The case, which was continued to September 18, referenced a speeding ticket issued to Leanne Cusack on June 5, when she struck and killed Murod Kurdi with her car. Cusack had admitted to drinking before getting in her vehicle, but when Oak Lawn Police Department (OLPD) arrived at the scene, they allowed Cusack to leave without alcohol tests or arrest for the death she caused. The next day she was seen drinking at the same bar.

After the crowd of over 100 supporters raised chants for justice, Murod Kurdi’s mother and brother, Fadia Muhamad and Suphi Kurdi, shared their grief at the loss of their family member with the press.

“I want to see justice,” Muhamad said. “There is no parent that should ever have to go through something like this.” She also connected the case to the larger issue of public safety in Oak Lawn, expressing the urgency of accountability that is needed to prevent another tragedy. “If there is no justice, this can and will happen again,” she said. “It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when and who the next victim will be.”

For Murod Kurdi’s family and the Arab community of Oak Lawn, justice means prosecution — by the Cook County State's Attorney's office — of Kurdi’s killer to the full extent of the law. Kurdi’s community also demands that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul open an independent investigation into the OLPD for its crimes and neglect toward Arab communities and other oppressed nationalities.

In line with the racist stance of OLPD, the court staff at Bridgeview County showed special treatment for Kurdi’s killer, while denying his family and their supporters adequate room to witness the hearing. Court officers let Cusack enter and exit the courtroom through a backdoor to avoid facing the family of the man she killed.

Kurdi’s case comes less than a year after three Oak Lawn police officers beat 17-year-old Hadi Abuatelah within an inch of his life. One of those three is Mark Hollingsworth, who was also one of the officers assigned to review the footage of Kurdi’s killing, though he wasn't at the scene when it happened. In a meeting with Fadia Muhamad, Hollingsworth claimed he saw enough to know that the killer wasn't drunk.

The organized response from the community in Hadi Abuatelah’s case has resulted in Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx bringing charges against Patrick O'Donell, one of the three offending officers.

“The struggle of the Arab community against police crimes in Oak Lawn shows that justice is not handed down by the system,” said Arab American Action Network organizer Muhammad Sankari. “Justice is won by fighting back and demanding it.”

#ChicagoIL #AsianNationalities #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #MurodKurdi

Milwaukee, WI – Thursday, May 25 marked the three-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by killer cop Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. George Floyd’s murder sparked a rebellion in which millions took to the streets in the U.S. and around the world. His murder resonated in Milwaukee, a city with countless victims of police crimes. To commemorate George Floyd and all victims of police crimes in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) organized a vigil.

“May 25, 2020 was a day that changed many of us,” said Femi Akinmoladun, member of the Milwaukee Alliance. Tens of thousands of people in Milwaukee poured into the streets to demand justice for George Floyd and other victims of police crimes in the city. Milwaukee has a long history of police crimes, many of which involved officers or racist vigilantes choking a Black or brown man to death.

Speaking to this history, Brian Verdin, education chair of the MAARPR, said, “When I saw the footage of George Floyd’s murder, I couldn’t help but think about the people in Milwaukee who have been killed in similar ways – choked to death. I think about Ernest Lacy in 1981. Derek Williams in 2011. Corey Stingley in 2012. Joel Acevedo in 2020, one month before George Floyd.”

Three years have passed, and although the streets aren’t filled with thousands of people, the organizing has not stopped. As Lo Cross, co-chair of the MAARPR, stated, “There’s a lot of work to be done. It’s a long struggle. It has been three years since George Floyd was murdered, but the struggle continues. We’re only going to win what we’re organized to take. We can’t wait for the next spontaneous event to set off another wave of struggle. We must build up our organization and be ready.”

The struggle continues, and in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Alliance has been diligently building partnerships with other community organizations to push for progressive changes. Speaking to this, Donyae Robinson, organizer with Black Leaders Organizing Communities, said, “If we stand up together, I feel like nothing can stop us.”

#MilwaukeeWI #OppressedNationalities #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #GeorgeFloyd #MilwaukeeAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression

By Destiny Spruill and Jacob Buckner

Chicago, IL – Two factors have made public safety a lynchpin issue in the upcoming mayoral election between Brandon Johnson, former teacher supported by the Chicago Teacher’s Union, and Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, backed by the Fraternal Order of the Police (FOP). First is the rise in the crime rate in the city in recent years. The second, and principal, reason is the law-and-order backlash that followed the historic protests of the George Floyd Rebellion.

Groups like the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) are fighting to make sure that the city’s supposed concern for public safety prioritizes police accountability for its Black, Latino, indigenous and working-class residents. These residents face the highest rates of incarceration and violent police raids and have been the most likely to face the full force of the police state.

You can’t discuss public safety without discussing the struggle for community control of the police – a struggle for democratic rights.

“This mayoral election is historic. It is the first time in four decades that we’ve had a truly progressive candidate for mayor – Brandon Johnson. For the first time in history, the people of Chicago have a real choice between the old reactionary, recycling of the status quo and taking a progressive road towards advancing the democratic right of the people,” says Frank Chapman, the executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist Political Repression (NAARPR).

The movement for community control of the police in Chicago began over 50 years ago. CAARPR played a leading role in the 1970s and starting 11 years ago has led it through its Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) campaign. They believe that electing Brandon Johnson is an important piece in the broader struggle for police accountability. Understanding the history of CAARPR’s CPAC movement is crucial in assessing the needs of Chicago’s most vulnerable populations. It is also crucial in evaluating how we can chart the way forward.

CAARPR and its struggle for community control of police in Chicago

By 1968, the first citywide attempt at community control was started by the Black Panther Party (BPP), which initiated a number of programs that demanded to transform the power structure of the police and its effect on the lives of Black Chicagoans. The Panthers believed that community control of the police was a political necessity for Black community members to decide for themselves how public safety would be implemented. Their demands were clear: violent police officers must be held accountable through community boards, the people must decide the funding of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), and the power of supervising and administering the police department must be transferred to the citizens of Chicago. The National Alliance Against Racist Political Repression (NAARPR) took up these demands and created a model to bring these demands to legislation.

Starting in 2012, CAARPR, the Chicago branch of NAARPR, provided a model based on the principle set forth by the Panthers, and on legislation that had been developed by the National Alliance in the 1970s. Decades later, the need for this movement continued as racist policing in Chicago increased as a result of the heightened power of the CPD. In 2012, 22-year-old Rekia Boyd was murdered by an off-duty police detective named Dante Servin. Following community protests, the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression began a ten-year process of building a movement to pass an ordinance that would create community-controlled police boards in all 22 Chicago police districts. This movement became known as the Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) campaign.

CAARPR spent the next years in working-class neighborhoods most affected by police violence and spoke to survivors and community members about their public safety needs. These efforts continued from the murder of Laquan McDonald in 2014 to the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020. When George Floyd was murdered, the National Alliance Against Racist Political Repression called for a national day of protest on May 30. In Chicago, 20,000 marched or car caravanned into the Chicago Loop. In the following weeks, over 100,000 marched in Chicago. Every protest called for “CPAC now!”

The campaign collected over 60,000 signatures with an average of 1000 signatures in 38 wards. Their efforts proved that victory is only possible with the leadership and experience of the community. This mass movement created the conditions for passing legislation.

By 2021, CAARPR had the support of 19 of the 50 city council members. A competing police accountability legislation, the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA), had the support of 26 of the 50 city council members. Council members of the Socialist Caucus of Chicago told GAPA that they would not cast a vote to support their legislation unless they came to an agreement with the CPAC legislation proposed by CAARPR. After then-mayor Lori Lightfoot refused GAPA’s demand to include control of police policy in their legislation, negotiations between CAARPR and GAPA began, and a compromise was reached two months later.

The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance was passed in the city council and officially created two bodies for police accountability: the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) and the police district councils, for which there were elections in February. These bodies have the following powers: Directly investigating crimes of police violence; determining Chicago Police Department policy; hiring and firing the Chief Administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA); holding hearings about police superintendents; and recommending preventative, proactive, community-based and evidence-based solutions to violence.

These District Councils and the CCPSA go beyond stopping vicious and racist police officers, they hold a model for community members directly affected by racist police violence to see justice and build a regenerative model to change public safety.

