EYES ON ICE: Exposes the brutality with firsthand accounts

           

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Follow DemLabs on our NEW social media! EYES ON ICE: Exposes the brutality with firsthand accounts Eyes On ICE exposes ICE actions. It goes beyond the headlines to provide in-depth analysis, firsthand accounts, and critical perspectives. “A young man named Donavan La Bella was standing across from the federal courthouse holding a boombox over his head. He was unarmed. He was calm. He was exercising his First Amendment right. Then I heard the crack. I watched a government agent, a man sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution, target a peaceful citizen. That agent aimed a “less lethal” weapon and tried to sever his head from his shoulders. I am 21 years old. ICE blinded me for life. The “less lethal” round put a piece of plastic the size of a nickel in my skull. A sickening thud of a high velocity projectile crushing human bone. I watched Donavan slump instantly. It wasn’t a stumble. It was the complete, terrifying loss of motor function that happens when the brain undergoes massive trauma. I remember the screams for a medic echoing off the courthouse wal remember the blood pouring down his face and pooling on the concrete while federal agents stood there behind the fence and watched. It was an execution that only failed by inches.” — Eyes On ICE ICE brutality paid for with your tax dollars Rep. Moulton introduces ICE defunding bill The bill would restore ICE funding to its previous annual level of $10 billion and repurpose the rest. Cosponsors include Democratic U.S. Reps. André Carson on Indiana, Darren Soto of Florida and Sylvia Garcia of Texas. Moulton’s bill also comes as public outrage grows over the recent killing of a woman by an ICE agent in Minnesota, and as Congress struggles to piece together spending measures ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline to avoid another shutdown. The shooting, according to multiple outlets, has threatened to destroy spending negotiations with some Democrats calling for a freeze on ICE funding even if it means another deadlock. — WGBH Call your Congressional rep Explore this map TakeAway: Call your congressional rep: Support Rep. Moulton introduces ICE defunding bill Deepak DemLabs DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF. Read in browser »                    Recent Articles: Trump & Epstein: The 2019 Email Michael Cohen Didn’t Want You to See Healthcare cuts for $170 billion ICE expansion: We map the reps to hold accountable Jack Smith Testifies: The January 6 Relationship Map You Need to See Local Truth, Zero Cost: Best Free Community Reporting Apps Why is Your Tax Bill Funding $197,000 Salaries for ICE Agents?

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'Oh Freedom’

A Reason To Smile

Dan Rather and Team Steady Mar 9

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and wife Coretta Scott King lead a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 (credit: Getty Images).

Alabama was the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement in America in the early 1960s, and I am one of the fortunate few who can still write about it first hand. I covered the movement and its protests in many places, including Selma and Montgomery. The images of violence against nonviolent protesters are still seared in my memory. The sounds are there too. The sounds of protesters singing.

The memories are much on my mind as we mark the 60th anniversary of the historic march to Montgomery from Selma in 1965 that rightly has become recognized as a decisive turning point for the whole movement. There were many battles yet to be fought, and the fight against racial bias and segregation continues to this day. But with Selma the tide turned. The worst of the segregationists no longer had the upper hand.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 60 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of civil rights activists marched across Alabama protesting the blocking of Black Americans’ right to vote. Jim Crow laws, passed after the Civil War, disenfranchised most Black people throughout the American South.

Along the 54-mile highway between Selma and Montgomery, marchers sang African American spirituals. Spirituals, which were created by enslaved people, channeled messages of hope and resilience. These songs were adopted a century later by the freedom fighters as civil rights anthems.

The spiritual “Oh Freedom” could be heard from Selma to Montgomery. This a capella version, by The Golden Gospel Singers, is especially moving as it is paired with powerful images from the time.

A fascinating side note: In 1965, Carl Benkert traveled from his home in Michigan to Alabama to witness these historic moments. And with him, he carried an audio recorder, described as a bulky, battery-operated reel-to-reel machine. Benkert captured the sounds of the movement, especially the music, which was the basis for an audio documentary called “Freedom Songs, Selma, Alabama.” The quality of the audio is amazing, even haunting. You can listen to it here on Spotify, including “Oh Freedom.” Benkert later wrote, “Music was an essential element; music in song expressing hope and sorrow; music to pacify or excite; music with the power to engage the intelligence and even touch the spirit.”

I was not there for the march that day in 1965. By that time, I had been assigned to report for CBS News from overseas. As news of the great event reached me, the sights and sounds of other civil rights marches that I had covered came rushing back. They are never to be forgotten.

Let us hope that they are never forgotten by our country.

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Stay Steady,

Dan