Thousands of 'freedom fighters' in Cleveland for first national Black Lives Matter conference

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | July 26, 2015 | Jane Morice

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Attendees of the Convening's opening ceremony raise their fists as a symbol of power during an organizer's speech.

Activists from across the nation converged in Cleveland this weekend for a conference meant to draw national attention to police brutality and race relations in the wake of a number of incidents involving police and black Americans.

The National Convening of the Movement for Black Lives began Friday at Cleveland State University where activists will attend sessions that range from viewing films to open discussions on topics that highlight issues that affect all aspects of black culture.

The conference is happening amid an escalating national discussion about law enforcement's interaction in black communities. Those issues are illustrated through several high-profile incidents that began in the summer of 2014 with the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer and continue through this month when Sandra Bland was found dead in a Texas jail cell where she was being held after a routine traffic stop.

The conference is being held in Cleveland, a city where two police officers remain under investigation in the Nov. 22, 2014 shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The Cleveland police department is now operating under a federal reform agreement that came after the U.S. Justice Department's two-year-long probe of the department's use-of-force practices and policies....

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