PROTEST
At Barclays Center on SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, NOON
#shutitdown4mikebrown #blacklivesmatter
THE ONE-YEAR MARK OF MICHAEL BROWN’S MURDER
Justice for Michael Brown & All Victims of Police Brutality!
PROTESTERS’ MESSAGE TO MAYOR DE BLASIO: “TELL THE NYPD TO
STAY AWAY FROM OUR DEMONSTRATION!”
https://www.facebook.com/
Last August, the execution of an unarmed Black youth Michael Brown on
the streets of Ferguson Missouri began a rebellion against the racist
police terror faced by Black and Brown people in America. This
rebellion sparked the fire of courage in many, beginning the uprising
known as the Black Lives Matter movement.
Night after night, the Ferguson community battled police and the
National Guard. For weeks, everyday people went up unarmed against
cops who were equipped with riot gear; armed with tear gas, guns, and
semiautomatic rifles; and backed up by helicopters and armored
personnel carriers. The tenacity and courage of the Ferguson community
was viewed worldwide, and reopened the conversation of policing in
America.
The Ferguson Uprising that transformed into the Black Lives Matter
movement has fostered a gradual change in America; challenging both
the political landscape and racist narratives. Not only is the
Movement forcing mainstream politicians to address Black and Brown
issues, but it continues to challenge the “I feared for my life”
narrative, a narrative often used by killer cops to justify murder as
was done in the Michael Brown case.
The Black Lives Matter Movement’s tenacity is responsible for the
recent indictments of officers who murder, such as the recent
indictment of Sam Dubose’s killer, officer Ray Tensing. Tensing is
currently being charged with murder; the first-ever murder charge
against a cop in Cleveland’s Hamilton County. The Black Lives Matter
Movement’s continued fight for Black and Brown liberation has caused
the Confederate Flags to come down from state buildings, it is
responsible for the historic Movement for Black Lives conference in
Cleveland, and is the hope for the future.
With that hope, The Black Summer coalition was formed. This coalition
is a group of organizations and individuals who have spent the last
year fiercely fighting police terror in New York City. The Black
Summer Coalition invites you to commemorate the one-year anniversary
of the Ferguson Uprising on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 12 noon, in front of the
Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This protest will not only remember
Michael Brown, but will demand an end to the racist police terror that
the Black and Brown communities face each day, as well as salute the
brave uprising that moved many into action.
The demand to an end of police terror will include an immediate stop
to the daily brutality and deaths at the hands of police — whether at
traffic stops, during broken windows harassment, or in jail cells.
Every day it seems another person of color – and they are mostly
women — turns up dead in a jail cell. Sandra Bland, Raynette Turner,
Ralkina Jones, Kindra Chapman, Joyce Curnell, Rexdale Henry.
“The murder of Sandra Bland is a perfect example of the terroristic
role of the police,” said Black Lives Matter activist Kim Ortiz from
the NYC Shut it Down organization. She continued “Officer Brian
Encinia went after Sandra Bland merely because she was an activist who
knew her rights. He physically attacked her over the pettiest traffic
violation imaginable. Next, the justice system failed Sandra Bland by
holding her for three days, over what at most should have been a
traffic summons; and now she’s dead.”
The Black Summer Coalition’s demand that police terror end will also
include an end to the use of tickets, courts, and mass incarceration
as a means of revenue and slave labor as was founded in Ferguson
Missouri.
The Coalition will call on Mayor Bill de Blasio to use his authority
and demand the NYPD not attend the Sunday demonstration. “The violence
at these demonstrations comes solely from the police, it is dire for
the safety of the Black and Brown community that the NYPD not attend.
No one is safe when the police are allowed to run rampant and use
deadly force with impunity,” says KaLisa Moore from People’s Power
Assemblies.
“Because the Black Summer Coalition protesters have recently
experienced harassment and violence at the hands of the NYPD, we ask
Mayor De Blasio to fulfill his election mandate and act in the
interests of the people; by demanding the NYPD allow protesters their
First Amendment rights without incident,” Moore said.
All lives will matter, when Black Lives Matter.
The Black Summer Coalition is (in alphabetical order) Africans
Helping Africans, Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST), Millions
March, Peoples Power Assemblies (PPA), Shut it Down NYC, Why
Accountability