Many of the candidates for these boards had never run for public office – they are motivated by their own experiences with police violence. Cynthia McFadden, for example, ran for the board because she was inspired by her father who fled the South due to extreme violence only to be murdered by Chicago police the day of his arrival. Coston Plummer was motivated by his older brother who was forced by Chicago police to falsely confess to a murder when he was just 15 years old. These candidates believe that ECPS represents the will of communities impacted by police violence to finally experience justice.

On February 28, 2023, for the first time in history, residents of Chicago had the opportunity to vote for these boards – resulting in 39 of 66 district councilors being elected from the movement for police accountability. CAARPR, alongside their partners in their community, expanded this grassroots campaign and made it possible to succeed.

From CPAC to ECPS to Brandon Johnson

“The terms of this election were set by the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Across the U.S., 26 million people called for justice – including Brandon Johnson. Brandon Johnson has received the support of the Chicago Alliance because he alone included police accountability and working with ECPS in his platform and campaign. Paul Vallas received support from the FOP to maintain injustice. On February 28, the Black community voted against the FOP and for justice through democratic control of the police in the district council elections,” says Joe Iosbaker, cochair of the Labor Committee of CAARPR.

During a mayoral forum on public safety at the UIC Forum on March 14, Paul Vallas put forth his vision of police accountability by saying, “Community policing fundamentally means, you have beat officers on every beat. So every single beat is covered by a patrol car, manned with officers. Officers know the community, and are known by name and by badge number, by the community.” Vallas has seized on rising concerns for public safety – which have steadily grown as the city of Chicago experiences more violence and believes the only way forward is to increase police presence and grant them more control over the city. Chicago’s FOP, an organization that is nationally known for its hostility towards Black and brown people, threw its support behind Paul Vallas. He welcomed its endorsement and thanked “Chicago’s finest, men and women of the FOP who sacrifice their lives to make our city safer. Reducing crime and making Chicago safer are my top priorities.”

Brandon Johnson has built his public safety platform with the intention of addressing the “root causes of violence and poverty.” Johnson’s campaign for Chicago mayor is not only about the use of community control boards, but about creating an overall model of safety which positions the needs of the community at its center. Johnson argues that public safety is not only about stopping police violence but about investing in generative initiatives such as mental health care and housing.

Johnson believes these measures will prevent systemic violence from attacking Chicago communities. One of his initiatives involves getting rid of the racist “Gang Database,” which currently “labels more than 280,000 people – 95% people of color as gang members without requiring evidence of gang affiliation or informing them of their listing.” The Gang Database has been used to profile and surveil Black neighborhoods, resulting in heightened Black and Latino arrests. Johnson also supports the Anjanette Young Ordinance, which will stop no-knock warrants. He believes in collaborating with the democratically elected District Councils to manage police accountability and decide the Chicago Police Department's policy.

Each of Johnson's initiatives interconnects with the overall needs of the community, including mental health. Within mental health initiatives, Johnston aims to Launch Crisis Response Teams with non-police personnel, reopen all 14 mental health centers, and expand the 988 mental health crisis hotline to 24 hours.

The fight for Brandon Johnson is the fight for justice for the Black and Latino community In Chicago

The mayoral election between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas will decide if the city continues the struggle for a public safety plan that includes Black and Latino Chicagoans and its working-class neighborhoods. The grassroots work of the last ten years – the struggle for democratic control of the police – could be upheld through Brandon Johnson’s leadership. For ten years, Chicagoans have fought for police accountability, affirmative mental health treatment, and housing for all community members. Many believe Brandon Johnson’s candidacy represents the work that Black Chicagoans have put toward a movement to see their own collective needs met against systemic violence.

Throughout the ten-year CPAC campaign, CAARPR created a grassroots movement that won a historic ordinance to hold the police accountable. CAARPR responds to the calls for public safety this way: “Black and brown communities are over-policed and under-protected. There’s a reason that 70% of violent crimes in our neighborhoods go unsolved. No one trusts the police. And why would they? After generations of police crimes, like the reign of torturer Jon Burge!” In the words of Frank Chapman, “We want to hold the police accountable for what they do, and what they don’t do.”

CAARPR’s current task is to uphold the advances made by the district council elections through the election of Brandon Johnson, but they will carry forth the mission toward real police accountability, in partnership with the local community, well beyond this mayoral election. We will continue to look to them as leaders in our struggle against state-sanctioned violence.

#ChicagoIL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #PoliticalRepression #Elections #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #CommunityControlOfThePolice #BrandonJohnson

Los Angeles, CA – On March 26, over 50 people gathered at Belvedere Lakeside Park in East LA to support the surviving family of David Ordaz, Jr. The event was led by Emily Ordaz, the 16-year-old surviving daughter of Ordaz, and Centro CSO’s Sol Marquez.

Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies killed Ordaz outside of his family home on March 14, 2021, after Ordaz was suffering a mental health crisis and his family called 911.

During the beginning rally, the various speakers included Emily Ordaz, Ordaz’s mother Edelmira Ramirez, the family of Marco Vasquez Jr., the family of Paul Rea, the family of Leonel Chavez, the family of David Sullivan, Say Their Names-LA, Luis Sifuentes of Centro CSO and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Street Watch LA.

Among the passionate and inspiring speeches were demands for more community control of LA County Sheriff’s Department and LA Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the jailing or prosecution of each officer involved in these officer-involved shootings, and solutions to an obvious problem: Los Angeles is a leader in police brutality cases around the country, of which Chicanos are the majority of the casualties.

After the rally, the crowd was led by the Ordaz family to protest the East LA Sheriff’s station, on the opposite side of the park. Hilda Pedroza, the sister of David Ordaz, Jr., pushed her mother Edelmira Ramirez’s wheelchair to the front door of the station. Ramirez pressed the call button, used when asking for assistance from the deputies, or to be let into the station. Ramirez began to plea through the intercom button that she needed to be assisted in winning justice for her son David Ordaz, Jr. The crowd of protesters became angered by the deputies ignoring Ramirez’s cries for help.

Pedroza, inspired by her mother, angrily grabbed a microphone brought by the organizers of the event and at the top of her lungs shouted at the deputies. She demanded that they push one of Ordaz’s killers, LA Deputy Edwin Navarrete, out to face justice. Protesters began to cry as Pedroza’s cries for justice struck a chord.

Deputies began to encircle the protesters simultaneously as the doors suddenly opened and a number of deputies came out to speak with the family. They attempted to separate the Ordaz family from the activists, but the family did not fall for the old trick of divide and conquer. As deputy vehicles and armed deputies began to move in closer, leaders of the event led the event away from the deputies. The event concluded as the Ordaz family succeeded in leading a pivotal event to win justice for David Ordaz, Jr. and a reminder to all that the fight is far from over.

Plans for the Ordaz family are to join Centro CSO’s May Day event in Boyle Heights which will be on May 1 at noon. The event will begin at the intersection of N Mathews and East Cesar E Chavez Avenue, where all participants will assemble before marching and celebrating International Workers Day. Join the event to help the Ordaz Family win justice. Contact CSO at (323) 943-2030, CentroCSO@gmail.com, or @CentroCSO on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more information.

#LosAngelesCA #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #CentroCommunityServiceOrganizationCSO #DavidOrdazJr

FRSO strongly condemns the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges. This verdict is another example of how the police and courts work hand in hand with racist vigilantes to kill and injure African Americans, other oppressed nationalities, and all who try to fight to end police crimes.

In August of 2020, Jacob Blake, a young African American man, was shot in the back four times and three times in the side in by a white police officer Kenosha, Wisconsin. Coming less than two months after the killing of George Floyd, another uprising took place, with the African American community and supporters battling police.

Into this uprising stepped Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from across the state line in Illinois, armed with an AR-15 rifle. He ended up killing two protesters and wounding another.

Despite the outrageousness of his crimes, Rittenhouse was acquitted on all counts of murder, reckless endangerment and illegal possession of a weapon.

