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What is Blacklivesmatter?
For 6 years, since the senseless murder of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, Black Lives Matter has worked tirelessly to eradicate anti-black racism, police brutality, and systematic violence in all its forms.
The death of
George Floyd
On May 25th 2020, George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis. After being arrested and subdued to the ground by four police officers, Officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck.
Racism in japan
As residents and citizens of Japan, we are moved to represent the cause of Black Lives Matter. Japan needs to recognize that its negative view of Black people and minorities is ill-informed and outdated. In this modern world, Japan can not continue to be complicit in such racist discrimination.
Black Queer Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter’s story can not be told without the LGBTQ+ community and the sacrifices they have been made to pay.
Black Women’s Lives Matter
Black women are often victims of police brutality and sexual assault from officers.
In the days following the tragic shooting of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020, only a handful of news outlets were sharing the story of Breonna Taylor.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM THERE?
We cannot forget about the ills of racism. We cannot forget about the Black men and women who have been killed by the hands of hatred and police brutality. We must say their names.
© BLMTOKYO. All rights reserved. Not yet affiliated with the Black Lives Matter Global Network.
WHAT IS ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’
Since the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year-old walking back home from a convenience store, and the acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, #BlackLivesMatter has worked tirelessly to eradicate anti-Black racism, police brutality, white supremacy, and systematic violence in all its forms.
Here are the unquestionable truths about police violence and misconduct against the Black community and the people they vow to serve.
Between 2013 and 2019, 7663 people died as a result of police violence and battery in the US (1). 1,944 of them were Black males.
The Black population of America comprises 13% of the total population, yet Black Americans are two and a half times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police(2).
Black women are 1.4 times more likely than white women to be killed through police violence3).
In 2019 alone, there were only 27 days of no recorded police killings(4).Use of police violence is the 6th highest killer of young Black men in the US(5).
Police are indicted for only 1% of all police killings(6).
As of 2013, Black youth are 4 times more likely to be committed than white youth(7).
Between 2005 and 2011, 28% of all sex-related police crimes in the US were under the age of majority. 7.3% of those crimes were against children aged from newborn to 11 years old(8). Between 2005 and 2007, 24% of on-duty sexual misconduct by police officers involved a Black minor(9).
As those who were sworn to protect feverishly kill Black American men and women in droves, #BlackLivesMatter stands against this disgusting tirade. Through #BlackLivesMatter, the Black community around the world demands to be treated with dignity and respect, and as MLK prayed for his children, ‘to not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character’(10). A simple request to be treated like everybody else. No more. No less.
After 6 long years, #BlackLivesMatter stands proud, now comprised of 16 chapters in North America and a thriving global network of brothers, sisters, and comrades ready to fight.
So why are we talking about this now?
1. https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/s/MPVDatasetDownload.xlsx
2.https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2020/05/mapping-police-killings-black-americans-200531105741757.html
3.https://www.pnas.org/content/116/34/16793
4.https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
5.https://news.umich.edu/police-sixth-leading-cause-of-death-for-young-black-men/
6.http://copcrisis.com/
7.https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/racial-disparities-in-youth-commitments-and-arrests/
8.https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249850.pdf
9.http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53f20d90e4b0b80451158d8c/t/560c068ee4b0af26f72741df/1443628686535/AAPF_SMN_Brief_Full_singles-min.pdf
10.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3170387.stm
11.https://blacklivesmatter.com/chapters/
The death of George Floyd
On May 25th 2020, George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.
After being arrested and subdued to the ground by four police officers, Officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck. Floyd struggled to breathe, pleading clearly with the officer, saying at least sixteen times “I can’t breathe” and begging for his mother(12).
The other policemen put pressure on his chest and held back people who tried to intervene with the murder. After 6 minutes, Floyd was unconscious. Even after paramedics arrived on the scene Officer Chauvin did not remove his knee from the incapacitated man.
After 8 minutes 46 seconds he showed no signs of life and an hour later he was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center(13). Pathologist, Michael Baden, claims “He was dead before they put him on the stretcher.” The world saw this display of police brutality.
The disgraced Officer Chauvin was fired and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter(14). The three other officers have been fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
George is survived by his 6 year old daughter Gianna and her mother, Roxie Washington.
Through pained sobs and tears, Roxie demands justice for the loving father that Gianna has lost. For the father that won’t be there when she needs guidance. For the father who should be there to walk her down the aisle. For the father that loved her from the moment she took her first breath(15).
This carnage is inexcusable. This is why the seemingly endless slaughter needs to stop. This is why we need Japan to step up.
12. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000007159353/george-floyd-arrest-death-video.html
13.https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11763621/george-floyd-died-many-minutes-before-hospital-pathologist-says/
14.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/derek-chauvin-officer-george-floyd-death-department-of-corrections-detention-facilities/
15.https://www.cbsnews.com/video/mother-of-george-floyds-child-speaks-out-this-is-what-those-officers-took/#x
What about racism in Japan?
As residents and citizens of Japan, we are moved to represent the cause of Black Lives Matter. Japan needs to recognize that its negative view of Black people and minorities is ill-informed and outdated. In this modern world, Japan can not continue to be complicit in such racist discrimination.
