individuals from everyone else.
There may be a relatively small number of people who need to be separated--those who have been so diseased and corrupted mentally and emotionally by society that they are imminently harmful to other folks. But I believe that over time we will be in a position to have a human species who can do away with the barbaric practice of confining people to cells as though they were animals for years at a time.
As I always say, this is a struggle that is protractive, or ongoing, but it is also one that is necessary. With the innovations in technology, science the arts and media, I'm certain that the youth of today and the people are ready to begin re-creating an evolved society -- one that is prepared to build with compassion, social, economic & cultural human rights and liberation as it's foundation. No system can change unless we change our minds about it. And we cannot reclaim our power until we define success for our own communities.
Do you accept that there are people that wish to harm American lives, or American principles, who can be dealt with in no other way than a "kinetic solution?"
There’s no question about there being individuals and factions that want to do the US harm. The US has generated many enemies. When you commit massive crimes around the globe becoming the target of various forces is inevitable. Some around the world see the US as an enemy of the people and the greatest threat to world peace, but that sentiment is not rooted in a natural hatred of this country. Rather, it is a consequence of the lived of experience of being the victims of violent us aggression in the form of war, subversion and other activities. The way we reduce the number of enemies is to have relations with governments and people around the globe that are based on equality, respect, a mutual recognition of their inherent value as human beings; we have to be committed to peace and peaceful relations. I think we will see a reduction in the number of people who want to do harm to the US when human rights is the framework through which we interact globally. I encourage everyone to attempt to try to understand the role of their government in this world--especially if you identify strongly with the United States. Understand that our leaders are doing terrible things in your name, and if you are not aware or not opposing, then you become complicit in the crimes of your government. Reducing and eliminating relations that create enemies in the first place should be our first order of business.
What can a teenager with little to no genuine political experience do to become more engaged with progressive activism at a local level?
What I’d love for teenagers to do is not just be involved in electoral politics but every teenager should be involved in the life of their community and join organization--whether or not they are able to vote. Understanding that it is only through the collective that we can make process. I think we should all ground ourselves in knowledge. Read as much as you can, but also figure out how you can contribute locally. Remember that even though it’s important, voting is only one aspect of political participation. What’s more important is for us to be involved in what is a long-term struggle for freedom and human rights. We all need to engage in that fight--with teenagers and young people leading the charge. We won’t win our liberation next week, next year or four years from now--but we are making significant change and I believe that the next twenty years is going to see a shift in how the world operates. I truly believe that people 30 and under are going to experience fundamental changes that we have all been fighting for for decades.
In freeing the Americans who are in prison for nonviolent crimes, how do you ensure a smooth transition back into the public? Will they receive retribution?
I believe that we need more community organizations that can help build the capacity of people who are coming back into society, and yes, this includes various forms of retribution. We have to remember that being imprisoned is not only physical-- but mental, emotional and spiritual as well. The chains that keep people confined in prison don’t just magically disappear once they are on the outside. The reentry process is one of the most difficult transitions for the formerly incarcerated and lack of support is one of the primary reasons why so many people end up back in prison shortly after being let out. Prioritizing federal funding for education in prisons is critical; overcoming stereotypes is important; creating green, living-wage jobs for these people is important; and just re-embracing people back into the community is important. Again, I feel that finding holistic community-based solutions is a step in the right direction. A one-way bus ticket and $60 is not going to cut it.
Can you talk about the gravity of climate change and the relationship with impoverished communities and, especially, human rights around the world and here in America?
People recognize that climate change is a reality that disproportionately affects people of color more than anyone else both here and around the world. I had a chance to see the consequences of climate change in colombia. I noticed that a beach that I’ve been going to for 20 years has completely disappeared in the last few years as a consequence of the rising ocean. If we don't get a handle on the unrestrained impacts of capital, the real question of whether or not we’re going to have a planet or living conditions that humans can thrive in, is going to be something we have to grapple with. Part of the green new deal is dealing directly with environmental issues and it is a central concern of the green party and a central issue of the Stein/Baraka campaign.
How do we make ANY change, and get both of you massive support, when they just steal our votes? How do we go up against election fraud?
This is a really good question. We may not have huge, widespread instances of electoral fraud, except of course for the dramatic example of Florida in 2000 when the supreme court stepped in to stop a recount of the vote, effectively giving the presidency to George W Bush. What’s more concerning about the electoral process is not so much the fraud but the exclusion--the fact that so many states, especially after they did away with the voting rights act, have put into place laws that make it more difficult for poor people and Black people to particulate in the electoral process. That is just as worrying as the fraud. The fraud is that people who should have the right to participate are being denied that right to participate because of these artificial barriers being erected.
I'm a software test engineer and 1 of my greatest fears is our lack of government around internet technologies. Many of us have witnessed the unethical nature of Googles search algorithms designed to promote Hillary. There's been a movement around using alternative search engines, but most pale in comparison.So my question for you is -- how do we change this? How do we get people in government who are computer scientists who can unravel these systems so we can protect our rights to privacy and free speech?