The FRSO hails the slain protesters Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, who were both local residents protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. While African Americans and other oppressed nationalities (Native Americans, Chicanos and Latinos, and others) face the brunt of police violence, white Americans who protested racist discrimination have also been killed. We should never forget the beating and murder of white civil rights activists Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, along with local Black activist James Cheney, during the 1964 Freedom Summer by the police and KKK.

No criminal charges were ever made against the white police officer, Rusten Shuskey, who shot Jacob Blake seven times – Shuskey is back on the job at the Kenosha police department without any disciplinary action. What we have is a system that lets the police who shoot African Americans, and the vigilantes who shoot and kill those protesting police violence, to go scot-free. The police and courts are not here to provide justice, they are here to maintain the racist oppression of African Americans and other oppressed nationalities.

The FRSO calls upon all progressive people to protest this injustice!

Jail killer cops and racist murderers!

#UnitedStates #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #JacobBlake #KyleRittenhouse

Chicago, IL – One year after playing a leading role in the George Floyd Rebellion that swept the U.S. in the summer of 2020, the Black-led National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is convening again in Chicago. The storied organization, originally founded in 1973 from the National Committee to Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners, was reestablished in November 2019. According to Frank Chapman, Executive Director of NAARPR, “We have 13 cities in which there is organizing against police crimes and for community control of the police.”

The weekend after the murder of George Floyd, NAARPR called for a national day of protests, which resulted in marches in 22 cities which were responsible for nearly 200,000 people coming into the streets.

Another milestone in the work of the Alliance over the past two years is winning freedom for some of the wrongly incarcerated after decades in prison. There have also been campaigns – some successful, some ongoing – to free Alliance members and other activists arrested during the rebellion and other protests, while continuing to support political prisoners.

However, the main work of the chapters and affiliates is the fight for community control over racist police departments. In Chicago the National Alliance branch has become the cutting edge of a mass movement that has passed legislation for civilian oversight that gives a pathway to community control of the police. The Alliance is building mass movements for community control in Minneapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York, and Jacksonville, Florida.

Of course, the mass movement against racist policing isn’t the only army on the field. The forces of racist and political repression have also been growing at an alarming rate as we have seen with the storming of the Capitol by an organized mob of white supremacists and avowed fascists on January 6. We have witnessed a spike in police killing Black and Latino people with impunity, and the states have seen an unprecedented wave of repressive legislation designed to suppress the right to vote of Black, brown and poor people.

The Black Lives Matter youth movement was the first to raise the slogan that the police don’t keep us safe. Masses of people are seeing that what is needed is not more police but more community control of the police. At the same time, Alliance branches and affiliates have worked hard to oppose increases in police budgets and to support efforts to divert police funding to meet social needs and to demilitarize the police.

A call issued from NAARPR emphasizes, “If ever there was a time to defend and extend the democratic rights of the people to organize and protest that time is now and that is precisely why we need to call for and build this National Conference.” The conference will be held at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Saturday and Sunday, December 4 and 5.

#ChicagoIL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NationalAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression

Tallahassee, FL – On June 18, on the Old Capitol Steps, community members and loved ones gathered to celebrate the life of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Ruth Salau.

The candlelight vigil marked the one-year anniversary of Oluwatoyin’s tragic death. Trish Brown of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee remarked, “Doesn’t seem like it’s been a year. It seems almost like yesterday.”

Community members, loved ones and organizers paid tribute to Salau with a video montage of the slain activist on a ten-foot-tall video wall, her words echoed through the court yard, “ We’re doing this for every Black person, because at the end of the day, I cannot take my fucking skin color off. Wherever the fuck I go, I’m profiled. I’ma die about my fucking skin. My Blackness is not for your fucking consumption.”

More than a year ago, Salau stood at the capitol demanding justice for Tony McDade. She chanted “Black lives matter!”, “No justice, no peace!”, and “Black trans lives matter!” along with others taking to the streets. A year later, the Tallahassee community repeated the very same cries of freedom that Salau spoke.

Delilah Pierre, vice president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, said “The Tallahassee Police Department has the funds and resources to spy on Frenchtown and South Side communities in Tallahassee. Despite their enormous wealth and power, and their claim to be an abiding force for good in Tallahassee, in reality they only use their resources as a means to an end to further criminalize and impoverishe Black communities. The police department was not interested in using their resources and power to search for Toyin, using their helicopters, surveillance systems, and other resources to make sure she was safely returned to her home. Despite constant outreach and investigation from activists, Toyin’s life ended precisely because of a lack of active resources where she could be safely rehoused.”

Regina Joseph, president of TCAC said “We, the community organized a search party for Toyin while TPD was too busy looking for a missing dog. All the clues and information, and the reported whereabouts of Toyin were given to the police. TPD did nothing. They did not want to find a missing activist whose most famous last words commended the Tallahassee police force as a tool to repress Black people.”

The vigil was organized by the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, FSU Students for a Democratic Society and Movement 850.

Say her name: Oluwatoyin Salau.

#TallahasseeFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Vigil #OluwatoyinToyinSalau #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC

Bayport, MN – After 18 long years, Myon Burrell walked out the doors of Stillwater prison, to a cheering crowd of family and 100-plus community supporters. First embraced by his sister Ianna Burrell from the front, and his son Myon Burrell, Jr. from the back, he slowly made his way to the outside stairs to chants of, “Welcome home!” and “Myon’s free!”

Burrell made his way through the crowd, and then said, “I thank everybody who came out and supported me. I can’t even explain my gratitude. All my supporters, I love y’all. Y’all take care. And y’all keep on pushing, man, we fighting for justice. There’s too much injustice going on.” Then he threw his fist into the air and got into a car to leave the prison behind, leaving the crowd chanting, “Myon’s free!”

Burrell’s son said this was the best day of his life, “It ain’t ‘Free Myon’ no more. Myon’s free!”

These emotional events came after a decision earlier that day, when the Minnesota Pardon Board considered Burrell’s case. He had asked for a pardon and commutation. A pardon was denied, but a commutation was approved on the grounds that Burrell was just 16 years old when went on trial for the murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, who was killed by a bullet that came through the wall of her home while she was at a table doing homework. A national panel of legal experts had reviewed the case and issued a 59-page report that concluded that Burrell should be freed, both because of the dubious grounds for his conviction and because his sentence was extreme for a juvenile, compared to today’s standards.

Burrell’s case has been in the spotlight since former prosecutor and Minnesota’s U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar campaigned for president last year. She cited the case as an example of her work on behalf of the Black community. Her last public event before she dropped out of the campaign was shut down and taken over by hundreds rallying to “Free Myon.” Many of the organizers of that protest were on hand to welcome Myon Burrell home. Several spoke to the media, including Elizer Darris, ACLU; Nekima Levy Armstrong, Racial Justice Network; Jaylani Hussein, CAIR-Minnesota; Rosemary Nevils Williams; Jess Sundin, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J); and Toshira Garraway Allen, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence.

Addressing the media after Burrell had departed, the activists called for continuing the fight for justice for Myon Burrell, including exoneration. He was released from prison, but he will remain under supervised release for two more years, and going forward, a convicted felon. They denounced the police and prosecutorial misconduct that led to Burrell’s wrongful conviction and that of many others, and which also shields police from accountability for murders of community members.

#BayportMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #Antiracism #TwinCitiesCoalition4JusticeForJamarTCC4J #MyonBurrell

Los Angeles, CA – More than 3 million voted by mail and in person on November 3 in Los Angeles. District Attorney Jackie Lacey was defeated in a hard-fought race for district attorney of Los Angeles County, the most populous in the United States. Reform candidate George Gascon beat Lacey.

For the past three years, Black Lives Matter-LA has led weekly protest rallies at the ‘Hall of Injustice’ office demanding prosecution of killer cops and chanting, “Jackie Lacey must go! Jackie Lacey will go!” The weekly protests were attended by many Black and Chicano families whose sons and daughters have been killed by LAPD, LA Sheriffs and other local police departments. Many organizations joined this campaign including members and families from Centro CSO, based in Boyle Heights. Centro CSO members also organized a very successful rally and get-out-the-vote rally in East LA on October 25 asking voters to oust Trump and DA Lacey and vote for LA Measure J, which also won. Measure J will allocate 10% of the large LA County budget for human social needs, not more for police and jails.

