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Civil rights activist Vauhxx Booker says he was nearly lynched until a group of bystanders stepped in

via Jeremy Hogan / YouTube

Vauhxx Booker, a civil rights activist from Bloomington, Indiana, claims that a group of white men threatened to lynch him during an altercation on July 4 near Lake Monroe, but he was saved by onlookers who intervened.

Video taken during the incident shows he was held down by a group of men who pinned him to a tree in a wooded area. Booker says that while he was being held down, the men threatened to break his arms, repeatedly said "get a noose," and told his friends to leave the area.

The men later let him go after being confronted by onlookers who gathered at the scene.

The incident began, according to Booker, when he and his friends were making their way to the lake to see the lunar eclipse when a white man on an ATV told them they were trespassing. When Booker and his friends continued to walk to the lake, the man on the ATV and his friends allegedly shouted "white power" at them, which is when things turned violent.

Booker says that one man wore a hat with the confederate flag.

Booker recounting the story to reporters on Monday.via Cameron Ridle / Twitter

"I don't want to recount this, but I was almost the victim of an attempted lynching," he later wrote on Facebook. "I don't want this to have happened to me or anyone. It hurts my soul and my pride, but there are multiple witnesses and it can't be hidden or avoided."

Multiple people recorded portions of the incident on their camera phones. In the videos, the white men can be heard calling someone a "nappy-headed bitch" and insulting "liberals."

Video documentation of Bloomington resident Vauhxx Booker being attacked, July 4, 2020www.youtube.com

The altercation caught the attention of other people making their way to the lake who intervened by filming the incident, calling the Department of Natural Resources, and demanding they let Booker go.

"I'm here alive today because folks stopped being bystanders. They didn't just film me," Booker said at a protest on Monday adding that their actions, "affirmed that black lives matter."

In his Facebook post, Booker says that the crowd refused to leave him to be killed by the men.

According to witnesses, it took DNR agents one to two hours to arrive at the scene of the altercation. Booker says they refused to make any arrests.

"They left a clear and present danger loose in our community," Booker said of the DNR officers. "I don't have a doubt that if it would have been five Black men who had attacked a white man, they would have been in jail that night."

The DNR says that the incident is still under investigation. Booker's lawyer believes that arrests will be made soon.

On Monday, a Black Lives Matter group gathered in Bloomington, Indiana to protest the incident and support Booker.

The peaceful protest ended in violence when a red car sped through the gathering injuring two people who hung on as it drove away. The driver of the car has not been identified.

"The 35 year-old man that had clung to the side of the vehicle suffered abrasions to his arms as a result of falling from the vehicle. The 29 year-old woman that had been on the hood was said to have been knocked unconscious and suffered a laceration to her head," the Bloomington Police Department wrote, according to NBC News.

The incident near Lake Monroe is another example that racially-motivated violence is still a problem that must be confronted. It also shows why the goals of the growing Black Lives Matter movement gaining traction across the country are so vital to the survival of people of color.

The bystanders who wouldn't let Vauhxx Booker be the next victim is an inspiring example of what can happen when allies step in and refuse to accept violence. Wouldn't it be great if the cops who stood by allowed George Floyd to be murdered did the same thing?

"We need to stop being bystanders," Booker said on Monday. "I'm here today because folks stopped being bystanders."

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2 years ago, this actor praised a groundbreaking play. Now he's its history-making star.

Two years ago, actor Mickey Rowe said he was jazzed about the success of a new show, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”

The play, an adaptation of Mark Haddon’s 2003 book, focuses on the adventures of Christopher, a 15-year-old boy who deciphers a canine murder mystery in the English town of Swindon. The play took home four different awards at the 2015 Tony Awards.

A marquee for the play's London run, back in 2013. Photo by Andy Roberts/Flickr.

It's a great story. But for Rowe, the play had a personal connection as well.

The play's main character, Christopher, has autism — just like Rowe. He was excited to see a popular play put an autistic character's narrative front and center, even though the actor playing Christopher wasn't autistic.

Rowe himself. Photo from Mickey Rowe, used with permission.

"I think that the show has really done a lot to open people's minds to people who think differently," Rowe told Upworthy in 2015. "It's a bold and inspiring decision to produce a story narrated by an autistic character. I can't wait to see where the show and the narrative of Autism Spectrum Disorder goes in the future."