One does not have to look far to see racism, bigotry, xenophobia and ignorance in Japan.
You can see it in the black and red vans of ‘Uyoku Dantai’ as they blast imperialist propaganda at ear-blistering volumes.
You can see it when the Ministry of Justice carries out anti-hate speech campaigns when it's convenient to do so, but continues to allow hate speech itself to be completely impunitive(16).
You can see it when Japanese/Black children are called kuronbo(17) (the n-word) in the classroom just as Ariana Miyamoto, Miss Universe Japan 2015, was, or when her victory was met with scorn and vitriol with critics saying “the idea is to have a Japanese representing Japan” and "I think it's bad that a 'half' has become the Japanese representative"(18).
You can see it when the comedy duo ‘A Masso’ think it’s acceptable to joke about Tennis Champion Naomi Osaka’s skin, saying she "needed some bleach" and that "she is too sunburnt(19), then apologize without having the decency to even mention her by name.
You can see it when Lara Perez Takagi, Co-Director of the powerfully informed ‘Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan’, recalls her childhood being bullied, pushed and hit by other kids, simply because she was ‘hafu’(20).
You can see it on the faces of people when they have no idea about Yasuke, the African Samurai and bodyguard to the legendary shogun, Oda Nobunaga.
But who else is affected by racism and systemic violence?
16. http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/m_jinken04_00001.html
17.https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2015/05/universal-beauty-ariana-miyamoto-strikes-a-blow-for-racial-diversity/
18.https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1745682/japanese-miss-universe-entrant-ariana-miyamoto-faces-racial-backlash-due
19.[https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/naomi-osaka-raciusm-scandal-japan-a-masso-085714472.html?guccounter=1&gucereferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&gucereferrersig=AQAAAGRyH583dApTQF7SI4wMbpaSQEaHdTNYqVmN7iwVfuEDsGSmU-TyrSDMwkoq9Ml485vF7rNhrg8dIhs3frvpthx70ztsZ6Si-i38V535Au0uEe1jL1AiKhWX96ejrOuRl9V69uaGk70aAdAdGgYpw8gtSdHVhhkBhV4MWH9RlD5U)
20.[https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/naomi-osaka-raciusm-scandal-japan-a-masso-085714472.html?guccounter=1&gucereferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&gucereferrersig=AQAAAGRyH583dApTQF7SI4wMbpaSQEaHdTNYqVmN7iwVfuEDsGSmU-TyrSDMwkoq9Ml485vF7rNhrg8dIhs3frvpthx70ztsZ6Si-i38V535Au0uEe1jL1AiKhWX96ejrOuRl9V69uaGk70aAdAdGgYpw8gtSdHVhhkBhV4MWH9RlD5U)
Black Queer Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter’s story can not be told without the LGBTQ+ community and the sacrifices they have been made to pay.
On the night of June 28, 1969, history was made at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York.
It was on that night during a police raid that LGBTQ+ people led their first major action against the NYPD (New York Police Department) and their discriminatory practices towards queer people. During that raid, a biracial lesbian by the name of Stormé DeLarverie resisted arrest, screaming out to others there,
“Why don’t you guys do something?”
The crowd then rose up, and the Stonewall uprising began.
Led by Black and Brown trans and queer folks, the rebellion that followed lasted six days. There were protests and violent exchanges with the police, the likes of which had never been seen during that era.
Though the historical record is often debated, many credit Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender woman, with throwing the first brick at Stonewall, and Stormé with throwing the first punch. What’s clear is that Black and Brown LGBTQ+ folks played an integral role in the uprising, and began the loud and proud fight for queer and trans rights across the globe.
In Japan, the LGBTQ community faces discrimination even at the highest levels of Japanese society.
Masumi Tsurusashi, Member of the City Council of Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, tweeted the Asahi Shimbun in response to their report on an attitude survey regarding same sex marriage,
“If abnormal people increase, human beings will become extinct. … Homosexuality is abnormal. [The media]' should be more responsible [and not] report abnormal activities.(21)”
This kind of unprogressive attitude is unbecoming of a nation known for its kind and gentle nature.
The struggle endured by the LGBTQ+ is far from over.
Since 2013, 122 Black transgender people were victims of anti-transgender violence(22)
In 2019, 90% of the reported Black transgender people killed were Black transgender women(23)
In 2019, 18% of Black LGBTQ youth were subjected to unwanted sexual acts(24)
In 2011, 38% of Black LGBTQ reported having been harassed by the police, double that of white LGBTQ victims. 15% reported physical assault, and 7% reported sexual assault at the hands of the police. One victim is quoted as saying “After I was raped, the officer told me that I got what I deserved(25)
In 2015, the violations committed against Black transgender women by police officers continued. 17% reported having been psychically assaulted, sexually assaulted, or forced to commit sexual acts to avoid arrest(26)
21. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/11/30/national/social-issues/city-assembly-member-in-hot-water-over-discriminatory-tweets/#.Xttz5J4zZpI
22.https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/Anti-TransViolenceReport2019.pdf?_ga=2.144353653.1741575542.1591322480-1503365639.1591322480
23.See previous footnote
24.https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/HRC_2019_Black_and_African_American_LGBTQ_Youth_Report-FINAL-web.pdf?_ga=2.185753705.1741575542.1591322480-1503365639.1591322480
25.https://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/NTDS_Report.pdf)
Black Women’s Lives Matter
Black women are often victims of police brutality and sexual assault from officers.
