On The Vine 9:29

Was there a more important, momentous and tragic collection of seconds in the last 360 some odd days than the nine minutes and 29 seconds in which George Floyd’s life was stolen from him?

The world watched for nine minutes and 29 seconds as now former Minneapolis police officer, and convicted murderer, Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck, killing him. The 365 days that followed were something to behold. Younger generations have been shocked into activism. Critical and nuanced discussions that had previously been avoided, are being had in the open — though there’s still more to do.

Through the events of the last year, sparked by the nine minutes and 29 seconds in which Floyd died, so many of us have come out as simply fed up. Enough was enough. People were tired of waiting, and ready to fight for change.

It’s been astounding to watch. I should say though, I’ve always been a skeptic — about everything, honestly — when it comes to whether more than 400 years of designed structural racism can be rooted out; whether the mindsets that has sculpted can be changed.

There’s of course a quote from James Baldwin that I’m reminded of:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

There are plenty of other folks with much deeper and more thought out words reflecting on the last year, than I can offer at this point, so let’s get into it.

Around the block

Kansas City government is in a battle to take more control over Kansas City Police Department funding

Last week, in a dramatic day in city government, the Kansas City city council passed a pair of ordinances giving city leaders more influence over how the Kansas City Police Department — overseen by a state-picked board of directors — spends taxpayer funds.

City Council has little say over KCPD operations, but it does approve the department’s budget. But still they’ve had little influence over spending decisions. The Board of Police Commissioners, and Missouri lawmakers, are threatening to sue to ensure that doesn’t change.

Read more...

• ‘They have no accountability’: Kansas City rights groups back move to control police

• Secret meeting shows how panicked the KC police board is at the city having some say

• Kansas City police funding bills may invite lawsuits, action from Missouri lawmakers

Critics of the City Council decision, which was led by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, have been shouting that it’s an attempt to defund the police. That’s simply not the case. Lucas and the council have said it works as an avenue for those who represent the people KCPD serves to dictate how their money is being used to benefit them.

The City Council voted 9-4 to cut this year’s KCPD budget back to 20% of the general fund, which is the minimum required by Missouri law. The savings, which come to $42.3 million, would be reallocated to a newly devised “Community Services and Prevention Fund.”

Under the measure, Kansas City Manager Brian Platt and the police commissioners would negotiate on how to spend that money. The $42.3 million is about 18% of the KCPD’s $239 million budget.

Critical race theory roils Kansas and Missouri politics. Here’s what it is and is not

Yes, we’re addressing critical race theory again. And I will continue to until the point is made.

The Star’s Katie Bernard and Jeanne Kuang delve into what critical race theory is — what it’s not — and why it’s popping up in Kansas and Missouri politics.

At the heart of the opposition is the conservative claim that curricula examining the role of racism in American history are revisionist and being used to turn students against the country.

Experts say critical race theory has been misunderstood — or distorted for political purposes — and that it is not being taught in K-12 classrooms. In some cases, they say, critics brand as CRT any attempt by educators to provide more context for aspects of American history traditionally glossed over in the classroom — like slavery, forced displacement of Native Americans and Japanese internment camps.

“Critical race studies has been used to try to explain discrepancies, particularly where people of color are on the end of some scale,” said Stacie DeFrietas, professor of psychology at University of Houston Downtown and co-author of “Critical Race Studies Across Disciplines.”

“Because of the way our nation was founded there’s structures set up inherently where the people in power work to maintain that power and push policies and agendas to maintain that.”

In case you missed it...

• Kansas City man charged in killing of beloved gym owner shot in 18th & Vine district

• ‘Elijaah’s not coming back from work’: Kansas City teen, Air Force recruit gave selflessly

• ‘I lost my life’ in prison: Kevin Strickland speaks after officials say he’s innocent

• Kansas City remembers George Floyd with march on anniversary of his death

Beyond the block

1 year anniversary

Last week we highlighted an argument for 18-year-old Darnella Frazier to win a Pulitzer Prize. This week, she, with grace, heartache and eloquence reflected on what the 360-plus days has meant to her, how, after filming the nine minute and 29 second encounter, has affected her and forever changed her life. This young woman is incredible.

I’ll let Darnella speak for herself:

A year ago, today I witnessed a murder. The victim’s name was George Floyd. Although this wasn’t the first time, I’ve seen a black man get killed at the hands of the police, this is the first time I witnessed it happen in front of me. Right in front of my eyes, a few feet away. I didn’t know this man from a can of paint, but I knew his life mattered...

My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets. You can view George Floyd anyway you choose to view him, despite his past, because don’t we all have one? He was a loved one, someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s brother, and someone’s friend. We the people won’t take the blame, you won’t keep pointing fingers at us as if it’s our fault, as if we are criminals...

George Floyd, I can’t express enough how I wish things could have went different, but I want you to know you will always be in my heart. I’ll always remember this day because of you.

Also read...

• ‘The trauma keeps coming’: How Black girls grapple with witnessing police violence

• George Floyd’s Family Meets With Biden Amid Negotiations Over Police Reform Bill

• ‘On the Ashes of Tragedy’: Mixed Emotions on Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death

Statement by President Joe Biden on the First Anniversary of George Floyd’s Murder

The Floyd family has shown extraordinary courage, especially his young daughter Gianna, who I met again today. The day before her father’s funeral a year ago, Jill and I met the family and she told me, “Daddy changed the world.”

He has.

His murder launched a summer of protest we hadn’t seen since the Civil Rights era in the ‘60s – protests that peacefully unified people of every race and generation to collectively say enough of the senseless killings....

To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between the vast majority of the men and women who wear the badge honorably and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect. We can and must have both accountability and trust and in our justice system.

For the culture

‘Whoa, this is crazy’: L.A. teen punks the Linda Lindas on going viral (just before finals)

These girls are just dope. Cooler and more thoughtful than I was at their age, than you were at their age, than most anyone has any need to be at their age.

An all-girl teen punk band — the members of which are all either Asian American, Latina, or both — The Linda Lindas jumped into my consciousness, repudiation first, in Amy Pohler’s rebelliously charming coming of age Netflix flick “Moxie.”

I’m not even really a pure punk fan, but I can’t wait to see more from these girls. August Brown’s piece on the band for The Los Angeles Times is a must read in my book:

Although it seems like the quartet shot to fame in a matter of hours over the weekend, they’ve been a cult favorite for a few years. The group, named after a 2005 Japanese rock flick, met through the popular Girlschool festival, where they backed up the Sub Pop-signed singer-producer Kristin Kontrol. Lucia and Mila’s dad is Paramore’s Grammy-winning producer, Carlos de la Garza; Eloise’s is Martin Wong, the co-founder of the influential culture magazine Giant Robot.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino took a shine to their caustic but upbeat punk at Girlschool, and soon enough the quartet opened for L.A. punk icon Alice Bag and played the taste-making Viva Pomona festival, widely seen as a gateway to a Coachella gig.

Live punk shows may not be back quite yet in L.A., but the Linda Lindas will be ready when they are.

“We were in a bubble for a few days to make our last record; we had a sleepover, and it was so fun,” Lucia said. “But now we’re so excited to get to do everything else too.”

See ya on the flip

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This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 11:07 AM.