The
raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a long-standing image of activism, often a symbol of social
revolution and political
solidarity. It is also a common symbol of
anarchism and
communism, but can also be used as a salute to express
unity, strength, or
resistance. The origin of the
raised fist as a symbol is unclear. Its use in trade
unionism,
anarchism, and the labor movement had begun by the 1910s. William "Big Bill" Haywood, a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World, used the metaphor of a fist as something greater than the sum of its parts during a speech at the 1913 Paterson silk
strike. The
raised fist logo may represent
unity or
solidarity, generally with
… Read more oppressed peoples. The black fist is a variation of the logo generally associated with the
Black Power movement. Its most widely known usage is by the
Black Panther Party, a Black Marxist group in the 1960s.
T-shirts featuring the slogan "
Black Lives Matter"
Racial or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting, or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity or
religion, rather than on individual suspicion.
Racial profiling often involves discrimination against the minority population and is based on any negative stereotypes of the targeted demographic.
Racial profiling, however, is not limited only to an individual's ethnicity, race, or
religion and can also be based on the individual's nationality. In European countries, the term "ethnic profiling" is also used instead of
racial profiling.
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement. It is an extreme form of police misconduct or violence and is a civil rights violation. It also refers to a situation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a person.
Police violence includes but is not limited to physical or verbal harassment, physical or mental injury, property damage, the inaction of police officers, and in some cases, death. In the
United States, qualified immunity is a legal doctrine used to protect officers from litigation after incidents of
police violence. This law was issued by the Supreme Court in 1982. In recent years, particularly since the fatal shooting
… Read more of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014,
police brutality has become a hot-button issue in the
United States. Police officers in America are killing around 1,000 people every single year.
The
Black Lives Matter Movement, formed in 2013, has been a vocal part of the movement against
police brutality in the U.S. by organizing ?die-ins?, marches, and demonstrations in response to the killings of black men and women by police.
While
Black Lives Matter has become a controversial movement within the U.S., it has brought more attention to the number and frequency of police shootings of civilians.
Printed in USA
