News and Views from the People's Struggle
Aurora, CO – On November 17, around 40 members of the Aurora community gathered in front of Aurora Police Headquarters to hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Kory Dillard and to speak out against the system that unjustly ended his life.
Farmerville, LA – On Monday, October 28, at 8:30 a.m., about 30 people showed up to the Union Parish courthouse for the plea hearing of Kory York, a Louisiana State Police officer who participated in the murder of unarmed Black motorist Ronald Greene in May 2019. Supporters rallied to pack the court and show their support for Greene’s family, including his mother, sisters and daughter.
Milwaukee, WI – On Tuesday, October 22, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) and numerous families of those impacted by police violence, lack of transparency, and by the conditions in the Milwaukee County Jail honored their loved ones in a panel and vigil for Stolen Lives Day at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, with around 100 people in attendance.
Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday afternoon, October 19, the steps of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) became a platform for calls for justice as over 80 people rallied to honor Dejuane “Woo” Hayden, a 30-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by police officer Bradley Griffitts. Organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), the event drew family, friends, and community members demanding accountability and answers.
New York, NY – On Saturday, October 26, members of the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR) led a speakout in Restoration Plaza in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. Speakers highlighted NYAARPR’s campaign, Cops Off the Trains - an initiative aimed at reducing the over-policing of the subway and buses.
Los Angeles, CA – On October 23, Centro Community organization Centro (CSO) held a press conference outside the East LA Sheriff’s Station to condemn the violent actions of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) after the Dodgers’ National League Championship Series victory celebration on October 20.
Speakers at the press conference highlighted the indiscriminate tear gassing of families, the racist “Fort Apache” mentality of the East LA Sheriff’s Station, and the broader systemic violence against Chicanos. The community demanded justice and emphasized the need for community control of the police.
New York, NY – On Saturday, October 19, members of the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR) gathered in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood to speak out against increased policing in the city’s transit system. The action occurred just a month after the police shot three people at the nearby Sutter Avenue subway station, over a suspected fare evasion.
New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, October 19, about 25 people turned out to a public meeting hosted by New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP). The meeting primarily served as a teach-in and comment drive to involve residents in fighting back against the New Orleans Police Department’s (NOPD) attempt to exit the oversight of a federal consent decree.
Grand Rapids, MI – Around 30 people gathered on the evening of October 6 at Rosa Parks Circle to mourn and remember the life of Khaliifah Ibn Rayford Daniels, who was executed by the state of Missouri on September 24. The vigil was organized by the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
The stage faced the statue of the legendary civil rights activist Rosa Parks, a long-time Michigan resident for whom the plaza is named. The community activists and organizers spoke from the heart and put the blame for Daniels’ execution on Missouri Governor Mike Parson and connected his murder to the history of apartheid in the southern U.S.
The event included speakers from Freedom Road Socialist Organization Michigan, Grand Valley State University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids and For Everyone Collective.
Eric Johnson, a student organizer with Grand Valley State University SDS, made it clear that Daniels was lynched by the United States, as no amount of popular support, evidence and testimonies that prove his innocence could persuade Governor Parson.
Emerson Wolfe, co-chair of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, linked the genocide in Gaza to the historical genocide of indigenous peoples and other oppressed nationalities in the United States today, stating, “Violence and domination is the legacy of the United States. The principles of Manifest Destiny that drove the genocide against the indigenous people are the same principles Israel uses to commit genocide against the Palestinians.”
An organizer with the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression stated, “The devastation of this loss, and the unanswered cries for justice and accountability that remain in this community for Samuel Sterling, for Riley Doggett, and for Patrick Lyoya have not diminished our will to fight. But we affirm that greater actions are still required of us all, and by honoring their names, we make that call tonight.”
Sam Tunningley from FRSO Michigan and the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression closed out the speakers by reading Daniels poem, The Perplexing Smiles of the Children of Palestine.
“When I read his poem The Perplexing Smiles of the Children of Palestine, I wept,” said Tunningley. “I wept knowing this man was about to lose his life. I wept knowing that in his final year he had been following the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people by our government.”
Afterward, Tunningley opened it up for anyone to speak about Daniels or other concerns affecting the community.
One student spoke passionately of his political awakening, which drove him to join SDS at GVSU. This concluded the vigil on an uplifting note, despite the heavy subject and content of the speakers, with community members conversing and asking how to get involved.
#GrandRapidsMI #MI #InjusticeSystem #policecrimes #naarpr #sds
New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, October 1, New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP) held a press conference outside of Hale Boggs Federal Building. This is the same site where federal Judge Susie Morgan will decide if the New Orleans Police Department is fit to go into a consent decree “sustainment period,” which would mark the beginning of the end of the federal oversight for police.
NOCOP and endorsing organizations demanded an end to racist and biased policing, an end to corrupt conflicts of interest, for the involvement and implementation of public input, and for Judge Morgan to rule against NOPD sustainment.