Atlanta, GA – On Thursday, August 14, over 100 protesters gathered in front of the Atlanta Police Department headquarters demanding justice for Johnny Hollman, holding signs and chanting “Justice for Johnny Hollman!” and “Indict, convict, send these killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!”

Johnny Hollman was a church deacon, a father of five, and a grandfather to 26, who was murdered at the hands of Atlanta police on August 10 after getting into a minor car accident and calling 911 for help. He called his daughter after the police showed up and she stayed with him on the line. The cop was detaining Hollman and shot him with a taser, and that is when he went unresponsive. His daughter on the other end of the call heard her father crying for help and came to the scene to find him lying on the street receiving chest compressions. His family demands answers from the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and justice for the murder of their beloved Johnny Hollman.

Johnny Hollman’s daughter, Arnitra Fallins, spoke to the crowd saying, “Y’all took his life and we’re in outrage. I’m very upset and I keep saying, from the moment I stepped on the scene I've been in outrage, and I keep saying: you murdered my dad. You killed my dad. My brother was there, he witnessed it. I stayed on that phone from the time my dad called me for 17 minutes and 46 seconds.” She adds, “He was loved by his family. You see all his family is here. We are here to support and get justice for our family member. Johnny Hollman belongs to us.”

“APD acted despicably towards Deacon Hollman. He was on the phone with his daughter for 17 minutes before his family had to come and witness Deacon Hollman, whose contributions to the community are unassailable, lying in the street just as if his life didn’t matter,“ said Keyanna Jones, member of Community Movement Builders and Faith Coalition to Stop Cop City.

The crowd, getting larger as the event went on, took the streets and began marching towards city hall. Militarized police helicopters flew over the crowd as dozens of cops on bicycles caught up with the march to get people out of the street and onto the sidewalk. Once at city hall, police formed a barricade around the crowd, pushing in closer to instill fear in the protesters. The crowd was not backing down and continued to chant and give speeches. Soon after, the police left as the crowd cheered over their win against APD trying to repress the protest.

The killing of Johnny Hollman follows a string of police killings in the city of Atlanta including Manny “Tortuguita” Terán Paez in January of this year, who was shot over 50 times while defending the Weelaunee Forest. The autopsy came out and stated that the police lied about Tortuguita shooting at the police, and their killers still have not faced any repercussions.

Kamau Franklin, member of Community Movement Builders, said in his speech, “Imagine the rude awakening of having a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, an uncle, a deacon in your church, a friend of the community killed by the police. Where you have to spend day after day trying to get justice from a system and a society that was never meant to give you justice in the first place.”

Protesters marched back from the city hall to APD headquarters, vowing to continue fighting to get justice for Johnny Hollman. Despite the surveillance and harassment by the police, protesters left without any arrests or attacks by APD.

#AtlantaGA #PoliceBrutality #policeKilling #JohnnyHollman

Chicago, IL – Bettie Jones and Quintonio Legrier are the names of the latest victims of the Chicago Police Department.

Jones was a 57-year-old mother of five. Legrier was a college student at Northern Illinois University.

The police were called to the apartment building before dawn, Dec. 26, the day after Christmas because of an argument between Legrier and his father. Legrier was not armed, holding only a baseball bat.

Activists in the movement to stop police crimes rushed to the scene when word of the shootings got out. A local minister pointed to a bullet hole in the door, which fit a witness’s description of the killing of Jones, who was a neighbor of the Legrier family. Jones’ daughter explained that her mother opened the door and was shot by a cop who was still outside.

According to LaCreshia Birts of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, “One of the family members said, “Take ‘Serve and Protect’ off police cars.”

Frank Chapman of the Alliance reacted to this latest killing this way, “Each day we don’t do anything about holding the police accountable is another day we endanger the lives of our people.” He continued, “The killers should be charged immediately and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Hearing the news on the phone, Chapman paused and then said, “When does it stop? It’ll start to end when we have an elected, civilian police accountability council.”

#ChicagoIL #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #policeKilling #Antiracism

Minneapolis, MN – About 50 people were arrested here, the night of Nov. 16, in a dramatic protest blocking Interstate 94, as the fight to get justice for Jamar Clark escalated. Clark, who is Black, was killed by Minneapolis police. Witnesses agree that he was handcuffed at the time of his murder.

Protesters are demanding that police release the video they recorded at the time of the killing.

