Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of community members filled the streets of North Minneapolis, September 20, to remember Mariah Samuels with a march led by her loved ones from the home where she was shot and killed on September 14 to the Minneapolis Fourth Precinct police station.

As the crowd gathered on Russell Avenue, a family member on a bullhorn said, “We are going to march in the name of Mariah Samuels. Her life mattered, the way she was taken away from us was not necessary, and nobody in this world deserves to leave this world like that. So today we are going to speak her name loudly because everybody should be protected when they are asking for help.”

Samuels was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend, David Wright, less than a month after she had won a restraining order against him for a violent assault where he pistol-whipped her, grabbed her throat and threatened to shoot her and others. Police were called to the scene but never filed charges with the county attorney. At the time of the assault, Wright was on supervised release for illegal gun possession, but he was not detained for the parole violation after attacking Mariah in August.

Several speakers criticized the Minneapolis Police Department for failing to protect Samuels. One said, “This police department needs to stop failing all Black and brown women. When they call the police, they need to listen. If this had been someone else, they would have listened. They would have provided protection!”

Family friend Jami Dixon said to the crowd: “I have to call out a system that failed Mariah and failed too many women. Her death is not just a tragedy. It is proof that something must change right now!”

Herself a survivor of domestic violence, Dixon explained, “From 2014 to 2016, MPD received 43,000 [domestic violence] calls, but only 20% led to a police report or an arrest. Four out of five survivors who picked up the phone called for help never saw follow-through. That’s 80% who were brave enough to call for help. We can honor her by refusing to let the system off the hook because we know this is not just about Mariah, it’s about every woman, every mother, every daughter, every friend who is still out there begging to be helped before it’s too late.”

Donations to support Samuel’s sons Elijah and Peace can be sent to her father’s Cash App at $BIGBILL1016.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #InJusticeSystem #WomensMovement #DomesticViolence

Attendees listened to five speakers give moving testimonials. They shared the stage with five framed pictures of Grand Rapids community members, all women, who were victims of domestic violence.

Tables at the event had literature and resources from organizations such as Safe Haven Ministries, Planned Parenthood, and WEAVE of Kent County. There were flyers about domestic violence and how to spot abuse. A community art project was available for attendees to interact with, which promoted a positive environment and a message of solidarity for people facing domestic abuse.

Alicia Celeste spoke about her best friend Leah Gomez. Gomez was murdered by her boyfriend with an AR-15 in front of her one-year-old child on May 31. “She did everything she should do in her situation,” Alicia Celeste said.

Celeste explained how the Grand Rapids Police Department failed to prevent Gomez’s death even though she fully cooperated with law enforcement. Celeste emphasized, “Domestic violence can happen to you!”

In terms of dealing with domestic abusers, “It’s not easy, and the system is not set up for us women and mothers,” said Celeste in final remarks.

Common themes among other speakers touched on parental abuse and the physical and mental effects of domestic violence and abuse. Bates spoke last and related her own stories of being in abusive family and social relationships.

Cementing the theme of the event, Bates stated, “Abusers come in all walks of life,” and noted how it is imperative to act against abuse in organizing spaces. She plans to hold additional rallies in support of survivors in the upcoming months.

#GrandRapidsMI #DomesticViolence

Muñoz’s case has drawn widespread attention across California. Her attorney, Carlos Vellanoweth, filed a writ of habeas corpus to overturn Muñoz’s original guilty plea. If successful, Rosario would have been eligible for a waiver in immigration law, allowing her to stay in the U.S. with a green card.

The Free Rosario Muñoz Committee tells how the case came to be: “Rosario Muñoz was a Mexican immigrant who was a victim of domestic violence. In 1987 Rosario Muñoz had already endured 14 years of physical, verbal and emotional abuse from her husband Felix, who made her work more than 15 hours a day to help support his lover. He would rape her, beat her, pointed a gun at her head threatening to kill her… Rosario stayed with her abuser because she was undocumented and she wanted to gain legal residence in this country and she had three children to support.”

After finding the doors to shelters closed to her because she is a non-citizen and police who told her that domestic violence was a ‘personal problem’ she confronted her abuser. She took his gun. After 14 years of physical, verbal and emotional abuse to her and her three children, she aimed at her abuser and shot. She missed him and accidentally shot his mistress.

It took one week to convict Muñoz of second-degree murder, a crime that carries 15 years to life. During the trial, domestic violence was never considered as a mitigating factor. After serving 15 years as a model prisoner, Muñoz was paroled – in part due to pressure from the Chicano/Latino community and those demanding justice for domestic violence victims.

After her parole, Muñoz did not get the freedom she deserved. She remains in jail, facing deportation. Her defense committee states, “Rosario, her family and supporters are committed to continue the fight for her freedom and reunification with her family. They see Rosario as an example of the many Mexican and Latino immigrants who are fighting for a better life and equal rights as working people in the U.S.”

The Muñoz case brings together a number of vital issues – the inequality and national oppression faced by Mexican immigrants and the Chicano nation as a whole, domestic violence and systematic oppression of women – and a criminal justice system that serves only the rich and powerful.

Rosario Muñoz does not belong behind bars. She belongs with her family and community in the U.S.

#LosAngelesCA #ImmigrantRights #News #WomensMovement #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #RosarioMuñoz #domesticViolence