In the past eight years, with over 600 mostly Black and Chicano young men killed, DA Lacey has only prosecuted one cop. She also pushed for the death penalty and led to the mass incarceration of Blacks and Chicanos. She was given millions for her campaigns by the LAPD Police Protective League, the Association Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the District Attorney's organization, which also threatened to not support winning candidate George Gascon. In fact, Gascon did win by calling for an independent department to investigate police killings and opposing the death penalty.

On Election Day, November 3, in Boyle Heights at Salesian High School and Boyle Heights Senior Center, the Chicano voters came in a steady stream. At the historic Salazar Park in East Los Angeles, lines of voters waited to enter the gym to vote. Centro CSO members handed out literature saying “Afuera con Lacey” and “Lacey must go” to warm reception.

Centro CSO united with BLM-LA since its beginning five years ago and to promote Black and brown solidarity. Centro CSO continuously supported the Jackie Lacey must go campaign. Lawn signs were put up in major street intersections of Boyle Heights and ELA with the slogan “DA Jackie Lacey must go.” The group White People 4 Black Lives put up giant billboards with pictures of young Chicanos killed by LAPD and LA Sheriffs like Jesse Romero and Anthony Vargas.

On November 4, an enthusiastic victory rally was held in front of the Hall of Injustice to shouts of “Jackie Lacey, you are gone.” Black and Chicano mothers spoke of their loved ones killed by LA-area police and celebrated the defeat of Lacey. BLM-LA activists Melina Abdullah, Akili, Jan, Tabatha, Joseph and many more greeted the joyous multinational crowd. BLM-LA asked Carlos Montes of Centro CSO to speak at the rally. He greeted the crowd with chants of “Jackie Lacey is gone, now Trump must get out now.” He urged the protestors to continue the struggle against racist police killings.

“We voted, we organized,” said Montes. “Now we will continue to build a movement in the workplace, in the community and schools to build a movement for revolution in this country while we support people abroad fighting against the U.S. empire.”

This is a victory for the Black and Chicano families, BLM-LA, WP4BL and the many groups that supported the long, hard campaign to oust the pro-cop, now former, DA Jackie Lacey.

Centro CSO is proud to be part of this struggle and will continue to fight and demand community control of police, jailing of killer cops and an end to police killings of Blacks and Chicanos as we fight for Chicano self-determination. As Black Lives Matter-LA leaders like Melina Abdullah proclaim, we are building a struggle for liberation! Join Centro CSO.

#LosAngelesCA #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #Elections #2020Election #LosAngelesDistrictAttorneyJackieLacey #GeorgeGascon

Minneapolis, MN – Nearly 500 gathered outside the barricaded Family Justice Center on Friday, September 11, where the four former cops who murdered George Floyd had a pretrial hearing. Each of them has filed motions for dismissal of their charges and for a change of venue to move the trial out of the metro area. TCC4J organized what became a six-hour presence outside the courthouse, with speakers, chanting and music.

In addition to the concrete barricades blocking the street and a ten-foot high fence around the building, organizers had to deal with a handful of disruptors, one of whom was inexplicably riding a scooter around the space, heckling some of the speakers at the event. TCC4J largely ignored the disruption, instead focusing on justice for George Floyd and giving a platform for the families to speak.

Among those who spoke, Toshira Garraway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence gave an impassioned speech calling for an end to infighting in the activist community and for people to recognize the manipulation of the facts by the defense in the George Floyd case. “How many were not filmed? How many did they get to edit? If they’re trying to dismiss the charges and they’re trying to pin George Floyd’s murder off on something else, and we watched it with our own eyes – we saw him get murdered on that ground! So imagine what they have done for what we did not see.”

Michael Toussaint, father of Myon Burrell, spoke about his son’s wrongful imprisonment 17 years ago. Burrell’s case has received a great deal of attention since Amy Klobuchar used it in her failed presidential campaign as an example of her positive work on behalf of the African American community. Current Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman also prosecuted the case, after the first conviction was thrown out. Burrell is still fighting for his freedom today, despite overwhelming evidence that he had no part in the murder of Tyesha Edwards. Toussaint called out Freeman’s role in the Burrell case, along with his failure to prosecute the cops who have killed dozens of civilians during his time as county attorney.

At one point, news reached the crowd outside that Judge Peter Cahill had ordered Mike Freeman off the case (the prosecution is led by state Attorney General Keith Ellison), in part for his sloppy work early on in this case. Despite this ruling being in favor of a defense motion, the crowd of protesters cheered the decision. Freeman is wildly unpopular.

In an official statement read at the event, TCC4J also reiterated the need for community control of the police. “If we had that, these killer cops would not even be on the force. New recruits would not be trained to kill, maim and brutalize as a first resort. Bystanders would have been empowered to step in and save Mr. Floyd’s life, without fear of being killed themselves.”

As it became clear that the crowd was committed to stay until the end of the hearing, emcees Jae Yates and Angel Smith El brought many other community leaders up to speak to the crowd and hold the space. These included Elizer Darris of ACLU-MN; Anika Bowie of NAACP-Mpls’ Mohamed Ibrahim from CAIR-MN; Trahern Crews of Black Lives Matter MN; Danielle Burns, Jamar Clark’s sister; Monique Cullars-Doty from TCC4J, a member whose nephew Marcus Golden was killed by SPPD in 2015; Michelle Gross of CUAPB; Yariah Myers representing TCC4J; Chauntyll Allen of Black Lives Matter-Twin Cities Metro; Marques Armstrong from Racial Justice Network, and Cortez Rice, George Floyd’s nephew.

Shortly after the hearing ended, the killer cops walked out of the building. As soon as they were spotted by protesters, the crowd erupted with angry chants and jeers. Thomas Lane and Aleander Keung were escorted through the crowd by police, and hundreds took off after them, following them down the block and around the corner. A smaller crowd of protesters spotted Derek Chauvin taking a different exit and shouted as he was placed in the police vehicle for his return trip to jail.

Once Chauvin was off the scene, protesters returned to the courthouse, where George Floyd’s family and their attorneys held a press conference and addressed the crowd of protesters, thanking them for their support. Rather than ignore the crowd, the family’s representation took a wireless mic from organizers so that the crowd could hear the address. Attorney Ben Crump spoke to the allegation that George Floyd’s death was caused by overdose. “They are trying to claim that the knee on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds had nothing to do with his death. The only overdose that killed George Floyd was an overdose of excessive force and racism.”

As part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, TCC4J’s is organizing a march for the upcoming National Day of Protest on September 19. Nationally, they are demanding community control of the police, an end to the slaying of Black lives, and an end to police and military forces being deployed to suppress protests. In Minneapolis, TCC4J will also call for the re-opening of local cases of police murder that were never prosecuted. The march will begin at 1 p.m. at Plymouth and James Avenues North, at the site where Jamar Clark’s life was taken by the Minneapolis Police Department in 2015.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Minneapolis, MN – Nearly 500 gathered outside the barricaded Family Justice Center on Friday, September 11, where the four former cops who murdered George Floyd had a pretrial hearing. Each of them has filed motions for dismissal of their charges and for a change of venue to move the trial out of the metro area. TCC4J organized what became a six-hour presence outside the courthouse, with speakers, chanting and music.

In addition to the concrete barricades blocking the street and a ten-foot high fence around the building, organizers had to deal with a handful of disruptors, one of whom was inexplicably riding a scooter around the space, heckling some of the speakers at the event. TCC4J largely ignored the disruption, instead focusing on justice for George Floyd and giving a platform for the families to speak.

Among those who spoke, Toshira Garraway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence gave an impassioned speech calling for an end to infighting in the activist community and for people to recognize the manipulation of the facts by the defense in the George Floyd case. “How many were not filmed? How many did they get to edit? If they’re trying to dismiss the charges and they’re trying to pin George Floyd’s murder off on something else, and we watched it with our own eyes – we saw him get murdered on that ground! So imagine what they have done for what we did not see.”