Two years ago, Rowe probably couldn't have guessed the future of the show would one day include him as well.

On May 11, the Indiana Repertory Theatre announced that Rowe will be stepping into the role of Christopher in their 2017 production of the play.

This makes Rowe not only the first autistic actor to play the role, but also one of the first autistic actors to depict any autistic character in a major production.

The Indiana Repertory Theatre. Photo from Mickey Rowe.

"I never dreamed I would get to play Christopher in this show," Rowe wrote to Upworthy after the news of his casting broke. "It is such an honor to get to represent the autism community."

"When I found out I got the role, it brought tears to my eyes," Rowe says.

This kind of representation, not just for characters but in the actors who play them, is important.

"Everyone should be able to go to the theatre or turn on their TV and see somebody like them, someone who thinks like them," Rowe writes. "Everyone should also definitely be able to go to the theatre or turn on their TV and see somebody who is very different than themselves."

There are 56 million Americans with disabilities living in the United States, according to the 2010 Census. That's nearly 20%. But a 2016 analysis of TV shows found that less than 1% of TV characters had disabilities. Furthermore, when a story does feature a character with a disability, more than 9 times out of 10, that character is played by a non-disabled actor.

"Young actors in this country who have disabilities need to be able to see role models who will tell them that if you are different, if you access the world differently, if you need special accommodations, then the world needs you!" Rowe says.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" featuring Rowe's performance will run from September through November 2017.

The play is directed by Risa Brainin and will be performed at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage.

You can check out a video of Rowe's audition below:

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The clever way Indiana is resurrecting its old, rusting railroads.

When I was a kid, I went on a lot of nature walks with my mom.

We lived in the country in Central Texas and had a little plot of woods all to ourselves. We walked around big, ancient oaks and twisted, gnarly mesquite trees. Sometimes, we'd find a tree covered in big, ropey mustang grapevines and I'd climb up into the trees, pretending I was in the Swiss Family Robinson.

Other times, we went looking for animals. My favorites were the green anole lizards that lived on trees and flashed their red neck flaps at you.

Technically, it's called a dewlap, thank you very much. Photo from R. Colin Blenis/Wikimedia Commons.

There were also tiny black-and-white beetles with rock-hard shells that lived on fallen logs. If you touched them, they played dead until they thought you were gone. And sometimes we even saw deer.

Nature walks are a good way for families to bond. And they're pretty healthy too.

Science shows that spending just a little time outside (walking, looking at the trees, or even catching Pokemon!) can be good for you — it reduces blood pressure and improves mental health. There are even studies that suggest spending time in nature together can help families get along.

But here's the problem: Not everyone has access to nature, even (and especially) in rural areas.


Does this count as nature? Not really. Scott Olsen/Getty Images.

It's easy to imagine how someone living in downtown Chicago might struggle to find nature. But living outside a city doesn't guarantee access to trails and forests, either.

For example, imagine living in farm country. Though you're definitely not in the city, miles and miles of corn fields are just as much an artificial creation as any apartment building (plus the farmers probably wouldn't be happy with you trying to picnic in the middle of their fields).

This is actually a significant problem, so two researchers (University of Illinois professor Ramona Oswald and doctoral student Dina Izenstark) recently examined the lack of nature access in rural America. They found that although a lot of parents may know how great a nature walk can be for both your mood and your body, long distances or costs keep them from getting their families into nature.

“The moms in this study know about health and what to do to be healthy,” Oswald said in a press release. “It’s not a lack of education. It has to do with barriers and access to resources."

But what if we could erase these barriers? Enter the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit that's giving people access to nature in a cool way: by reviving old railway lines.

Photo via Rails-to-Trails Conservancy/Eric Oberg, used with permission.

You see, the United States is criss-crossed with old railway lines.

Photo via iStock.

Many of them are still in use, but many have been abandoned.


Photo via iStock.

But just because they're abandoned doesn't mean they can't still be useful.

These abandoned lines can have new life breathed into them. Take the Cardinal Greenway in central and eastern Indiana.

Way back in 1993, the nonprofit Cardinal Greenways bought 60 miles of abandoned railroad in eastern Indiana and, after teaming up with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy for logistical help, began the hard work of turning it into a nature trail. (Rails-to-Trails support projects all across the United States.)

