Houston, TX – Over 15 people protested outside of the Houston Police Department, Oct. 21, to demand justice for Alva Braziel, an African American man murdered by the police in July. The protesters confronted the police who were guarding the police headquarters.

For over an hour, protesters held signs and denounced police crimes, demanding an end to the killings of African American people by the police. Some called for community control of the police, and everyone demanded that the cops be indicted for their crimes.

During the rally, a racist man waiting at a bus stop shouted “All lives matter!” The protesters ran across the street, surrounded him, and chanted “Black lives matter!” The police immediately ran to the defense of the racist, and escorted him away.

The next day, Oct. 22, a march was held through downtown Houston, on the busiest evening in the week. Protesters again marched to the Houston Police Department, and gave speeches. A driver slowed down and yelled a racist slur, so protesters surrounded his car and demanded that he apologize. He rolled up the window and could only drive away when the police came to his defense.

After rallying outside the Houston police headquarters, the protesters marched down Main Street and stopped at all the clubs to rally. Hundreds of people came out to watch and many gave nods of support.

However, during the rally a young man at a bar started yelling racist obscenities. The protesters started chanting, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! These racist cops have got to go!” The young racist then assaulted one of the protesters, and a scuffle broke out. The cops showed up to defend the racist and attempted to arrest one of the protesters without any cause. The police did not arrest or charge the racist who started it.

A student leading the protest said, “These racist cops continue to kill Black people and get away with it. Through the media, they promote racism and get the public to support the police. The man who assaulted the student was clearly under the influence of such racist propaganda. We are here today to call for an end to racism, and demand that the police stop killing Black and Brown people.”

Both protests were led by the Peoples New Black Panther Party. More protests are scheduled for next week.

#HoustonTX #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #AlvaBraziel

Houston, TX – Over 30 people gathered in front of the headquarters of the Houston Police department, July 10, to protest the murder of Alva Braziel, an African-American man who was shot dead this week by the police. Braziel was cooperating with the police by putting his hands up, but they still shot him. The protest was also called to demand justice for Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and all victims of police brutality.

In the scorching heat, the activists marched in a circular picket chanting “hey, hey, ho, ho, killer cops have got to go,” and had signs that read “Stop killing Black people.” After protesting in front of the police station for an hour, the activists marched through downtown Houston chanting “Black lives matter!” and received much support from people waiting at bus and rail stops, passersby and others in downtown.

Later in the day, a remembrance of Sandra Bland was held in Prairie View, Texas, 50 miles north of Houston. Today, July 10, marks the one-year anniversary that Sandra Bland was arrested and murdered in Waller County jail by her jailers.

One of the speakers at the Sandra Bland remembrance said, “Protesting is good, but it only will give us a piece of the pie. We want to change society so that we can have the whole kitchen and determine the recipe on how to run our own lives. This is called independence, and we are here today to fight for the independence of Black people.”

#HoustonTX #PoliceBrutality #SandraBland #AlvaBraziel