Michael Toussaint, father of Myon Burrell, spoke about his son’s wrongful imprisonment 17 years ago. Burrell’s case has received a great deal of attention since Amy Klobuchar used it in her failed presidential campaign as an example of her positive work on behalf of the African American community. Current Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman also prosecuted the case, after the first conviction was thrown out. Burrell is still fighting for his freedom today, despite overwhelming evidence that he had no part in the murder of Tyesha Edwards. Toussaint called out Freeman’s role in the Burrell case, along with his failure to prosecute the cops who have killed dozens of civilians during his time as county attorney.

At one point, news reached the crowd outside that Judge Peter Cahill had ordered Mike Freeman off the case (the prosecution is led by state Attorney General Keith Ellison), in part for his sloppy work early on in this case. Despite this ruling being in favor of a defense motion, the crowd of protesters cheered the decision. Freeman is wildly unpopular.

In an official statement read at the event, TCC4J also reiterated the need for community control of the police. “If we had that, these killer cops would not even be on the force. New recruits would not be trained to kill, maim and brutalize as a first resort. Bystanders would have been empowered to step in and save Mr. Floyd’s life, without fear of being killed themselves.”

As it became clear that the crowd was committed to stay until the end of the hearing, emcees Jae Yates and Angel Smith El brought many other community leaders up to speak to the crowd and hold the space. These included Elizer Darris of ACLU-MN; Anika Bowie of NAACP-Mpls’ Mohamed Ibrahim from CAIR-MN; Trahern Crews of Black Lives Matter MN; Danielle Burns, Jamar Clark’s sister; Monique Cullars-Doty from TCC4J, a member whose nephew Marcus Golden was killed by SPPD in 2015; Michelle Gross of CUAPB; Yariah Myers representing TCC4J; Chauntyll Allen of Black Lives Matter-Twin Cities Metro; Marques Armstrong from Racial Justice Network, and Cortez Rice, George Floyd’s nephew.

Shortly after the hearing ended, the killer cops walked out of the building. As soon as they were spotted by protesters, the crowd erupted with angry chants and jeers. Thomas Lane and Aleander Keung were escorted through the crowd by police, and hundreds took off after them, following them down the block and around the corner. A smaller crowd of protesters spotted Derek Chauvin taking a different exit and shouted as he was placed in the police vehicle for his return trip to jail.

Once Chauvin was off the scene, protesters returned to the courthouse, where George Floyd’s family and their attorneys held a press conference and addressed the crowd of protesters, thanking them for their support. Rather than ignore the crowd, the family’s representation took a wireless mic from organizers so that the crowd could hear the address. Attorney Ben Crump spoke to the allegation that George Floyd’s death was caused by overdose. “They are trying to claim that the knee on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds had nothing to do with his death. The only overdose that killed George Floyd was an overdose of excessive force and racism.”

As part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, TCC4J’s is organizing a march for the upcoming National Day of Protest on September 19. Nationally, they are demanding community control of the police, an end to the slaying of Black lives, and an end to police and military forces being deployed to suppress protests. In Minneapolis, TCC4J will also call for the re-opening of local cases of police murder that were never prosecuted. The march will begin at 1 p.m. at Plymouth and James Avenues North, at the site where Jamar Clark’s life was taken by the Minneapolis Police Department in 2015.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Tallahassee, FL – Grey clouds and rain filled the Florida sky as over 50 mourners from across the state of Florida gathered on the lawn in front of the Florida State Capitol, August 22, to pay their final respects to those whose lives have been taken by the inhumane conditions, gross mistreatment and neglect incarcerated persons inside Florida prisons face every day from guards and abusive government officials.

Who remembers and mourns for those killed by state violence when those deaths are hidden and written off as insignificant by the state itself? “Every year during Black August we commemorate the death of George Jackson and all who have given their lives and sacrificed in the spirit of Black resistance and the struggle for the liberation of Black lives,” says Karen Smith, an organizer with Florida Prisoner Solidarity.

In response to a call from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and the prisoner resistance movement, activists from Florida Prisoner Solidarity, Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees, Tallahassee Dream Defenders, Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Florida Cares, and the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons came together with the loved ones of incarcerated persons to grieve as a community the tragic loss of our incarcerated comrades.

“There has been no acknowledgement of their existence beyond a growing tally of deaths on the Department of Corrections website,” says Smith, “and we refuse to let their lives pass quietly and unnoticed.”

Using large black plastic bags stuffed with newspaper and paper bags, mourner-activists assembled ‘body bags’ to represent the lives of the 85 documented incarcerated persons killed by the State of Florida’s willful negligence in responding to the spread of COVID-19 within its prison system. Mourner-activists respectfully laid the body bags on the Capitol lawn. Each body bags bore a tag bearing the deceased’s name, their date and place of death, as well as the cause of their death: “Murdered by Ron DeSantis,” “Killed by Mark Inch” and “Victim of state violence.”

Mourner-activists lovingly placed fresh flowers upon the body bags of those killed, and stood solemnly in the Florida rain as family and friends of the deceased eulogized their loved ones, shared testimonies from life on the inside, and called on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Secretary of Corrections Mark Inch, and all those in positions of power within Florida’s prison system to stop murdering our loved ones.

After the memorial service, mourner-activists picked up the body bags from the capitol lawn and carried them in a funeral procession down Apalachee Parkway to the Florida Department of Corrections office on Calhoun Street. There, mourners held 85 seconds of silence, one second for each victim, before laying the body bags in front of the entrance to Mark Inch’s office. Speaking aloud the names of those killed as they gently laid them down, mourners ensured each body bag had fresh flowers placed on it.

The Tallahassee Police Department attempted to intimidate and harass activists when the funeral procession blocked traffic in front of the capitol building. Throughout the summer activists have frequently occupied the intersection of Monroe and Apalachee in front of the capitol, often holding the intersection for hours at a time. This time however, after mourner-activists had been holding the intersection for only a few minutes, an officer declared the assembly unlawful and approximately 20 TPD officers swarmed the scene, all with guns and tasers on their hips, some with clubs drawn, and some refusing to wear face masks despite the pandemic. The officers moved aggressively toward the mourner-activists, who, thanks to the skillful leadership of the Black women heading the action, safely moved back to the capitol lawn.

The police then left the scene, leaving behind an officer whose car continued to block a lane of traffic. Mourner-activists shouted “Black lives matter” and sang Which Side Are You On? as the officer looked on. Turns out the officers’ car battery had died.

Chanting “Free them all,” and holding banners reading “Slavery ended in 1865… DOC keeps it alive,” “COVID + Cages = Murder,” and “Prison abolition now,” mourner-activists confronted the Florida Department of Corrections to demand transparency and accountability regarding the outbreak of COVID deaths and inhuman conditions within Florida prisons.

Karen Smith stated, “Florida prisons are among the worst in the country, with deteriorating conditions that have even worsened amidst COVID. People are suffering and even dying from heat stroke due to the lack of air conditioning, being starved, oftentimes have no access to clean water, experience extreme sentencing and are routinely killed by guards.” She added, “Anyone who speaks out about conditions is sent to long term solitary confinement. As a community committed to the liberation of all people, we will continue to incite a collective consciousness of the inhumanity of the state’s carceral system and demand people pay attention to FDOC’s culture of torture and abuse and take to the streets to demand transparency and accountability.”

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC

Kenosha, WI – August 25 marked the third night of the uprising that has engulfed Kenosha since the attempted murder of Jacob Blake at the hands of Kenosha police. It was also the deadliest yet, with several people being shot as reactionaries descended on the city. Two of those shot tragically lost their lives.

While the authorities, including the Kenosha Police Department, have yet to release any specifics on the situation, the people who were on the ground recording every moment have been hard at work piecing the available evidence together. As things stand, all of that evidence points to the racist killer being Kyle Rittenhouse, also known as Kyle Lewis – a white 17-year-old young man from Antioch, Illinois, just south of the Wisconsin border.

Reports indicate that as of 11:47 a.m. on August 26, Rittenhouse was arrested in his hometown and is charged with first-degree intentional homicide. Kenosha police and others allowed him to flee the city without attempting to bring him into custody. Rittenhouse is deemed a “fugitive of justice” and it’s stated that he “fled the state of Wisconsin with the intent to avoid prosecution” according to public records from the Lake County, Illinois Clerk of Courts.

