The violent backlash against Black movements is nothing new. But Congress has a chance to get on the right side of history and #ProtectBlackDissent 

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Dear Friend,

“The United States Government (USG) has a long and well-documented history of oppressing Black communities, from chattel slavery to Jim Crow laws to the ongoing system of mass incarceration. Knowing this history, you’d think our government’s response to the tragedy in Ferguson would have been to invest in Black communities, not continue to infiltrate and undermine a much-needed Black Power Movement. But instead, our political leaders ignored our demands after Mike Brown’s murder and the law enforcement community has reinvented all types of programs to undermine our efforts in the digital age.”

Last July, Mustafa Jumale of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) wrote this after taking part in a delegation of Black activists urging Congress to take immediate action against the FBI's “Black Identity Extremist” designation.[1]

Now, it’s July 2020 and several things are still active: the struggle for Black liberation from white supremacist violence and a lethal, racist police state, the FBI’s profiling of Black activists as “Black Identity Extremists”, the FBI’s lies to Congress about ending their racist profiling of our movements, and MediaJustice’s determination to #ProtectBlackDissent.

The FBI is treating Black movements for justice like a threat: Tell Congress the actual threat is surveillance and police violence ([link removed]) .

The white supremacist backlash to today’s radical movement for racial justice unfolds much the same as it has for generations, as Mustafa notes above. Similarly, COINTELPRO, the infamous federal surveillance program that attempted to destroy Black movements, attack its members and undermine our progress, has a new successor with the same, racist mission: “Iron Fist”. Federal funds are still fueling the militarization of police and arming them with high-tech surveillance tools in order to track protesters who dare to state the obvious: Black Lives Matter, and it’s time to #DefendBlackLife as we #DefundPolice.

Tell Congress that it’s time they step up ([link removed]) and reign in racist law enforcement that's hellbent on criminalizing our movement towards a new world of justice and safety for all. The history of our government's complicity in the violent repression of Black protest has an ugly end that Congressional leaders should heed if they don't want to repeat it. We’re renewed in our fight to #ProtectBlackDissent by the fact that our movements are winning despite age-old white supremacist backlash to Black liberation. We believe that we will win, especially with your help. Sign and share this petition to keep this fight going strong. ([link removed])
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Sources:

[1] MediaJustice ([link removed])

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Dear Friend,

Nationwide, protests against police violence are being met with more police violence. Black activism is once again transforming the country for the better as we demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. But weekly reports of police turning military-grade gear against Americans bristle with revelations of the insidious high-tech surveillance tools being deployed against Black protesters: facial recognition cameras, StingRay devices that trick nearby cell phones & steal data, automated license plate readers, high-altitude spy planes and drones fitted with night vision & infrared sensors.[1] The list of surveillance tools deployed to identify, track, entrap and arrest protesters is staggering—and still growing. In particular, technology like facial recognition will undoubtedly lead to false arrests as known racial bias programmed into the software is inherently discriminatory against Black women, people of color, and gender
non-conforming people. The rounding up and arrest of protesters is especially awful given jails and prisons continue to be hotbeds of the still-active COVID-19 pandemic. Black communities are still suffering the highest number of deaths from the virus. The situation couldn’t be more dire.

Team #MediaJustice knows that now is the time to #ProtectBlackDissent. Join us. ([link removed])
A 2017 FBI intelligence assessment report warned 18,000 local law enforcement agencies that Black activists’ resistance to racism and police violence make us an inherently dangerous and potentially lethal threat to police and labeling us “Black Identity Extremists.”[2] In 2019, MediaJustice, ACLU and dozens of supporting organizations brought our concerns to the FBI and Congressional leadership. But it’s 2020, and the FBI continues to use the BIE designation to justify its racist criminalization of Black-led movements.[3] They continue to lie to Congress, hiding the repression by lumping Black activists with the very white supremacists actively plotting violence and death upon Black communities under the thinly veiled “Racially Motivated Violent Extremist” designation. COINTELPRO’s 21st century successor, the program code-named Iron Fist, is also still active.


Congress must step in and fulfill their duty. Demand they stop the FBI from repeating one of the ugliest chapters of our history ([link removed])


Congress has not held the FBI accountable for the extensive targeting and criminalization of our movements. Right now, the FBI is supporting and resourcing local police efforts to hunt, intimidate, and ultimately suppress protests at the local, state, and national level. The false dichotomy between peaceful and “violent” protest is a ruse to justify the snuffing of all resistance to the generations of Black death at the hands of police and white supremacist violence. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., often held up as exemplary of “peaceful” protest, was infamously targeted by relentless FBI surveillance and counter-organizing. The legacy of Black protest is a celebrated part of American history because it continuously pushes our entire society to be more equitable, truthful, and free. We look back on the FBI’s response to Black social movements of the 60’s and 70’s with scorn for good reason. The newest wave of the same movement is under attack once again. If we can acknowledge past assaults on
Black movements as a shameful part of our collective history, then we are doomed to be complicit in a new, shameful era of high-tech repression if we do nothing now. History will repeat itself unless Congress chooses to do something different. Contact Representative Karen Bass and make clear that it’s time to #ProtectBlackDissent ([link removed]) —today ([link removed]) . ([link removed])

In Solidarity,

Myaisha and the rest of Team #MediaJustice

P.S. — Facial recognition technology is one of many surveillance tools that police are using against Black communities. It's inherently racist, inaccurate and dangerous, and law enforcement are actively using it to enact violence in our communities. We hope you'll check out [link removed] to take further action to #ProtectBlackDissent and share this with your community.

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Sources:

[1] Popular Mechanics ([link removed])

[2] Foreign Policy ([link removed])

[3] MediaJustice ([link removed])

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