August 1, 2016
Movement for Black Lives activists begin occupation and demand reparations.
Millions March NYC began an occupation of New York’s City Hall Park the morning of Aug. 1. Organizers say they will remain until Mayor Bill de Blasio meets three demands: fire Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and end “Broken Windows” policing; defund the New York Police Department and invest in Black, Brown and working-class communities; and provide reparations to victims’ families and survivors of police terrorism out of the NYPD budget.
MMNYC is a “grassroots multiracial collective of organizers committed to building and strengthening the movement for Black lives,” according to the press release for the occupation. The activists represent communities at “the intersections of multiple social movements — Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous people, prison abolition and others.” Groups participating include Equality for Flatbush, Peoples Power Assemblies NYC (PPA), NYC Labor for Black Lives, NYC Shut It Down, Samidoun Palestine Prisoner Solidarity Network and more.
MMNYC has organized over a dozen mass mobilizations and marches, including the December 2014 Days of Rage that brought 75,000 people into the streets to demand an end to police brutality.
(photo: Tony Murphy)