Rittenhouse’s social media is riddled with images of him brandishing guns and posing in tactical gear. His photos are overlaid with blue lives matter and thin blue line imagery. He is seen in more than a handful of livestreams from Kenosha last night, carrying what appears to be some type of rifle.

There are specific videos that show Rittenhouse shooting one person in the head at point blank range in a lot between some parked cars. As he runs away from the scene, he can clearly be heard telling someone on a cell phone “I just killed someone.”

While these events are tragic, the story goes deeper than that.

After the events in Kenosha on Sunday and Monday, an event for an armed counter-presence for August 25 went up on social media that garnered thousands of views. The event was titled “Armed Citizens to Protect Our Lives and Property” and was hosted by a group called Kenosha Guard. While it had hundreds of responses, reports from the ground indicate that fewer than 60 armed militia types turned up on the streets.

After the initial shootings took place, several of the livestreamers caught up with a couple members of the militia. These militia members disclosed that the plan of the police had been to push protesters to the location that they knew these armed agitators were amassing. One of them on the video said, “You know what the cops told us today? They were like, ‘We’re gonna push them down by you so that you can deal with them and then we’re gonna leave.’”

This is exactly what happened, as cops and National Guard troops and at least four MRAPs (military-grade light tactical vehicles) advanced on protesters who had gathered first outside of the Kenosha County Courthouse and then in Civic Center Park. The protesters held their ground against these shock troops for several minutes before the soldiers employed a kettling tactic and rained down on them with teargas, rubber bullets and concussion grenades.

As the protesters fell back, taking cover behind dumpsters and makeshift shields and umbrellas, they ran into a heavily armed group of militiamen amassing at a gas station that was boarded up. The armed militia members immediately began to agitate the protesters as they were retreating from the police barrage. Shortly thereafter is when the shootings started.

The police did nothing to stop the shootings, nor did they attempt to disarm Rittenhouse as he fled from the multiple scenes of his crimes. Earlier in the evening, they had interacted with him, offering him water and telling him and the other militia members he was with that they “really appreciate you guys. We really do.”

The names of Rittenhouse’s victims have not been publicly disclosed as of yet, but from one of the videos online, it is clear that one of them was shot and killed while attempting to wrestle the gun away from him after he’d already shot into the crowd. These people died attempting to prevent others from being hurt or killed, and their sacrifice won’t be in vain. The protests in Kenosha will not stop until justice is won, for Jacob Blake and now for these martyrs of the movement, too.

#KenoshaWI #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #PoliticalRepression #Antifascism #JacobBlake #KenoshaUprising #KyleRittenhouse

Tampa, FL – On July 18, members of the Tampa community rallied to demand justice for Josiah Pinner and community control of the police. Josiah Pinner was a 15-year-old who was struck and killed by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputy Philip Montesi, who was going 21 miles per hour over the speed limit in a residential area. The rally was called by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC).

Pinner and his friend were crossing the road January 11, 2019 shortly after the sun went down when Montesi was responding to a non-emergency call. Montesi swerved to avoid them but ultimately struck Pinner. Montesi continued driving before turning around but it was too late. Montesi only received a five-day suspension and a driving class for the killing of Josiah.

Montesi has a number of traffic violations on his record including clipping a pedestrian while the deputy was speeding and distracted by using his in-vehicle computer. Despite Montesi’s record of misconduct and incompetence, State Attorney Andrew Warren declined to press charges on Montesi at the time, stating that no criminal activity took place and no laws were broken.

Chants at the rally included, “HCSO is corrupt, five days is not enough!” and “Serve and protect, not swerve and neglect!”

“Even though that driver, Deputy Montesi, fled the scene speeding, made no immediate call for help, and has a history of vehicle-related incidents, there's been no arrests or charges filed,” said Joanne Rojas, the mother of Josiah Pinner. “Just a few days suspension and back on the job, the same day my son was buried – all because he had a license, badge and a gun.”

In addition to demanding justice being served to Deputy Montesi, the family and TBCAC are demanding more street lights, crosswalks and traffic calming measures to prevent future tragedies.

“A couple of years ago, there was a pedestrian accident on Bayshore Boulevard, in the nicest part of town. The speed limit was immediately reduced and crosswalks were installed a couple weeks after,” noted TBCAC member Will Blake. “Meanwhile in Josiah's case, in a working class residential area, there has been no speed limit reduction, no crosswalks and no street lights installed despite almost two years of the Pinner and Rojas family demanding it.”

TBCAC also called for the creation of a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) that would give the community true control over the police.

“The officer had prior incidents of speeding and reckless driving. HCSO and the city of Tampa failed the Pinner family by not holding the cop accountable and allowing him to keep serving after a trend of poor driving resulted in the death of a child,” said TBCAC member David Jones. “We need a CPAC here in Tampa to give the family justice and prevent more of these cases from happening.”

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #CommunityControlOfThePolice #TampaBayCommunityActionCommitteeTBCAC #JosiahPinner

Los Angeles, CA – Answering the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression’s call for a national protest against police crimes, Centro CSO held a rally at Los Cinco Puntos in Boyle Heights, July 18. At the action, Centro CSO pushed for Black and brown unity and demanded the end to the killings of Blacks, Chicanos and Latinos by the Los Angeles Police and LA Sheriff’s Departments.

The location of Los Cinco Puntos – the site where five important streets meet and a memorial for Chicano veterans who fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War – was significant for many reasons. Along with victims of police brutality, the rally honored Vanessa Guillén, the 20-year-old Chicana U.S. army soldier who was murdered in April after being sexually harassed by a superior at Food Hood in Texas. Los Cincos Puntos served as the starting point for the first huge march against the racist anti-immigrant California Proposition 187 in 1994, when over 100,000 marched from Cinco Puntos to LA City Hall.

Centro CSO’s Alex Orellana, a former member of the military, gave a speech about sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct toward servicewomen that he witnessed while in the armed forces. He mentioned that the military’s treatment of women, along with Trump’s election, influenced his decision to become a “defector.”

Los Cinco Puntos is also right where Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, the two communities where Centro CSO primarily organizes, meet. The Los Angeles Police Department, specifically its Hollenbeck Division, patrols Boyle Heights while the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department covers East Los Angeles. Both departments have continuously killed Chicano young men over the last few years. Throughout the protest, cars from both LAPD and LASD circled the area.

Protesters held up a banner reading, “LAPD stop killing Black and brown people,'' and “Jail killer cops!” Chants included “How do you spell murderer? LAPD'' and “El pueblo unido jamás, será vencido.” Protesters also chanted the names of the many victims of police brutality throughout the country – George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice and Sean Monterrosa – as well as those killed specifically in the area like Jesse Romero, Edwin Rodriguez, Paul Rea and Anthony Vargas. Centro CSO will continue to fight against police killings and build the fight to win community control over the police. Join us for future events.

Visit and contact CSO at the following 323-943-2030, Centrocso@gmail.com, or @CentroCSO on social media.

#LosAngelesCA #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #CentroCSOCommunityServiceOrganization #NationalDayOfProtest #CommunityControlOfThePolice

Chicago, IL – About 500 people and at least 200 cars responded to the call from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression for a caravan on Chicago’s South Side, July 18. They drove through the 3rd, 6th and 17th Wards to call on the alderpersons there to support the movement for community control of police.

In Chicago, 19 out of 50 members of the city council have signed on to the legislation to create an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) that will have final authority over the police budget and policy, and the ability to make decisions in misconduct cases, not just provide oversight. The members of the city council from these three wards – Pat Dowell, Roderick Sawyer and David Moore – have refused to sign on to the legislation, despite the Alliance having gathered over 4000 signatures from their constituents. The caravan drove to the police stations in their wards to highlight the need for community control of the police by lifting up cases of police crimes in each ward. None of the officers who committed the murders or beatings, or who perpetrated the false convictions in these districts, has been held accountable by the current system of police accountability, which leaves the power in the hands of the mayor.

Families of police victims and survivors speak

The protest started with a press conference in Washington Park at the site where the police shot Ronald “Ronnieman” Johnson in the back in 2014. Family members and activists spoke about the cases of their loved ones. Ronnieman’s mother, Dorothy Holmes, remembered how the Alliance helped her when she came to them following her son’s murder. “There is no statute of limitations on the crime of murder. I want to get CPAC passed to get justice for my son.”