Earlier in the day, Michael McDowell, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, stated

“We don't need police in our community if they are just going to continue to kill us.”

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #policeKilling #Antiracism

“It hurts that we are here not because Dontre Hamilton was murdered by a police officer who is not being prosecuted, but because that officer wants his job back,” says Angela Nicole Walker who has been at the proceedings both days.

Protests have been ongoing for the past several months, including the arrest of 74 people who were attempting to shut down a highway in downtown Milwaukee after it was announced Manney would face no criminal charges.

Several dozen community members have shown up to the hearing, most sitting in an overflow room, to show solidarity with the Hamilton family.

Milwaukee Police have a long history of violence and Milwaukee is often listed one of the worst cities in the nation for police brutality. Just a couple examples in the past couple of years: officers let a young father of three die in the back of a squad car while begging for his life; conducted illegal anal cavity searches on the street; officers getting in trouble for raping (while on duty) and stalking community members; and punching and dragging a woman in custody by her hair out of a squad car. They are also responsible for the highest incarceration rate per capita of Black men in the country.

Entering the final hours of the hearing, supporters are hopeful Manney doesn't get his job back. They will continue their fight for Justice for Dontre Hamilton and others who are victims to police violence.

#MilwaukeeWI #PoliceBrutality #policeKilling #DontreHamilton #ChristopherManney

Milwaukee, WI – On Oct. 7, dozens of people came together to challenge Police Chief Flynn and the Milwaukee Police Department on the murder of 22-year old Derek Williams.

This event, as well as others, comes in the wake of the release of new autopsy and video evidence that led to a homicide investigation of Milwaukee Police's District Five. Milwaukee Chief of Police Edward Flynn responded to the investigation, saying police would not be prosecuted and the officers involved would likely not be fired for their involvement Williams’ killing.

Many of those present at the event were family of Williams. Levi Mcdonald, Williams’ cousin, said, “I'm here to challenge injustice in Milwaukee and across the country. Someone needs to be held responsible for the death of Derek Williams. You cannot have a homicide without someone being held accountable. We want the officers prosecuted, and for Chief Flynn to resign.”

“The police will continue to do whatever we allow them to do,” he added.

Taking the microphone, another relative, Michelle McDonald, holding back tears, said, “All we want is justice. We love Derek and miss him and know we'll get justice and peace as long as we keep working together.”

In a show of defiance, organizers marched into the streets for nearly 20 blocks despite not having a permit, as the police eventually gave way and cleared traffic for those attending. The march route concluded, in the street, at the location of a recent homicide shooting in the community on 9th and Arlington.

Students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee came out in a showing of solidarity. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organizer Tiffany Strong said, “I'm here to stand in solidarity with those who have been the subject of police repression and brutality in this city. We cannot ignore acts like this, and by building a united movement, we'll see justice served.”

#MilwaukeeWI #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #PoliceBrutality #policeKilling #UniversityOfWisconsinMilwaukee #MilwaukeePoliceDepartment #DerekWilliams #PoliceChiefFlynn

Anaheim, CA – Hundreds marched on the Anaheim Police Headquarters, July 29, to protest police killings of young Chicano men. The protesters confronted the police with chants, shouts and banners denouncing these brutal and racist killings. The Anaheim Police Department (APD) has carried out a rash of killings this year, far more than previous years. Two people have been killed in the past week.

The protesters were met with a heavy, militarized police presence including horses, helicopters, armored cars and cops on rooftops with shot guns ready.

The family of Cesar Ray Cruz, killed by the APD in 2009, held up a banner demanding justice and a poster with the pictures of nine other men killed by APD. They also denounced the recent killing of Manuel Diaz. Diaz who was shot in the back and back of head on July 21 in front of the families of North Anna Street, a working class Chicano community. On July 24, the family of Manuel Diaz filled a civil rights violation lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court demanding justice and $50 million.

The demonstrators attempted to march on nearby Disneyland, but were blocked by the police. Many drivers going by the protest honked and waved to show support.

Many Chicano groups joined the demonstration, including Chicanos Unidos de Anaheim, Brown Berets, Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida and the Southern California Immigration Coalition, to name a few. The Occupy movement, along with socialist and anarchist groups also participated.

Carlos Montes and other veteran Chicano activists participated and spoke with the Cruz family to express their support and solidarity.

Orange County has a long history of racist attacks and practices against the growing Chicano community. The city developers have plans to expand the amusement park resort and some feel that they want to dislocate the large Chicano community.