I believe that as a society we have to come up with policies that will protect our rights--WE THE PEOPLE. I don’t see government leading this charge. Instead I feel that the progressive tech community and others have answers and have created viable solutions to the issue of privacy and freedom digitally. What’s sad is how little attention these programs/ideas/suggestions get. I think the responsibility of government in this case is, to the extent they can, get out of the way. We already know that the government does not have a true interest in the free flow of information. Their primary function in this role has been to discover and create ways to monitor and profile us virtually--just like private companies. The internet is a marvelous tool but it has now become commodified, so that the kind of profiling that’s taking place in order to persuade you to engage in mindless consumerism, has now become part of everyday reality of the internet. We have to acknowledge that and continue to use it for searching out alternative information, sharing ideas and building community around the globe and continue creating tools that encourage us to be liberated and free thinking people.
What are your thoughts on ways to improve k-12 education?
I think that the concerns many people have around k-12 education are legitimate. Such as how do we ensure that all young people have access to quality education? One of the ways we can do that is by addressing the unfair way in which education is funded in the US. Right now school districts are dependent on property taxes and what that results in is wealthy citizens having well resourced schools and poor and working class districts having very little resources. So we have a structural contradiction and we have to address that--because things are not equitable. We can address that by 1) having federal funding policies that allows the federal government to transfer funds to those districts that are underfunded because of their inherent income disadvantages, 2) We need to return the ability of communities to control their curriculum and create an educational experience that corresponds to the needs of the community. We have to decentralize the process of creating knowledge-- knowledge that is grounded in our own cultural and historical experiences. I think it’s important especially for oppressed people. 3) Redefining the role of teachers and the profession is vital in our society. We have to ensure that teachers receive excellent training, including advanced graduate training. We need to restructure these programs where people become instant teachers after a few weeks of training and then are usually placed in poor, low-performing school districts. Creating a culture of respect for the teaching profession can help lead us in a better direction, finally 4) Collectively, we need to reverse policies that push our young people out of schools. Policies like zero tolerance create an atmosphere of militarization for our children. Our schools should be places of learning not a forum to teach our youth how to respect authoritarian leadership. It’s a step that will help us to break the school to prison pipeline, which seems to be the central mission of education in some of our communities.
Do you accept that there are people that wish to harm American lives, or American principles, who can be dealt with in no other way than a "kinetic solution?"
There’s no question about there being individuals and factions that want to do the US harm. The US has generated many enemies. When you commit massive crimes around the globe becoming the target of various forces is inevitable. Some around the world see the US as an an enemy of the people and the greatest threat to world peace, but that sentiment is not rooted in a natural hatred of this country. Rather it is a consequence of the lived of experience of being the victims of violent us aggression in the form of war, subversion and other activities. The way we reduce the number of enemies is to have relations with governments and people around the globe that are based on equality, respect, a mutual recognition of their inherent value as human beings; we have to be committed to peace and peaceful relations. I think we will see a reduction in the number of people who want to do harm to the US when human rights is the framework through which we interact globally. I encourage everyone to attempt to try to understand the role of their government in this world--especially if you identify strongly with the United States. Understand that our leaders are doing terrible things in your name, and if you are not aware or not opposing, then you become complicit in the crimes of your government. Reducing and eliminating relations that create enemies in the first place should be our first order of business.
If we legalize marijuana on the federal level how can you directly impact individual states? Also, will you and Dr Jill push for clemency for all current and former marijuana related convictions?
Clemency? I would think, yes. Locking up people for low-level offenses of possession and use--that’s a no-brainer. Imprisoning people for nonviolent drug offenses is a waste of taxpayers’ money. I’m glad to see the US moving away from the immature effort to try to control the personal use of marijuana (albeit a slow move).
Crucial Context: The Floods in Louisiana
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast 11 years ago, the entire world bore witness as the homes of the primarily poor and black residents of the region washed away. In the aftermath of the storm, I worked alongside displaced people in response to their overwhelming political and material needs. We fought against the callous response of the Bush administration and inaction at the state and local levels, which was decried throughout the U.S. and internationally.
How is it then possible that more than a decade later our elected officials and their agencies were completely unprepared for the catastrophic flood that has hit Louisiana and has once again left thousands of families homeless and in the dark?
In the last three days at least 40,000 homes have been ruined and 30,000 people or more have been rescued, but there is no temporary housing plan in effect; there is no count of how many people are still missing; more than 40,000 people have already applied for federal assistance and few have updates on the status of their homes and those of their families. Much of Louisiana is in disarray, yet the lessons that we should have learned from Katrina seem to have been forgotten.
Equally appalling is that the media is providing relatively little coverage of the floods amidst the barrage of election and Olympics news. It’s almost as if these people don’t exist.
While no single factor can explain the ineffectiveness of disaster-preparedness in places like Louisiana, three things are blatantly obvious:
Eleven years ago it was clear to me that the destruction following Hurricane Katrina was not simply a natural disaster: Improper project design, poor planning, a lack of humanitarian priorities and a historic culture of racism exacerbated the trauma of those affected. And today, little has changed.
I said it then and I’ll say it again today: Just as they did in 2005, the flood victims in Louisiana deserve real justice that addresses the full spectrum of human rights, not just a few public-relations bones thrown their way as an afterthought. Equal access to assistance with basic needs, fairness in the distribution of aid, and a comprehensive return or resettlement plan must be addressed in order to ensure that Louisiana residents displaced by the flooding have what they require to live securely and with dignity, now and in the future. It is clear that we cannot rely on the good graces of the Democrats or Republicans to take the fundamental human rights of all people into account; rather, it is entirely up to us to demand it.