A recorded message was also played from Regina Russell, mother of Tamon Russell, who was falsely implicated for murder by cops from the 6th District in 2001. She explained, “Those cops were supervised by Sergeant Raymond Madigan, one of the members of Detective Jon Burge’s gang of torturers. The criminal actions of those officers put Tamon in prison for the past 19 years.”

Kobi Guillory of the Chicago Alliance emceed, and condemned police violence against protesters the night before. Guillory and a number of Alliance activists had been pepper-sprayed at a Black and Indigenous solidarity protest in the Loop, along with over 1000 people, many of whom were savagely beaten as well. An 18-year-old Black woman activist had her front teeth knocked out by a blow from a cop.

When the cars stopped at the 3rd District police station, located in the 6th Ward, and again at the office of 6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer, protesters jumped out of cars to chalk messages on the sidewalk to demand “CPAC now!”

Frank Chapman, field organizer of the Chicago Alliance, stated, “Saturday was an opening salvo of what we’re going to be doing on the South Side going forward. We’re putting feet on the ground in these wards to send the message to these alderpersons to support CPAC. We’re organizing door by door, neighborhood by neighborhood.”

#ChicagoIL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #CAARPR #NationalDayOfProtest #CommunityControlOfThePolice

Los Angeles, CA – Over the last few years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has been in the hot seat as deputies have killed a staggering number of Black and Chicano young men. With the recent Minnesota rebellion and protests across Los Angeles, the heat continues.

Protests against the Sheriffs

On June 7, a group of young women from East Los Angeles united, organized and led a large march and protest against the East Los Angeles Sheriffs. The women were Lucia Torres from Schurr High; Valerie “Valens” Salazar, a student at California State University – LA (CSULA); Samantha Barientos, a student at Garfield High; Estrella Lopez, a student at CSULA, and Alicia Romero of LA Causa Youth Building Center. They approached the community group Centro Community Service Organization (Centro CSO) for help and guidance on their event.

Starting at Atlantic Avenue Park in East LA, close to 500 people gathered for a kickoff rally. The women spoke about the need as Chicanos to unite with African Americans in their fight for freedom against racist terror like that experienced by George Floyd in Minnesota.

Participants then took to the street and angrily marched to the East LA Sheriff’s station. When they arrived, the California Highway Patrol blocked the street entrance to the station. The ELA Sheriffs barricaded the entrance to the station and were armed with automatic assault rifles and shotguns. The energized marchers, by that point numbering over 1000, marched right up to the deputy line. Families whose sons, nephews, and brothers have been killed by the ELA Sheriffs spoke out and denounced the killings. Sumaya Aden, whose brother Isak Aden was killed last year in Minnesota, spoke about the horrors of being Black in the U.S. To finish the event, the protesters held another rally at Belvedere Park by the lake.

When asked if she had any advice for youth or anyone wanting to organize their own event against police terror, Lucia Torres said, “Despite the negative attitude people take when seeing someone speak out against racism and police brutality, they need to stay affirmed in their beliefs and it’s okay to educate older generations.”

Chicano killings continue

Despite COVID-19, the LA County Sheriffs have not stopped killing. Their most recent victim is 18-year-old Salvadoran American Andres Guardado, who was killed on June 18. Guardado was working as a security guard when he was killed. Sheriffs shot him five times, and afterwards stated Guardado had a weapon when he was killed. A recent independent autopsy ordered by Guardado’s family found all the shots were to his back, and he had no trace of drugs not alcohol in his system.

Chicano Jorge Serrano was killed on December 19, 2019 by the same killer sheriff, Nikolis Perez, who also killed Anthony Vargas on August 12, 2018. Serrano was on his knees and had his hands in the air, surrendering, when he was shot six times, and killed.

Not only is there controversy over the fact that the cop Perez is a two-time killer but also because there is cause to believe that Perez is part of the FBI-confirmed East LA Sheriff’s gang Los Banditos.

Budget cuts

At the end of June, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to cut the LA Sheriff’s Department budget by $145 million. LASD normally is allocated about $3.3 billion annually. Sheriff Alex Villanueva spoke against the cuts and took a hard jab at the recent rebellions and uprisings after the killing of Minnesotan George Floyd by saying, “The need to provide public safety continues to rise. Crime hasn't gone away because people don't like law enforcement.”

Lawsuits

Chicano attorney Humberto Guizar is representing the family of Jorge Serrano, who are suing Sheriff Alex Villanueva for condoning the Los Banditos gang. The LA County Civilian Oversight Commission had ordered Villanueva to begin inspecting deputies for tattoos confirming their affiliation to the gang. To this day, Villanueva hasn't followed through and not a single deputy has been implicated. Additionally, Sheriff Villanueva has yet to honor subpoenas issued by the Civilian Oversight Commission.

An important point to note is that despite the recent killing of Serrano being under investigation by the internal affairs division of the Sheriff’s Department, the two deputies involved in Serrano’s killing (including two-time killer Perez) were promoted to training officers. All of this happened under the supervision of Sheriff Villanueva.

Community control of the police and Sheriffs

Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) has been helping unite and lead the fight against the East LA Sheriffs. They have united with the families affected by police terror and will continue to organize to win justice. Moving forward, plans are to fight for and to win civilian control of the police. They invite you to join the fight! Their upcoming and public meeting will be on Wednesday, July 15 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. You may send them an email at CentroCSO@gmail.com for their link, text them for the link at their hotline number 323-943-2030, or contact them on their various social media platforms @CentroCSO.

#LosAngelesCA #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment #StopPoliceCrimes

Tampa, FL – On June 20, Tampa Bay community members gathered at the Joe Chillura Courthouse Square to honor the life of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, who was sexually assaulted, abducted and murdered. Salau was a known Black Lives Matter activist in Tallahassee, Florida. Her death follows a recent wave of violence against, and murder of, Black people in the United States committed by the police, white vigilantes and others.

The vigil began at 7 p.m. and was co-hosted by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Intersections of Tampa Advocates (ITA).

These organizations followed the lead of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and demanded that the, “Tallahassee police department release all details regarding the disappearance and murder of Oluwatoyin Salau.” TCAC member Regina Joseph added, “The Tallahassee Police Department spent more time posting about a missing dog on Instagram than spreading awareness of Toyin’s disappearance.”

The event included speeches, songs and poems given by community members, and chants such as, “Say it once, say it again, no excuse for violent men,” and “Old Jim Crow, new Jim Crow, white supremacy has got to go!”

“Toyin’s death means moving forward in life and never backing down, keeping my head held high like Toyin did,” said community member Nebula Jackson.

“The police failed Toyin by turning a blind eye during her greatest time of need. The word ‘failing’ even seems inappropriate, she was ‘forsaken’ by this injustice,” said ITA member Kay Klark

“The death of Oluwatoyin Salau highlights the reasons we continue the struggle for a Civilian Police Accountability Council. We see cops exhausting their resources to find and punish protesters but refusing to put forth the same effort in assisting the community. Tallahassee PD failed Toyin and continues to fail oppressed people. The only way we can ensure the safety of our community is through community control now,” said TBCAC member, David Jones.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #TampaBaySDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee #OluwatoyinToyinSalau

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Centro CSO in Los Angeles, California.

Centro CSO stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter-LA’s call to protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are also working to prosecute all the Minneapolis police officers involved. We also unite with the call to prosecute the LAPD and LA Sheriffs for the hundreds of killings of Black, Chicano and Latino people in LA.

We denounce the current militarization of Los Angeles and repression against protesters. Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti has called the National Guard to patrol LA streets, which already had over 10,000 LAPD police, and thousands of LA County Sheriffs on duty. Under the guise of protecting property, the forces are arresting and suppressing peaceful protesters. Thousands of protesters have been arrested, many shot with hard rubber bullets, brutalized and teargassed. We oppose Mayor Garcetti's proposed LA city budget with more funding for LAPD as they already receive over 50% of the yearly LA city budget. We call to cut the LAPD’s bloated budget.

