Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Chicago’s Washington Park June 18 to protest the acquittal of the cop that killed Philando Castile in Minnesota. The marchers began with a rally at the location where Ronald “Ronnieman” Johnson was shot in the back by Chicago police in October 2014.

Called by Black Lives Matter (BLM), the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the Resist Reimagine Rebuild (R3) Coalition, the action included a number of victims of police crimes, including Ronnieman’s mother, Dorothy Holmes. BLM and Ronnieman’s family has renamed the park Ronald Johnson Park in his memory.

Kofi Ademola Xola of BLM told the crowd that they had originally planned an event for this Sunday because it is Father’s Day. They wanted to uplift the memory of Ronald Johnson, the father of five children; Philando Castile, the father of one child; and all the other murder victims of police crimes whose children have to grow up without their fathers.

Barbara Ransby of the R3 coalition, expressed solidarity with the family of Philando. She said, “We demand justice for the family, but we know that justice isn’t simply convicting one bad cop. There will be another killer cop after this one.”

Frank Chapman of the Alliance said, “Some people say they are tired of marching. We can’t get tired of marching, because we’re not going to get justice from this system until we, the people, bring about justice.”

Both speakers made mention that they had just come from the memorial service of Josephine Wyatt, a founder and leader in the Chicago Alliance.

People along the street joined in the march. The chants raised included, “Black lives matter” and “What do we want? CPAC! When do we want it? Now!” CPAC stands for the Civilian Police Accountability Council, legislation for community control of the police that the movement has introduced into the Chicago city council.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #PhilandoCastile