Cross-posted on behalf of the Stop Police Terror Project DC
August 9th will mark one year since 18-year-old Mike Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Mike Brown’s death, and the subsequent non-indictment of the officer that killed him, resulted in a shockwave of marches, rallies, shut downs and die-ins all across the country. The recent deaths of Sandra Bland in Texas and Kindra Chapman Alabama, both at the hands of police, show the need to continue struggling against racist police terror and to show that we will not stand for the ongoing brutalization and killing of Black people in America. Join Stop Police Terror Project DC on Saturday, August 8th at the African American Civil Memorial to rally and march in the memory of Mike Brown and other victims of police killings past and present.
SHUT IT DOWN FOR MICHAEL BROWN!
Rally and March in Memory of Mike Brown
and other police terror victims.
August 8th, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
African American Civil War Memorial
DCFerguson, a group that’s done a great deal to confront police terror, has changed their name and expanded their mission. Learn more about the new organization Stop Police Terror Project DC below.
Formal statement on the dissolution of DCFerguson:
DCFerguson first emerged during a vital and spirited time in the burgeoning national anti-racist movement. The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York, and the subsequent non-indictment of the policemen that killed them galvanized the country, and after several successful actions, the organizers decided to form a coalition to address police terror locally. The organization was able to raise awareness about the jump-out squads and other militarized police tactics, collected testimonies of local police terror victims, and demanded that city funds being used to increase police presence on the street be redirected to community-led security efforts.
Recently, due to pressures created in part by our efforts, the Metropolitan Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Cathy Lanier, has shifted its tactics. The department will reorganize the seven individual vice units that are currently responsible for most of the recent misconduct, and create a central Narcotics and Special Investigation Division along with a Crime Interdiction Unit. Lanier claims these changes are a part of a shifting focus in the MPD from low level dealers to suppliers, along with a new focus on synthetic drugs, but we believe this is simply a cosmetic change being made to avoid changing the lethal tactics that lead to the death of people like Ralphael Briscoe and DeOnte Rawlings.
As they change and adapt, so do we, and as such, DCFerguson has decided to reorganize under a new name with new leadership. Ferguson brought us to where we are, but at this juncture so many tragic incidents nationally and locally have illuminated our understanding of these issues. As such we wanted our name to reflect that expanded reality.
The new organization, Stop Police Terror Project, D.C. (SPTP), will continue to function as an organization dedicated to ending racist militarized policing in our region. SPTP will continue to be structured as a set of volunteer committees who meet independently to complete tasks for the organization’s different projects. Everyone who was active on these committees in DCFerguson is encouraged to continue their work in SPTP as we intend to move forward with our plans as outlined in the last few months.
Since the state has reorganized itself in a fraudulent way for the problem to continue under a new guise, we intend to reorganize in a genuine way in order to put a stop to these abuses. So with a history rooted in addressing racist police tactics in a concrete way, SPTP will continue to expose the institutional violence perpetrated upon poor and working Blacks in the area, will continue to highlight the interconnectedness of forms of oppression related to police terror, and of course, will continue to be in the streets. The struggle continues.
Sincerely,
Tiffany Flowers
Sean Blackmon
Yasmina Mrabet
Eugene Puryear
Why rally… we are killing each other. Look at the crime rising in Ward 8. We need to focus on our city. We have people fighting to keep public housing up instead of bettering ourselves abd getting us out of public housing. We are killing each other acting like wild animals… but we protest when the police shoot us. Look at how we present ourselves to the police and public. Look how we act on the Metro… Look how we yell at our kids in public… look how we are dropping out of school when so much resource is out here for us. Its time to Wake Up Black People. The problem is us not a white cop let alone a white person
Why aren’t you all writing about the crime rise in Ward 8??? I guess its the government fault because they dont have jobs… better housing… better schools? Well to answer this, its not the government responsibility to take over peoples lives. If u want a job, u have to have an education and want a job. Job will not just knock on your door. This organization is not an organization to better Blacks… it is an organization to keep us down. Make us feel like the government us responsible for our lives and not take ownership in our lives. This organization is about nothing. Protest for Michael Brown… what about the Black lives that were taking by another Black? If grassroots writ about this, som how it will be the police and government fault. Not Blacks… Not the ones who actually pulled the trigger. Grassroots will say, we, Blacks dont own boats, planes, and have the means to get guns and drugs in our community… Oh, but we do and we have been doing it since the 60’s. Example, the movie American Gangster. We do and have been doing it to ourselves
Thanks for your comment Wilson Robertson. You bring up a lot of issues. I’m curious mainly about your views on education. Do you think government has any responsibility for providing its citizens with a good education? What have you yourself done to make sure that you have a good education and a good job and adequate housing. You seem to believe it’s all up to the individual. If you would write an article about how you’re making it work, without government help, I’ll post it on this blog.
Grassroots DC has limited resources. Our contributors are all volunteer. If you would agree to volunteer to write blog posts for us, perhaps you could cover some of the issues that you think we are ignoring and in the way you see fit. You will however need to be able to back up your arguments with facts. Movies like American Gangster, which are fiction (when I say fiction, I mean that someone made it up) are not proof that your opinion is right.
@ Liane… Look what happened after the riots. I guess you will blame the police and government on that. Drive by shootings, throwing things at the police. Someone getting shot. As a Black man, I commend Blacks who go to school, college, get jobs and not blame the government for the downfall. I look at government support with financial aid not public housing. When I say, Public Housing, I mean, having drug dealers, drunks, druggies, people hanging around (men who are up to know good), not being safe for the community especially the children. That’s what I mean by not helping public housing. These things make you despise public housing. So to get it right, get rid of the wrong in public housing.
Marching for the anniversary of Michael Brown was something that was needed. Yes, it was a peaceful protest that turned into a evil circus. This made Blacks look bad. So your organization can fight for this and that, but why can’t your organization help parents become better parents, young men become better men.
Hello Rikardo,
I whole-heartedly agree that we need to get rid of the wrong in public housing. The question is, how do we do that? When public housing law was first enacted back in the 1937 and every incarnation of the law since, provisions have always been made that recognized that providing housing alone was not enough to solve the problem of generational poverty. Public housing was also supposed to address unemployment within the public housing community as well as help meet the needs of the elderly and people with disabilities. But since the 1960s there’s been very little funding for programs that help address unemployment. So who’s left to try and help public housing communities address those problems? Churches and nonprofits, who also have almost no money. So, besides advocating for more government funding for these programs, Grassroots DC also provides basic computer literacy classes to Potomac Gardens residents, where we are located. We also keep the computer lab open for residents who need access to the Internet. Over the summer, the lab is used by kids who want to get out of the heat. So in our own very limited way, we are in fact trying to help parents become better parents and young men become better men. What are you doing to further those goals?