We have failed

We have failed Black boys and young Black men.

Every last one of us has failed to end police killing of Black boys and men.[This was originally sent to BPF's 5000-person strong email list. We usually don't post our email newsletters on Turning Wheel Media too, but this one felt important. If you are interested in getting emails from us, it's easy to sign up, and if you ever decide you don't want our emails anymore, there's an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. We'd love to have you connect with us via email, you can sign up here.]At BPF, we kicked a militarized police training and expo out of Oakland in August, but it did nothing to save 12-year-old Tamir Rice from being killed by a cop while on a playground holding a toy BB gun.We did a podcast on racism in American Buddhism with a special focus on Ferguson, but it didn’t help 18-year-old VonDerrit Myers, Jr avoid being fired at 17 times while running away before being killed by an off-duty cop in a nearby neighborhood to Ferguson, Missouri.BPF has been working toward peace for 36 years, but it means nothing to Michael Brown’s parents who are living the nightmare of everyone who raises Black boys, the nightmare that their precious sons will be killed by a cop who can simply say, “I felt afraid” for the justice system to determine that his actions were “justified.”We have utterly failed. To the families who lost these dear children, who are preparing for a Thanksgiving holiday with an empty seat where their sons should have been, I can only say that I am so, so sorry that we have failed you.If we truly believe in the preciousness of all life, we all must do better. If we believe that #AllLivesMatter, we must insist that #BlackLivesMatter -- with our families, our extended personal and social media networks, and out in the streets. Click here to find a protest near you.

Finding pockets of resilience in difficult times

As many of us in the US prepare for Thanksgiving feasts (and protests of Native genocide), I’m finding it especially hard to feel grateful in the midst of so much disappointment, grief, and rage.I was talking with a dharma friend yesterday, whose resilience was worn even thinner as a regular target of anti-Black racism. While her day had not been great, she'd been buoyed for 5 minutes when some Sly & the Family Stone came on the local college radio station. She shared the song with me, and I'm sharing it with you with wishes that you can remember what gives you hope and strength amidst challenging times.

Thankful N' ThoughtfulSly & The Family Stone

(Listen)

Sunday morning, I forgot my prayer

I should have been happy, I still be there

Something could have come and taken me away

But the mainman felt Sly should be here another day

That’s why I got to be thankful yeah, yeah

I gotta be thoughtful

Ah ha thankful, you gotta be

thoughtful

With love in the midst of struggle,Dawn HaneyCo-Director, Buddhist Peace Fellowship