BLSA Loyola Resources



JUNE 1, 2020 LETTER FROM BLSA BOARD

Loyola Law School’s BLSA joins in solidarity with the Floyd family, Minnesota residents, and all disenfranchised people for whom this tragedy rings as a personal threat, assault, and devastation. Mr. Floyd’s killing was the result of institutionalized racism that is embedded within our criminal justice system and society as a whole. Today we recognize the inhumane act of police brutality that occurred on May 25th and we are demanding change.

As future lawyers, we have the critical role of speaking out about the injustices that take place within our criminal justice system and our society. It is up to us, the legal community, to spark conversation, address issues, and initiate change. With our legal education underway, we already have a significant voice in this fight and we thus urge you not to be silent. Engage in the difficult conversations you may see others avoiding, lead or promote change in the groups around you, and advocate for the systemic changes that would not only have saved the life of Mr. Floyd, but also the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, Amadou Diallo, and countless African-Americans who have been victims of pernicious racism and brutality.

As a community we must uplift, support, and listen to one another. We must come together in times of injustice. An entire generation, proactive and in support of each other no matter the circumstances.

In solidarity and strength,
BLSA Board

The LAPD operating budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year is proposed to be nearly $1.86 billion, an increase of about $122 million from the 2019-20 fiscal year budget. (NBC-LA 06/03/20).

Since the year 2000, local LA police have killed 900 civilians and only two officers have been charged as a result of shooting of a civilian while on duty. 80% of the victim were Black or Latinx. (LA Times 06/06/20)

Over the last 20 years, police in Los Angeles County have killed 3 to 4 people each month. (LA Times 06/06/20)

FILMS AND TV SERIES TO WATCH:
Netflix
•13th (Ava DuVernay)
•American Son (Kenny Leon)
•Dear White People (Justin Simien)
•See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol)
•Selma (Ava DuVernay)
•When They See Us (Ava DuVernay)

Hulu
•Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada)
•If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)
•The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.)

HBO
•King In The Wilderness
•True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s
•Fight for Equality

Rent
•Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975
•The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
•Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) Free in June
•I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin)
•Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler)
•Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)


PODCASTS TO SUBSCRIBE TO:
1619 (New York Times)
About Race
Code Switch (NPR)
Intersectionality Matters! (Kimberlé Crenshaw)
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Pod For The Cause (The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
Seeing White


Additional Resources

Now, more than ever, it is crucial to vote in local, state, and federal elections.

Where Law Student Can Volunteer

NLG-LA is seeking volunteers for a variety of projects to address arrestees' legal concerns.

Volunteers are needed to staff the local jails and outreach to persons released after being arrested while protesting or breaking curfew. Volunteers are also needed to assist with remote tasks.

Legal observers are designed to enable people to express their political views as fully as possible without unconstitutional disruption or interference by the police and with the fewest possible consequences from the criminal justice system. Volunteers monitor, record, and report on any unlawful or improper police behavior.