President Trump on June 1st made provocative, aggressive statements against protesters, threatening to call out the military to suppress the daily protests. Minutes later, peaceful protesters were forcefully pushed, shot with tear gas and rubber bullets, just to clear the way for Trump to walk to a local church. The protesters were not given any warning or order to disperse. The church leaders are outraged because they too, were gassed as they were outside helping protesters.

In Boyle Heights, the community has suffered numerous LAPD killings of young Chicanos as well as a recent brutal beating of Chicano Richard Castillo by Hollenbeck LAPD cop Frank Hernandez. We demand Frank Hernandez be fired. On May 21, a Centro CSO delegation delivered a petition to LAPD Chief Moore to fire officer Hernandez. That afternoon Chief Moore stated that the investigation would be finalized by June 1, 2020. We are still awaiting the results.

Centro CSO will continue to organize, as well as attend local protests, provide updates via our social media, and Fight Back! News.

#LosAngelesCA #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #CentroCSO #LAPD #Antiracism #MinneapolisUprising

Jacksonville, FL – Community activists who led a historic 3500-person protest for police accountability in Jacksonville are meeting brutality with solidarity.

Members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), one of the main groups that organized the May 30 demonstration, say they have raised about $80,000 from hundreds of small donors for their Community Support Fund. That fund, formed this past weekend, has helped the JCAC post bond for over 30 people arrested during a sweeping police crackdown on protests.

JCAC members sprang into action not long after their event ended in the early evening of May 30. As the enormous crowd of thousands left the protest to return home, about 100 people remained. Some continued to march. Others began walking back to their cars. Before long though, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) moved in, clad in riot gear, and began launching canisters of teargas at the small crowd. Clashes broke out as police beat and arrested dozens of people.

The next day, May 31, smaller protests that were held outside of the Duval County Courthouse and nearby Klutho Park faced similar treatment by JSO officers, who shut down peaceful protests and arrested demonstrators who committed no apparent crime.

In a press conference on the weekend’s protests, State Attorney Melissa Nelson said that nearly 80 people were arrested by JSO over the weekend.

Those arrested ranged in ages from 18 to 80. Although Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams quickly blamed ‘outside agitators’ at a press conference hours after the arrests, they admitted two days later that 23 of the 25 protesters arrested on the evening of May 30 were Jacksonville residents.

Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams were quick to paint all the protesters arrested as violent.

But video footage of these incidents, along with the actual arrest reports paint a different picture. The vast majority of those arrested were only charged with unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor offense often used by police when they can’t figure out how to criminally charge a protester in custody. Video taken of the May 31 courthouse protest shows police running up to people and initiating contact, punching and kicking one man in particular until he collapsed.

Joshua Parks, one of the founding organizers of the JCAC, argues that rather than keeping the peace, the Jackson Sheriff’s Office actually initiated violence at this weekend’s protests.

“We condemn JSO’s violent crackdown on hundreds of unarmed peaceful protesters on Saturday,” said Parks. “Instead of allowing protesters to peacefully disperse, they arrived with military grade riot gear and began brutalizing innocent people. They fired tear gas on people who were clearly walking back to their cars to leave. We think those officers should be held accountable.”

Meeting brutality with solidarity

Within minutes of seeing images of the brutal police crackdown on May 30, Jacksonville Community Action Committee organizers set up a GoFundMe campaign online to fundraise support for those arrested or brutalized by the cops.

“We know it’s important to stand in solidarity with those whose civil liberties have been violated by the JSO, like the teargas and excessive force used on peaceful protesters,” said Rachel Duff, an organizer with the JCAC. “Our organization fights for freedom for our communities, so when we saw the JSO’s crackdown on Saturday, we knew we had to take a stand.”

The JCAC calls it the Community Support Fund. Duff said that hundreds of people from around the United States have donated to the fund

“It’s been an incredible showing of support from the Jacksonville community,” said Duff. “It shows that people have a high level of trust in the JCAC to use and disperse the Community Support Fund to directly support people in need. We’re an organization of the people, by the people.”

Activists from the JCAC worked through the nights of May 31 and June 1 making contact with family and loved ones of those locked up, posting people’s bonds, coordinating their release and reaching out to legal counsel.

As bonded-out protesters trickled out through the day, one or two at a time, they expressed relief and gratitude for the JCAC’s efforts.

“They have been very grateful that there are people on the ground supporting them,” said Parks. “Not only were their civil liberties infringed upon when they were arrested, but many people were illegally detained after they had posted bond. Upon release people are telling horrific stories of JSO’s brutality and many are traumatized from their relatively short stint in the deplorable conditions of Duval County Jail.”

Double-jeopardy detention and bail manipulation: JSO abusing its power?

In his comments above, Parks was referring to a disturbing, unconstitutional reversal that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office tried on June 1, in which many people who had posted bond were detained without further cause.

As soon as organizers became aware of it, the JCAC launched an emergency call-in campaign to the Duval County Jail. Hundreds of people around the country made calls and demanded jail administration end the unconstitutional detention. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office operators answering the calls became increasingly irritated and juvenile with callers, with some imitating machines or hanging up mid-sentence. Between the public pressure and intervention by some supportive lawyers, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office relented and those people who had met bond were released.

Another equally troubling incident came to light on June 1. JCAC organizers and community activists noticed that bail for certain protesters had inexplicably doubled from the original amount set. For some, bail more than tripled.

“Bail was originally set at $750 for most of them,” recounted Duff. “Then we noticed on the Duval County Jail website that it had risen to $1500. It got as high as $5000. We were posting bond for people, and in the blink of an eye, it would skyrocket upward. And when we posted the new amount, it rose again, like someone didn’t want these people released.”

JCAC acted as whistleblowers on this obvious abuse of the already questionable bail system in Duval County. They alerted lawyers and local news outlets, like News4Jax, which investigated and confirmed the Duval County Jail really was raising people’s bail – sometimes multiple times.

Parks saw this as the latest example of deep, structural problems with the criminal injustice system in Duval County.

“When I became aware that the jail was raising the bond for protesters, I wasn’t surprised,” said Parks. “Jacksonville is run by an oligarchy of corrupt gangsters. It simply made it more evident that the city’s issues span far beyond JSO. There is an entire political regime that must be held accountable for the injustice they inflict daily on the people of Jacksonville.”

Community action

The Community Support Fund’s success thus far is the result of a Herculean effort by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, other community activist groups and supporters from all over Duval County and beyond.

As of the evening of June 4, 47 protesters had gotten bonded out, according to Monique Sampson of the JCAC. The group says they hope to see more protesters released in the coming days and plan to offer additional assistance for those who need it.

“More will get bonded out in the coming days,” said Sampson. “It’s taken days to even get this far because of difficulties identifying inmates arrested at the protest. But this campaign has brought the Jacksonville community together to answer police brutality with solidarity.”

Sampson told Fight Back! that several attorneys had reached out to the JCAC to get in contact with protesters facing charges, with at least one attorney offering to work on ten people’s cases pro bono.

Some local businesses have supported the Community Support Fund too, said Sampson. Bold Bean Coffee Roasters, a Jacksonville-based coffee chain, donated 100% of their profits on June 3 to the fund. Some bars, restaurants and entertainment venues have offered the use of equipment or facilities for future events around police accountability.

Community control of the police and next steps

The JCAC plans to announce future actions in the coming days. As this uprising against police crimes continues across the country, Parks and Duff say the Community Action Committee will continue to fight for both justice and community control of the police.

“It affirms our position that community control of the police is the only way for the people to fight back against the lawlessness of JSO,” said Parks, referring to their call for an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council with the power to investigate police misconduct, subpoena evidence and discipline or fire officers found guilty.

“It’s the only hope that people, especially Black and working-class people, have at living a dignified life. More than ever, the events of the last week show that police relations are not improving but worsening,” Parks continued.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee has called for a protest outside the Duval County Courthouse on Saturday, June 6, beginning at 2 p.m. and culminating in a march to the state attorney’s office nearby. The protest will call on State Attorney Melissa Nelson to drop the charges on the protesters arrested and brutalized by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; to release the JSO body camera footage from police-involved shootings, including the six this year alone; to jail killer cops; and to stand up to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s bullying.

#JacksonvilleFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Bail #Antiracism #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommitteeJCAC #MinneapolisUprising