“There was no justice, so there will be disruption,” is the rallying cry of outraged New Yorkers and protestors across the nation and as far as Ireland, Hong Kong and Delhi.
Across the country, everyday people have taken up the cause against repeated fatal police brutality. They have taken to blocking traffic on busy intersections or highways; taken over big-name stores such as Macy’s, Target and Apple; and halted Amtrak and MTA trains—from New York to Philadelphia to Chicago to St. Louis to Berkeley. A movement has risen, birthed by the internationally condemned non-indictment decisions in the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and the chokehold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island.
At a rally in Brooklyn Saturday, community activist Kathleen Daniels declared, “In 2004, New York state repealed the death penalty. Can someone please tell the NYPD? Ten years later, we are still burying Black men—Timothy Stansbury, Sean Bell, Ramarley Graham, Eric Garner and Akai Gurley, killed by police. Calling 911 should not equal calling for an execution. We demand no more executions by the police!”
In the city, community activists, college students and their allies are not the only ones upset over the Staten Island grand jury’s decision to not indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner. Local elected officials have expressed outrage as well.
Monday, New York City Council members staged a “die-in” in front of City Hall to protest the ruling before marching and blocking street traffic, shouting, “I can’t breathe!” and “Black lives matter!” Some of the 25 Council members involved in the “die-in” include Inez Barron, Inez Dickens, Debbie Rose, Jumaane Williams, Andy King and Rory Lancman.
In a statement from the the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, the members involved cited a desire to change the aggressive policing done by current NYPD members and how the justice system operates.
“We have made a commitment to change, and that commitment includes our city’s policing and judicial systems,” the statement reads. “There are too many unarmed people of color dying as a result of over aggressive policing. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told us that we are the only country in the world that utilizes a grand jury system.
“We are seeing, time and time again, that grand jury decisions do not reflect the voices of our local communities,” the statement continues. “The lives of Blacks, Latinos, Asian and many other minorities are devalued and not represented when we don’t hold police officers accountable for negative actions. We came together collectively from all walks of life to say, ‘Black Lives Matter!’”
Barron was at the forefront of the protest. She noted in a statement, that after the “die-in” and the march, most of the council members decided to return to chambers for the scheduled meeting.
“I chose not to,” Barron said. “I am outraged and chose not to return to conduct ‘business as usual.’ My indignation is grounded on the understanding that this is a historical pattern of systemic, racist practices, particularly in the ‘justice’ system; as with the Rodney King beating and the Oscar Grant killing, we are expected to not believe our eyes and to discount the video that shows the actions of police misconduct; the Staten Island DA chose to impanel a grand jury for only one person, when clearly a dozen public safety and medical personnel were present and offered no assistance; the decision to not have a trial to examine the evidence and circumstances of the killing of Eric Garner is unconscionable.
“We must continue to wage the battle to gain justice,” concluded Barron. “Black life matters.”
Last month, Lancman introduced a bill that would make police chokeholds illegal. According to reports, he has stated that the bill has gained steam after the grand jury ruling.
As a downpour drenched a group called Pastors United at a rally in Bed-Stuy Saturday, co-organizer the Rev. Al Jackson implored Black officers to take a stand against police brutality.
Community activist Kathleen Daniel brought her two children and told the crowd, “Today we stand out in the pouring rain to demand justice. These raindrops do not outnumber the tears shed by Black children, mothers and wives for the loss of our men at the hands of police across the country. Like the families of Ferguson, and Tamir, a 12-year-old boy guilty of playing in a park, we cry out today—no more!”
Sunday, the people took over Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn to protest police killings of unarmed Black men and demanded justice, accountability and a drastic change in NYPD policy. “Putting feet to faith, and walking in prayer and in power against injustice,” Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Pastor Adolphus C. Lacey and the Bethany Baptist Church congregation marched down Fulton Street, along with pastors and congregations of several neighboring churches.
Grassroots groups such as the Zulu Nation, the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, Operation Power, the December 12th Movement, the Committee to Honor Black Heroes, Drums Not Guns and Copwatch have stayed active in the streets. Protesters have swarmed the city.
Since last week’s decision in the Garner case, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets, shutting down Broadway, the Westside Highway, the FDR; the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Verrazano bridges; and the Staten Island ferry. They have crowded Target in Brooklyn and Manhattan’s Macy’s and the Apple Store. Last Thursday, with NYPD police trying to wrangle the people, thousands of chanting, banner-waving, angry demonstrators took over Foley Square and marched over the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.
While Prince William and his wife, Kate, visited the Barclays arena in downtown Brooklyn Monday evening, hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside.
The Justice League wore “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts. Co-founder Tameka Mallory told the AmNews, “We came are out here because the people want justice. We want the royal family to see the pageantry of New York, absolutely. But we want them to see the pain that is here also.”
Mallory said, “The Justice League NYC is calling for a meeting with Mayor [Bill] de Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo and other city and state leaders, to present a list of demands that the city must take to circumvent an escalation in protests, including mass civil disobedience at targeted city and state properties.”
Working with Harry Belafonte’s the Gathering for Justice, a social justice organization has been circulating a petition online with the “full list of demands and is calling on city leaders to meet and discuss steps towards redress and accountability.”