#AnaheimCA #ChicanoLatino #Racism #CarlosMontes #policeKilling #ChicanoLiberation

For a community that had experienced decades of racist discrimination and police violence, enough was enough. For two days, police were confronted in the streets, squad cars were destroyed, and abandoned buildings burned.

An organizer in Benton Harbor's fight for justice, JoNina Abron, chairwoman of the Southwest Michigan Coalition Against Racism and Police Brutality, told Fight Back!, “I call what happened a rebellion, because I believe the community's response was a result of years of pent up rage and frustration. The people of Benton Harbor are fed up with the years of police brutality that they have had to live with. They are outraged by the economic apartheid that they see every day. Benton Harbor's population is 95% Black. They are outraged by the racism of the criminal justice system. Their response was the culmination of many things that came together. The people of Benton Harbor saw an 11-year old boy, Trenton Patterson, struck and killed in September 2000 in another police pursuit case. They saw that nothing was done in that case.”

Benton Harbor police, along with those in the surrounding township, have a history of brutality, which has left more than a few injured or dead.

Tale of Two Cities

Benton Harbor is a small town. The folks that live there are Black. 50% of the population is unemployed. Across the river is St. Joseph. The residents are white, and it is the center for business in Berrien County, where both cities are located. The unemployment rate in white St. Joseph is 2%.

A statement from Benton Harbor community organizers shines a light on this divide. It notes, “At one time, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor were referred to as 'twin cities,' well, no more! The city of Benton Harbor is now 95% Black, while St. Joseph is 95% white. But these figures alone do not tell the whole story. There is the bridge which separates the two communities, which are two different worlds really. They are separate and unequal entities. More importantly, the bridge marks the line of demarcation between those who have power from those who are ruled over.”

The statement also pointed out, “It is no exaggeration at all to say that St. Joseph and Berrien County officials stole the available federal and state funding, which impoverished the city of Benton Harbor to the stage where it is the poorest city in Berrien County and in the state of Michigan. They robbed the community of all wealth, the same as if they had used a gun for armed robbery. All of this made St. Joseph the dominant city in Berrien County, and one of the most affluent in that state, while Benton Harbor became a beggar city of thousands of ever younger Black people. This economic apartheid is a large factor in what led to the revolt of June 17.”

Another facet of the political and economic life of Berrien County is the Whirlpool Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of home appliances. While it's headquartered in Benton Harbor, the corporation favors the white city of St. Joseph. Fred Upton, heir to Whirlpool's founder, is a right-wing republican. Upton has done everything in his power to make government dollars flow to St. Joseph.

Struggle Continues

On June 12, community organizers issued a statement advancing the demands of the mass movement in Benton Harbor: “We call for an end to the racist outrages against the Black people of Benton Harbor by white politicians in Berrien County, Michigan. We call for an end to racial segregation and economic apartheid in this county. We call for an end to police brutality and to officially sanctioned violence against the black population of Benton Harbor. We call for an end to political disenfranchisement, neo-colonialism and the sharing of political power in Berrien County. We call for an end to the theft of community and economic development funding by county politicians, which has impoverished the black community of Benton Harbor and enriched St. Joseph's white community.”

The statement continued, “We call for the removal of all racist judges and prosecutors in the local judicial system, and immediate cessation of unjust selective prosecution of all those arrested during the June 17-18 rebellion in Benton Harbor. AMNESTY NOW! We want the criminal prosecution of: Benton Charter Township officer Wes Koza, for the death of Terrance Shurn on June 16, 2003; all officers responsible for the death of 11-year old Trenton Patterson in September, 2000; all Benton Township officers involved in the April 27, 2003 strangulation of Arthur Partee and other suspicious deaths of black people in Berrien County. Most importantly, we call for an immediate end to the reckless police pursuit policies through populated black civilian areas.”

Organizers are also calling for a boycott of tourism to St Joseph. The next issue of Fight Back! will contain an account of the ongoing protest movement.

No Justice, No Peace!

#BentonHarborMI #PoorPeoplesMovements #InJusticeSystem #News #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #policeViolence #AfricanAmericanCommunity #rebelledAgainstPoliceTerror #policeTerror #TerranceShurn #policeKilling #JoNinaAbron #SouthwestMichiganCoalitionAgainstRacismAndPoliceBrutality #BentonHarborPolice #WesKoza