In the days following the tragic shooting of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020, only a handful of news outlets were sharing the story of Breonna Taylor.
Midnight March 13th 2020, Louisville police were serving a no-knock warrant looking for 2 men on suspicion of involvement in a drug ring. After a forced entry and a brief altercation, the police sprayed the house with gunfire. Breonna Taylor was instantly killed by 8 of those shots as she lay in bed resting from a hard day's work. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker was taken into custody and charged with the attempted murder of a police officer.
In the days following, disturbing details of the raid came to light. Walker, who is licensed to carry a firearm, asserts that he acted in self defense thinking he was about to be robbed in the middle of the night. The officers never identified themselves as police. The police maintain that they knocked several times, despite serving a no-knock warrant. There is no body-cam footage to prove their claim. The charges against Walker were later dropped(27).
The real tragedy comes in this additional detail. The person the police were looking for was already in custody and they didn’t need to raid the house at all. Breonna’s death could’ve been completely avoided if the police had been efficient in the evaluation of the situation. While Breonna’s mother, Tamika, is left broken at the loss of her daughter who planned on becoming a nurse to help those in need, justice is nowhere near being served. The case barely progresses forward and the 3 officers involved are still on administrative leave(28).
Breonna Taylor, did not deserve this fate and her death is another example of the disgusting lack of accountability that the police enjoy.
The widespread murder, brutality, and sexual assault against unarmed Black women at the hands of white male officers is often invisible to the public eye, but it happens. The social justice scholar Monique W. Morris while discussing her new documentary Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools talked about how “protests are often in the name of men and boys, and we forget that so many girls, young women, transgender women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the same state-sanctioned violence that our men and boys are experiencing.”(29)
Black women are no strangers to suffering at the hands of the police, but their plight often falls through the cracks and quantifiable research is hard to come by.
Between 2005 and 2007, 32.2% of cases of sexual misconduct against Black women by police officers involved forcible fondling or statutory rape(30).
Between 2001 and 2005, 48% of the victims of violent crime such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault, were Black(31).
Despite the Black population making up 13% of the overall population, Black women comprise 32.6% of the female prison population(32).
In 2013, in New York State, where the population was 27% Black, 53.4% of the police stops on women were Black women(33).
#SayHerName
This hashtag puts the spotlight on Black female victims of police brutality. #SayHerName
pays tribute to the memory of Black women who have senselessly lost their lives and assures that the efforts of Black women in the fight for justice and equality are never forgotten.
27. https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html
28.https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/breonna-taylor-birthday-charges-arrests-case-trnd/index.html
29.https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/breonna-taylor-racism-black-women/
30.http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53f20d90e4b0b80451158d8c/t/560c068ee4b0af26f72741df/1443628686535/AAPF_SMN_Brief_Full_singles-min.pdf
31.https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/bvvc.pdff
32.https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CAT/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CAT_CSS_USA_18555_E.pdf
33.http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53f20d90e4b0b80451158d8c/t/560c068ee4b0af26f72741df/1443628686535/AAPF_SMN_Brief_Full_singles-min.pdf
Where do we go from here?
We cannot forget about the ills of racism. We cannot forget about the Black men and women who have been killed by the hands of hatred and police brutality. We must say their names.
Oscar Grant
Aiyana Stanley-Jones
Trayvon Martin
Michael Brown
Tamir Rice
Eric Garner
Botham Jean
Atatiana Jefferson
Ahmaud Arbery
Breonna Taylor
George Floyd
George Floyd cannot be allowed to simply become another statistic alongside the 7,663 men and women who were killed before him.
As protesters take to the streets, demanding justice, there is one glimmer of hope as Gianna Floyd gleefully admires “daddy changed the world”(34). This is the quiet, peaceful prayer of a 6 year old who should be going home to her father. Institutional racism and police violence have robbed her of that ever happening again.
Gianna’s prayer can easily be answered. It can be answered with the extermination of the disease that is racism. Hate speech and police brutality are the facilitators of this disease. We implore our Japanese comrades and the Japanese government to stand up and take decisive action against this sickness, and to be an example for justice and equality on the world stage.
“Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.”
― Barack Obama
Resources
日本語での情報ソース：
Donate your love
【Black Lives Matter】アメリカの黒人差別｜2020年現在のアメリカで起こっていること
｢人種差別抗議デモ｣世界中で大規模化する理由
Letters for Black Lives | 日本語
#BlackLivesMatterに関する日本語資料
インスタグラム上の投稿：
shinobunxgn
Blossomtheproject
Ko_archives
Kayeyugami
euro719
dvdtyng
Brut.japan
suzukitayama
Japan in Solidarity
Japan for Black Lives
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