Photo from Cardinal Greenways, used with permission.

Tearing up a big metal railroad to make a nature trail might seem like a lot of work. But the railroad is already set up for nature walking success.

Most railroad tracks are already built up off the ground (so they don't flood), and they can support a lot of weight. Even better, trees don't grow on railroad tracks, so there's less vegetation to cut back to make a trail.

Cardinal Greenways' first 10-mile stretch opened in 1998.

They also added updated features like new bridges, benches, and informational signs.

Photo from Cardinal Greenways, used with permission.

There is also a playground and exercise equipment. You can even borrow a bike. It's free, too. Cardinal Greenways relies on volunteers and donations to maintain and expand the trail.

Today, the Cardinal Greenway runs for 62 miles, winding through more than 10 small towns as well as nature preserves and parks.

Photo from Cardinal Greenways, used with permission.

Families can walk or bicycle it, giving them easy access to nature and a safe place to exercise, no matter whether they're urban or rural.

A lot of different places have hit on replacing old railway lines with nature trails. Chicagoans might recognize the Bloomingdale Trail, for instance.

Photo from Victor Grigas/Wikimedia Commons.

The Bloomingdale Trail is a greenway that runs for about three miles in Northwest Chicago. You might never guess it used to be an old elevated train line.

In fact, your favorite running trail may have started its life as a railroad track. The Gloucester Township Trail in New Jersey, the Shelby Farms Greenline in Tennessee, and Mississippi's Tanglefoot Trail all started as old train lines, too.

Projects like this give both urban and rural families access to nature — using resources we already have.

Nature walks with my mom are some of my fondest childhood memories, and I'm sure those walks are part of the reason I'm still in love with nature today.

It's awesome to see projects like this making sure everyone has access to those memories like I did.

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Congress sneakily blocked an LGBT rights bill, and the House floor erupted.

C-SPAN really heated up on May 19, 2016.

Did you catch the drama that unfolded in Washington last night?

GIF via C-SPAN.

The House of Representatives devolved into a chaotic shouting match on May 19, 2016.

Even more than usual.

GIF via C-SPAN.

It all boils down to an amendment to H.R. 4974.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York had introduced a proposal that would've protected LGBT employees of federal contractors from being fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The amendment was attached to H.R. 4974, which funds military construction projects and the Veterans Administration.

Although it appeared the measure would pass, a handful of legislators switched their votes at the (very) last minute.

Maloney, who said the legislation had at one point garnered enough "yes" votes to sail through, told CNN that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy encouraged lawmakers to change their votes in the final seconds (of an already extended voting session) to block the measure.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

The bill was defeated 213 to 212.

At one point, many members started chanting "shame!" to state that the amendment had been blocked unfairly.

GIF via C-SPAN.

"They literally snatched discrimination out of the jaws of equality," Maloney told reporters after the session, accusing McCarthy of "twisting arms" for political gain. "We won this vote."

What happened on the House floor last night is just the latest edition in the backlash we've witnessed against LGBT rights. Judging from the internet's harsh reaction to those flip-flopping lawmakers, however, I certainly would not want to be them right now.




When lawmakers stand in the way of human rights, they usually learn the hard way that it's not OK.

Look at what happened in North Carolina.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

After legislators there passed the so-called "bathroom bill" — which forced people to use facilities that align with the gender they were assigned at birth, as opposed to the gender they identify as — the Justice Department stepped in to put them in their place. Most Americans agree: McCrory's "bathroom bill" is not the way to go.

And who could forget Indiana's infamous Religious Freedom Restoration Act?

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

When the state decided it was OK for businesses to discriminate against customers based on "religious freedoms," it — surprise! — didn't end well. Not only did massive pushback spur Gov. Mike Pence to scramble in "fixing" the legislation, but Indiana lost at least $60 million in tourism revenue because of it.

North Carolina and Indiana aren't alone, either. When lawmakers go against the grain of human progress, it's usually a losing effort.

Americans tend to prioritize human rights over politics — even when lawmakers haven't gotten the memo yet.

What happened on Thursday — the "twisting [of] arms," the extended voting session, oh, and the whole allowing discrimination thing — is not sitting well with plenty of constituents. Hopefully this time, like so many others, the American people will demand their representatives stand on the right side of history, too.

Watch C-SPAN's footage from the vote on May 19 below:

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