The Wilson Blog

HAVANA—The Cuban Revolution’s universal healthcare and tuition-free education have created a more inclusive society where Afro-Cubans were given a chance to become doctors, engineers, and other professionals who helped build a new nation.

But vanquishing racism hasn’t been so easy. Despite the many advances by Afro-Cubans over the past 50 years, implicit and explicit anti-black racism continues to permeate Cuban society.

One group is trying to fix that.

“The Cuban Revolution brought a lot of positive changes for black women in Cuba in education and with access to resources, but the racial problem in Cuba is not necessarily a state problem or an institutional problem,” says Lucila Insua Brindis, the 67-year-old founder of Havana’s Afro-Descendent Organization for Women.

Unarmed black teenager James Means fatally shot by white man who called him “another piece of trash”

On Monday night, 15-year-old James Means was reportedly shot and killed by a man he “bumped into” outside of a Dollar General store in Charleston, West Virginia. 

Means, a black teenager, was said to be unarmed. 

That same night, police arrested William Pulliam, 62, in connection with the shooting. Pulliam had gone to dinner after the shooting.

Pulliam was white and carrying a gun, despite no permit to own a firearm due to a previous conviction for domestic violence

Pulliam reportedly “admitted” to fatally shooting Means, telling police, “The way I look at it, that’s another piece of trash off the street.”

A GoFundMe has been set up for Means’ funeral

Inglewood, CA #BLACKLIVESMATTER

On Sunday, police responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle parked on Manchester Boulevard around 3:10 am. When police arrived, they engaged in a 45-minute long standoff before opening fire on the man and woman inside the vehicle, killing them both.

The woman was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting, and the man succumbed to his injuries after paramedics transported him to a local hospital.

The shooting seemed like an open and shut case until the next day. Mayor James Butts, while responding to questions about the shooting, opened up a huge can of worms — both the man and the woman were unconscious.

For at least 45 minutes, police attempted “to rouse” them in an effort “to de-escalate the situation,” said Butts.

After admitting that the couple was asleep, Butts quickly defended the officers, noting, “Obviously at some point they were conscious because somebody felt threatened.”

However, that notion has yet to be proven and is particularly unlikely due to the fact that not a single officer received so much as a scratch, nor did the couple have any reason to be violent.

Both of the victims were parents; Kisha Michael, 31, a single mother of three sons, and Marquintan Sandlin, 32, a single father of four daughters.

Families for both described them as devoted parents who made arrangements for care of their children while they took a night off.

“The police ain’t telling us nothing,” said Trisha Michael after being met with tight lips from the department.

“He was a loving father,” said Sandlin’s sister Leandra Faulkner.  “All he cared about was his girls, getting them right.”

According to his relatives, Sandlin had a ‘rough life’ but had turned it around and was working as a successful truck driver.

Sadly, these children will now grow up knowing that their parents were taken from them by cops, scared of a sleeping couple.

SOURCE

‘For at least 45 minutes the cops attempted “to rouse” them in an effort “to de-escalate the situation” said Butts.After admitting that the couple were asleep, Butts quickly defended the officers actions, noting, “Obviously at some point they were conscious because somebody felt threatened.“’

What the fuck, were they aggressively snoring? Who opens fire on someone they just spent 45 minutes trying to wake up? Great. Now I’ve heard it all. Cops are afraid of unconscious people. 45 minutes of de-escalation? Did it ever once occur that if you try to wake someone up in a car with loud noise and they don’t wake up, medical attention may be needed?

#KishaMichae #MarquintanSandlin #PoliceBrutality #Cops #KillerCops #America #BLACKLIVESMATTER

Chasity Rose - 19, sister, friend. Heart of gold. With hands of steel. Talented; she could sing anything. Artistic; she could draw anything. Murdered by the Donald Trump movement.

Kyla Reeves - 13, Transgender girl with a trans brother. Felt it was necessary to take her own life so that her brother could have his transition after her parents told her that, with this election, they can only afford to focus on one child’s transition.

Tyler Morgan: 16, Nonbinary. Took his own life after being told to do so by his community (a town full of white supremacists and Trump supporters.)

Michelle Earnest: Transgender woman of color, wife, and mother of two children.

Lorie Murrano: Transgender woman of Latin decent, girlfriend, and civil rights activist.

Alex Murrano: Transgender man of Latin decent, brother to Lorie, and civil rights activist.

Madigan Alvarez: Transgender woman of Latin decent, cousin to Lorie and Alex, and communist revolutionary activist.

Aiden Baxley: Transgender son of two white supremacists; boyfriend, brother, father of one son, and civil rights activist.

Reyan Fletcher: Transgender son of two highly supportive and very amazing fathers, fiance, father (fiance is 7 months pregnant), and communist revolutionary activist.

Ituha: A Native American two-spirit, beloved tribes councillor, and mother of three.

R.I.P. Angels